Metro Marine

The image on the right is certainly the old Metro Marine building. The left hand image is that of a "Floating Home", as it was called by the builders and designers, Steve Aitken and his business partner Jens, whose last name escapes me. I was employed by Metro Marine from 1979 to 1996, and I recall several of these being constructed in Metro's yard. Loosely modelled after the Salt Box house design, found in New England, it consisted of a plywood hull sheathed in fibreglass, with a wooden superstructure added after the hull was afloat. Technically not a houseboat, as it had no motor, it was designed to be towed to its mooring spot. I can recall once having the unenviable task of hauling a finished one out of the water with the Travelift, to be loaded on a boat transport for shipment to cottage country somewhere in northern Ontario. Once on the trailer, it was discovered that the overall height exceeded the thirteen and a half foot height restriction for highway travel. Steve, with his typical aplomb, promptly fired up his chain saw, and proceeded to slice off a top section of the structure, (which we loaded separately on the gooseneck of the trailer), to bring it down to the compliant height. Fond memories of life in the boat yard!