WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, .JULY 29. 187. PAGE 11 WALKER BOAT BUILDERS Clients include Canada' s top sailors By JANET BROWNE Custom designed boats aren't too commonly found in pleasure boat harbors these days, maybe because of price, or maybe because the majority of people today are quite content to settle for something right off the assembly line. But members of what may be a rare breed of custom builders like Whitby's Willie Walker, cater to boat enthusiastsý who want their own ideas of the perfect boat brought to life. "You get what you want," says Walker, 36, who relocated his boat building business to Whitby a year ago, "not what somebody else- thinks you want. Customers can decide the whole look of the boat, the layout, the cabin size they want them because they look different, and these boats get noticed more." The more common production builders start with a fiberglass mould and reproduce the same model of boat many times, while Walker works in wood and steel ac- cording to the customer's direct wishes. Each custom boat takes about six to eight months to complete, from initial plans for design, to frame construction, wood working and lamination process, to the finishing touches before the boat hits the water. Walker's seven full-time craftsmen spend approximately 500 hours on each boat. "It's really hard to find skilled woodworkers in this business," says Walker. "We don't make big money, so we can't pay big dollars. This isn't a big profit industry, that's for sure." Walker says he receives inquiries from all over the world, but the mainstream of customers are Americans or Canadians. He says most of the custom builders are located on the ocean coasts, and only about 10 other custom builders are within Ontario, "because the demand here isn't that great." One particular boat for which Walker has received repeat orders is the Olympic-class Tornado, a wooden racing boat which Walker says is sailed by the three top sailors in Canada. Walker has built three of these boats so far this year, and one of his customers is Larry Woods, an Olympie hopeful for the 1988 Summer Games scheduled for- Seoul, Korea. Although Walker himself doesn't do much of the actual building these days, his interest in this art developed through working in similar businesses, and a 'year spent at a designing school. His fir- st private boat building business was located in Kingston, Ont., but he made the move to Whitby after the boat builders in the Kingston harbor were "kicked out" by city officials who wanted to give the harbor a facelift. With the new plans for the Whitby harbor almost underway, Walker seems apprehensive that the Town may wish to clean up the area by removing the boat builders. Walker feels there may be a big increase in pressure from residents visiting the harbor to remove the "stinky, messy, smelly areas, which is what boat building is all about. "There's a tremendous amount of money tied up in the boats in the harbor, and if they cut off this area as a resource area for builders, there won't be anywhere for people to maintain their boats. The Town should make sure they don't ex- clude repair and maintenance facilities for the sake of neatness of parkland." BURNS BOAT YARD Boats bulit to suit special needs Enthusiasm and determination are the key requirements of a boat builder, according to Neil Burns of Burns Boat Yard, the multifaceted business at the end of Brock St. S. "For me, it was just a matter of doing it rather than going to school for formal training," says Burns, 31. "You just need a willingness to listen, weed out bad advice from good, and apply it." Burns applies his boat building expertise to the construction of smaller, wooden boats, usually un- der 20 feet, which are used primarily by fishermen and duck hunters. Customers are shown stock designs for certain types of smaller boats from which they can make their choice. "If we've got what they want, fine, but if they want something dif- ferent, we will modify the stock design to their liking." Burns says customers may want something "very bizarre, which may not be possible, but the plans can usually be altered to suit the needs of the customer like a refrigerator on board." Besides building boats for customer orders, Burns will also share parts of the boatyard with private builders who need building space. Presently, a 50-foot catamaran is under construction on the yard, and is undergoing the finishing touches on what was an eight-year project. Between building and 'fixing people's boats after they do terrible things to them," Burns finds time to run the Whitby Sailing School, which was purchased by his father, Hugh Burns in 1974. Two 15-foot Siroccos are used to teach begin- ners the art of sailing. Humber CQllege, and Sir Sanford Fleming College are two learning establishments where different Sail school held for beginners areas of boat building and the in- dustry in general are taught, ac- cording to Burns, but the programs were not available to him at the time. "Because the boats are smaller, they are much easier to manoeuvre," explains Burns. "It's like handling a sports car instead of a Cadillac. These boats also let beginners make mistakes without getting wet, and they inspire con- fidence. You're not going to learn if you're scared stiff." All of the sailing lessons take place within the harbor because it is safer, and "there is lots of traffic. So they have to practice their manoeuvring skills." The sailing program consists of eight three-hour lessons, and last over a period of one month. Three students and one instructor man the boats during the lesson. "How good they become depends on how much they sail," says Hugh Burns of the students. "And we Safety guidelines FROM TRAVELERS CANADA regulations, if permanentty fitt( Summer boating weekends can Langer vessets, depending up quickly turn to disaster if certain their size, require additioi safety guidelines are not followed, equipment. according to Staff Sergeant Larry Boats must also fottow sensit Smith of the Ontario Provincial safety guidelines when on t Police's Traffic and Marine Sec- water. They should tearn the Int tion. national Collision Regulatio: "Last year alone, more than 55 availabte in any governmE people died in boating accidents in bookstore; be considerate of oU Ontario. Tragically, many of these boaters, especially smaller cra deaths were preventable," said and pay attention to weath Smith. forecasts. A dangerous storm c Even the smallest boat owners brew in a very short time. and operators must follow "Even when the weatber is fir Canadian Coast Guard regulations boaters should let someone kn and carry at least one life jacket or where tbey are going, who is approved personal flotation device board, when they plan to retu per passenger, two paddles or oars and gîve a good description of th with rowlocks, one hand-held bailer vessel," said Lee Anne Wright or manual pump, some type of tbe Canadian Coast Guard's Sear sound signally device and lights and Rescue Prevention Dep that compty witb current tment. "That way, sear erss don't stand for no horsin' around when it comes to safety !" Neil Burns' interest in sailing developed when he was eight and was allowed to sail his uncle's "cedar-strip canoe with a sail on it." Then, in order to keep his own boats afloat, he had to fix them himself, and thus learned boat repair. "It progressed into me wanting to build, and when my dad retired, we just decided to put our heads together and go to it", says Burns who bought the boat yard about a year and a half ago. Burns says at the moment, the maintenance of the boat yard is taking precedence over the sailing school, but "hopefully we will ex- pand, and get the sailing school going full force next year." Within the actual store, Burns carries a variety of tackle, mainly for salmon fishing because of the popularity of the fish in Lake On- tario. ".We just carry a basic selection so guys can just come in, grab something, and go." Burns Boat Yard is a popular spot for local fishermer, the only Whitby weigh station for the two salmon derbies that are currently underway. for boat owners ed. pon nal ble the er- ns, ent her ft; her can ne, low on rn, eir of ch ar- will know where to search and who to look for in case of an emergency. And should the boat capsize, boaters must always stay with the craft," she added. Before travelling in unfamiliar waters, Wright recommends boaters familiarize themselves with the area. They can do that by purchasing a, chart of the area or speaking with local mariners who can "usually describe the local water currents, shoals, buoy locations and water regulations," she added. Swimmers must also participate in boating safety. According to Leo MacKinnon, director of the proper- ty-casulaty claim department of Travelers Canada, "Many of our :laims involve accidents in which swimmers have been struck by boaters. Swimmers should stay close to shore and swim in protec- ted areas to avoid being hit." Safety boating courses are of- fered in Ontario by the Ontario Sailing Association, the Ontario Safety League, Canoe Ontario and nationally by the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, the Canadian Yachting Association, the Canadian Red Cross and the Royal Life Saving Society of Canada. Ontario's Ministry of natural Resources provides direction and information about boating safety. For further information, write to them at the .Ministry of Natural Resources Public Information Cen- tre, Room 1640, Whitney Block, 99 Wellesley Street West, Toronto. On- tario, M7A 1W3. WILLIE WALKER (r), who operates Whitby, looks over a project with em- the Walker boat yard off Harbor St. in ployee Doug McGrath. Free Press photo