Complete with a Project Update from Robin's Nest!
October, 2025

Event-Filled October Begins Now!

This Saturday, October 4, Yellow Jackets galore will be on display along Main Street in Denison, TX, as part of the community's Fall Fest. It's the biggest event of the season in Yellow Jacket country, and makes a great outing. Several WBA Yellow Jacket owners will have their Yellow Jackets on display.

Be like John Ables and attend as many boat shows and rendezvous as you can! October is the perfect month for boating with your WBA and SWACBS buds!

 

 

October 10-12 brings the party to Lake LBJ for the annual Austin Hill Country Boat Show at Horseshoe Bay. Finalize your lodging arrangements now. Horseshoe Bay Resort (877-611-0112) is offering a 25% discount on room rates for our Boat Exhibitors. Itinerary here.  Download Registration Form here.

October 18 is Cruisin' Lewisville Lake at Pier 121 Marina. Be like Phil Wolff here, and bring your boat out to show and ride! Online registration here!

Port Aransas Show Rounds Out the Month, Oct. 24-26!

The Port Aransas Wooden Boat Festival, October 24-26, 2025, is an annual three-day family friendly event that features handcrafted kayaks, paddleboards, skiffs and sailing boats — as well as historic Farley boats.

 

 

The Festival was created by the staff and volunteers at Farley Boat Works eleven years ago to provide a venue for showcasing the fine craft of wooden boat building. The Festival celebrates a heritage that started locally in 1915 when the Farley brothers began making some of the first production fishing boats in the US right here in Port Aransas. The Farleys closed their doors in 1975.  In 2011, The Port Aransas Preservation and Historical Association (PAPHA) purchased their last location. After retooling the machine shop, PAPHA gathered and trained a group of volunteers and manager to restart the tradition of building boats on the island.This festival celebrates the success of Farley Boat Works (about 120 boats have been built there since it reopened) along with other wooden boats built and designed by individuals and kit companies from across the country. We encourage WBA members to participate!
Pat Baldwin Presents Lawson Center Update at September Meeting

 

 

The September 18th meeting of the WBA was held on Zoom and at Two Guys from Italy in Dallas. The meeting minutes have been emailed to members. The program was provided by Pat Baldwin, who spends her summers in Bemus Point, NY, home of the Lawson Center for Boating Heritage (TLC). The Lawson Center, where the Lawson family had operated a marina and auto repair business since 1918, is now a beautiful maritime museum, restoration shop and event venue. operated by a non-profit organization. Pat serves on the Board of Trustees of TLC, and has been deeply involved in its development since its founding in 2010. Thanks to the vision of its founders, the generosity of its investors, and the continued support of its members, volunteers and contributors, TLC continues to thrive. Thanks, for an informative presentation, Pat! Video here!
Project Updates from the Robin McGeorge Boat Shop!

(Above) Alan Oppenheimer and Pat Vinson's 1957 Yellow Jacket Riviera is puttin' on the shine after wet sanding and buffing.

(Above) Chris McKeehan pays a visit to the upholstery shop where the seats, side panels and engine box are getting original-style 1959 Continental treatment.

(Above) Carl Lapiska applies stain to the foredeck of his 1964 Chris-Craft Super Sport. He'll even out the color with a second coat to the lighter planks next.

(Above) Phil Wolff, with help from Jim Wolfe, Rhett Yeary, Jim Donovan, John Ables and Richard Wolff, has fitted all the new planks to the bottom of his Century Coronado.

(Above) Mark and Chris McKeehan remove deck hardware from the newest addition to the Robin McGeorge Boat Shop...a rare, 1955 Yellow Jacket Capri, donated by WBA member Danny Beaver.

(Above) The red side graphics and decals are on the Yellow Jacket. The repro decals are available through a provider in Ohio. If you need some, let us know.

(Above) Mark McKeehan sands the interior trim pieces for the Continental. They are now ready for their final coat of varnish.

(Above) After the first coat of stain, Carl found that some planks stained darker than others. By the time he's through, he'll have a nice, even tone across the deck.

(Above) David Kanally and Gordon Spriggs have begun wet sanding the deck of Gordon's Glen-L barrel back. Seam filling and buffing next!

(Above) Joel Odom begins stripping the old bottom paint from the Yellow Jacket. Dark green is the standard color for the 1955 model year. This is a great project for you to get involved in. Join us at the shop!

Next Meeting October 16th, Featuring Denison, LBJ Updates. Don't Miss It!

boatOur next meeting will be Thursday, October 16th, at 7 p.m. at Two Guys From Italy in Dallas. Come at 5:30 and join us for the pre-meeting dinner. You'll receive an email reminder for the meeting a few days prior. We'll be continuing our door prize tradition, giving out an e-book, or print book of the lucky winner's choice, or a complimentary design of a boat show placard. Our presentation this month will feature video updates from the Yellow Jacket display at the Denison Fall Fest and the Lake LBJ show. We're sure you'll enjoy these videos!

If you can't join in person, you'll be using the Zoom application for your cell phone or your home computer. To make things easier at meeting time, it would be a good idea for you to go to your normal smart phone app store to download Zoom Cloud Meetings, or go to Zoom.us on your home computer and sign up. Prior to the meeting, you will be sent an email with a link to join the meeting, and further instructions. Those who wait to download Zoom will also receive a link to do that just before the meeting starts. If you are among those who need a few attempts to be successful with technology, you may want to get the downloading taken care of ahead of time.

Our meetings are a great opportunity to socialize with fellow WBA members and to talk shop on questions about everything from paint and varnish to carburetor kits. Please join us on Zoom to be a part of our monthly fellowship!

Shop Talk and Musings: Event Participation Energizes the WBA!

You are cordially invited to attend any or all of the events this month. Whether you bring a boat or not, the WBA events give you a chance to see beautifully retored boats, and more importantly, to spend time with fellow WBA members and friends, enjoying this wonderful hobby. Our events reveal our hard work to the general public, and provide an opportunity for hearing their own stories about old boats. And more often than not, we wind up with a new member or two following our events. Your support and participation add to the energy that fuels our continued success!

And finally, please take a look in the shed or garage for leftover parts or other salable items you would like to donate to the Club. Contact David Kanally at david@historywithheart.com for more info.