WBA Meeting Minutes
October 18th, 2007
The October meeting of 2007 was called to order at 7:00PM by President David Kanally at the Midway Point Restaurant. Videos of the Pier 121 Event, the State Fair event and the SW ACBS Hill Country event prepared by David Kanally were shown. We then moved into reports:
Treasurer's Report - Phil Wolff: Treasury account balance is $2,630.34.
Membership Report – Mark Webster: Nothing to report.
Secretary's Report – Richard Haug: Nothing to report. Previous meeting minutes approved.
Vice President's Report - Bob Van Guilder: Nothing to report.
Project Reports – Robin McGeorge:
· Bob Adair has his Chrysler boat turned over is now “sanding and sanding” his hull.
· Jerry Foltyn continues to work towards finishing his Mercury project.
· Troy Marshal has his 17ft 1954 CC Sportsman in the shop and almost done. The engine started up with an old carburetor and runs just fine. The Hacker is next.
· Richard Haug’s 1962 Shepherd has had the engine pulled and is almost ready to be turned over.
· David Kanally’s sailboat is now afloat at Lake Grapevine. You could see some daylight through the sides so the process swelling up the boat meant bringing the water over the engine for 5 days. The seams have closed and the water has since been pumped out and appears to have caused no problems for the engine. The boat is now back in its slip.
Please see Robin McGeorge to discuss your potential project and scheduling shop time.
New Business/Updates/Events:
Classics on the Lake event on September 22nd at Pier 121 with the Classic Car Club: Because of last years summer heat the preference going forward will be to have it in September next year and that it should continue with the classic car club. It is a great venue and we had 16 boats for the event. We’ll be looking for more car attendance next year as Bill Mott has indicated he’ll help coordinate the event with us.
State Fair Event was October 8th. The Corral has moved. We had 6 boats in the Corral this year. We may want to consider moving to the weekend for more attendance which was the same sentiment expressed by the Classic Chassis Car Club.
Hill Country Show sponsored by the Southwest chapter of the ACBS was the weekend of October 12th. This was a new venue from last year and it was another great event. The Poker run on Friday allowed attendees to give their boat a good run as this is a river lake its length allows for a good 30 miles of running room. The Marina was actually closed for the season on Labor Day but they opened up limited facilities to accommodate the show. Please support the folks at Lake LBJ Marina if possible since it was their kindness to open back up for the event. Of note was that we didn’t have enough dock space as in the past and the venue seemed to be more private and therefore the foot traffic was low.
Annual WBA Holiday Party is scheduled for December 8th which is the second Saturday in December. The event will be hosted by the Kanally’s in Coppell and invitations and maps will be sent out in November. Please mark your calendars!
WBA Annual Installation Banquet: The event is scheduled for January 19th, 2008. Robin McGeorge has once again confirmed the venue at Canyon Creek Country Club. Please mark your calendars.
October Meeting Presentation: Mike Gomes and the History of Garwood boats.
Mike started with photos of his three Garwood boats and presented material on the total production numbers of Garwood boats including a few production distribution graphs. Total boat production was 3009 of which 188 were associated with WWII production and 675 were Ensigns. The largest production of boats occurred between 1946 and 1947. There currently are 299 registered ACBS Garwood owners and of that group, approximately 19% have 2 or more of them! Gar Wood was born in 1880 and was one of 13 siblings. Over his lifetime he filed for and was granted 100 patents. At the age of 31, Gar Wood filed his most successful patent for hydraulic lifts used primarily for coal deliveries. This set the financial stage for his boating adventures. In 1916 he bought out Chris Smith & Sons. In 1922 due to rule changes most notably against Gar Wood, the Gold Cup required a boat to be more gentlemanly and reduced the engine displacement which brought about the creation of his Baby Gar boats. He built in Marysville, MI what was regarded as one of the most efficient manufacturing plants of the time to make his boats. The timing for the facility to come on line was unfortunate as it opened 3 months prior to the stock market crash. Gar Wood introduced the “Trophy Fleet” in 1939 prior to the War and then retired in 1945. The new Gar Wood Boats management hired Norman Bel Geddes to create a new look for the boats but it was to be short venture as the company ceased business in 1947. Mike showed us his collection of 35+ photos of various Gar Wood boats from a variety of shows. As Mike about his Speedster, Ensign or Utility sometime!
2008 Slate of WBA Officers:
It is the time again for the leadership to change for the WBA as David Kanally has come to the end of his 2 years of service as President. As WBA tradition goes, the Vice President moves into the President’s role which means Bob Van Guilder will be taking over for David as President. This leaves the Vice President’s position open which Mark Webster has expressed an interest in. This would leave Membership open. Phil Wolff has agreed to continue as Treasurer for 2008. Richard Haug will stay on as Secretary. Mark Webster describes the Membership role as primarily maintaining an Excel spreadsheet database and following up with and meeting the club membership.
Discussion was also had regarding recent comments from some of the members outside of the Dallas area about calling on them to help with projects. Robert Black and Dave Parker had expressed an interest in taking on a project. Perhaps the WBA might look at having a board of directors or a Advisory/Strategy Committee to work with Bob Van Guilder as he moves into the President’s role.
Upcoming Meeting Programs: Seb Borrello will be updating us on the all the activities this past season at the Antique and Classic Boat Museum in Clayton, NY.
With no further new business the meeting was then adjourned at 8:30PM.
The Wooden Boat Association of North Texas (WBA) assumes no responsibility for boat accidents occurring at scheduled events. Each boat owner/operator must assume all responsibility for the operation of his/her craft. Rides given to the general public are not encouraged and are the responsibility of the owner/operator and his passenger(s). The WBA has no direct affiliation with the shop in Lucas, Texas, and the WBA assumes no responsibility for any work, loss, or injury incurred there.