In August of 2017 the club was offered a 1954 cedar Strip Lakefield boat, the Seminole model. This offer was made by Phil and Lenore Anderson of Havelock, ON. They were given the boat by Ab Vass, son of Leonard Vass who bought the boat new from Lakefield Boats Limited. Before the boat was given to Phil and Lenore it spent its life on Clear Lake not very far from where it was built.
Often we get asked if an antique or classic boat found in an old barn, garage or field is worthwhile restoring and, if so, what it would take to complete that restoration. The club has accepted the boat from Phil and Lenore which they had been keeping in their back yard on wooden blocks under a tarp. Over the years the elements and snow load had taken their toll but we decided it would be perfect to use it for a restoration demonstration project. The idea is to fully restore one complete side of the boat from front to back and leave the other side just as it was at the start. We will also do the same with a similar vintage Johnson outboard motor that would have been on the boat when originally purchased. We also felt that we could do the same with a trailer as long as it was road worthy and could be restored to meet all of the required safety standards. We will fully document the restoration process and post photographs and a written description on our web site. When the boat is finished we will take it to public events to show people just what can be done and hopefully encourage them to undertake restoration projects of their own and get involved in the antique and classic boat community. The project team is comprised of Murray Parnell, Jeff Souch, Tim Jackson, Darryl Bissett and John Gullick with technical and historical assistance from Prior Smith, the club’s resident expert on Lakefield boats who has restored three Lakefield Seminoles. |
Here are photographs of the boat and motor as originally found:
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