April Tools Wooden Boat Challenge | Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society

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APRIL TOOLS WOODEN BOAT CHALLENGE 2016

And the winner is:
Gunboat Bay Challengers!

Gunboat Bay Challengers Kira & Trina M'Lot piloting their coracle at the start of the final race! April Tools 2016

Coracles??!

It couldn’t have been a more beautiful day for the 15th annual April Tools and the crowd attendance reflected it. Everyone not only had a chance to bask in the sun, but they also got to learn about coracles! They even got to see some of them float! Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for all teams of basket boat builders as some coracles seemed to disintegrate on contact with water.

For the uninitiated, coracles are usually constructed from bent saplings with skins stretched over them, and are probably the most ancient type of boat, after the dugout. Translated into April Tools, that means they are made with thin strips of doorskin bound with waxed string and covered in poly secured with duct tape!

Bending the moistened strips with the aid of a propane torch seemed to be the crux move. Too sharp an angle and they would snap if weighted (like say with a paddler…). Too shallow an angle and not much freeboard! The instability and tendency to go in circles seriously tested the core strength of some paddlers, while others looked like they had been doing it for years. Squeezing 2 paddlers into these little boats seemed to really help some teams.

Coming in First Place this year was Gunboat Bay Challenger piloted by Kira and Trina M’Lot in a very respectable looking coracle. Taking Second were long time participants Cheap Oars, with Third going to Persephone who managed that feat with single paddlers.

A little ballot box stuffing allowed BC Fairies to take the Spiffy Skiffy trophy and, although there were a number of good choices, The Salty Dogs came away with the Broken Paddle award.

The teens did not disappoint, and Ace-It Carpentry will have their name on the “Big saw” trophy this year. The Fun Race is of course a chance for retribution, and Ace-It had their boat dumped by a gang of Pender boaters. Actually, everyone had their boat dumped…

Adult teams final standings
Youth teams final standings

Kids made miniboats until all 126 of the wood hulls were gone, plus a whole lot of foam ones went home with the little ones. Rotary fed us giant hamburgers and all the sweets were gone by days’ end.

What a day! Coracles!

Thank you to everyone who came out and enjoyed the day, the teams, our wonderful volunteers, and our sponsors!

More photos and video coming soon!

See you on
April 29, 2017!

Location

Situated on the shore of spectacular Pender Harbour, Madeira Park is a jewel of the Sunshine Coast. With only a ferry ride and a scenic one hour drive north, it is easily accessible from both Vancouver and the lower mainland. View our location on Google Maps.

What happens on Event Day:

The day begins at 10AM with the reveal of the 'twist' and the first view of the building materials.
Building from the materials provided (only hand tools and cordless screw guns allowed!) begins at 11AM and continues until 2PM.
At 2pm, the high school teams have their trophy race and free-for-all, while the tired builders take a much-needed break.
Adult races follow and who knows how it will all turn out? Sink or swim? Will they even get all the way around the course? Can anyone beat the Garden Bay Firefighters?? Upsets (of all kinds...) can happen!

Family Fun

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