Here’s a look at the damage:

We cut out the interior floor above the core and then removed the damaged core without touching the hull exterior.

Once that was done its a relatively simple procedure to remove the old core, install new core and laminate a new interior floor.

Finally the exterior is patched and repaired, ready for another 15 years of service.

Of course every repair is different and the cost depends on complexity. This example cost about $1000, but most of that was covered by the owner’s insurance.

It’s always best to prevent damage in the first place by protecting it from the weather, but one of the good things about the way we craft our fiberglass hulls is that they are very repairable!

A 12′ Point Defiance owner, Steve H., came by to say hello, and also sent us a photo of his family enjoying their boat at Prideaux Haven in Desolation Sound, BC.

We also heard from Jim and Rosi, who are enjoying their Whitehall at Heron Lake, NW New Mexico (rare to see one of our boats in those parts)!  Here’s a snippet from their report:

Greetings…

We had ordered the boat in May and were on a waiting list with Gig Harbor Boat Works … and the sleek rowing hull, christened LIL’ BELLE, was certainly worth the wait. We only ordered one set of 8′ oars, but surprising, with the well designed sliding bench, Rosi finds rowing easier on her back and so we can take turns. We also had the boat equipped with sailing option and it arrived complete with everything we needed to sail on Navajo Lake including mast head windfly. Rosi was going to build the cover,but for lack of good sewing machine and space on the NuVee, we had that made in WA and delivered with the boat to CO. We were both impressed with the design and materials; all the “stuff” fits under cover while trailering.

On a day with brisk wind here on Heron we learned there was no room for our recent lack of smallboat sailing skills; e.g. tacking with main sheet cleated and failure to lock down the daggerboard. After the capsize,we searched the mud bottom thru 18′ of water for a full week. As Yvonne suggested at the outset, writing the check and having a new carbon fiber board shipped to Santa Fe was painless and much quicker. Co-incidentally Marcia Yahn (Madison) was visiting with her cousin, Jennifer, and Abad brought the board with them to visit us at campsite under Georgia O’Keefe’s CERRO PEDERNAL on Abiquiu Lake three days after our call to Dave in Gig Harbor.

…With Fall rains and cooler nites here in the “High Country”, the new (to us), empty house in LaBelle FL beckons. So we look 4ward to rowing in the Caloosahatchee River/Okeechobee Waterway.

…Alles Gouda (ALL THE BEST) and no hurricane troubles from (CHEESEHEADS)

jim and rosi

Next we’ve got a beautiful photo (thanks, Molly!) of another Whitehall out for a row in Auke Bay last summer:

That’s all for now – as always, we invite you to share your photos with us! We love to see them!

Come check out our sleek Melonseed sailboat!

Our little fleet can be found in the West Exhibition Hall

The Seattle Boat Show is well underway and we are glad to report that it is going very well! There’s a completely different “vibe” around boating than we’ve experienced in the past couple of years.

It’s no secret that companies like ours are the economic canaries in the coal mine… Boatbuilders are the first to cough when the economic atmosphere gets grim, and the first to hear the canary chirp when things turn for the better. Well, the canary is singing a sweet song now!  Chirp, chirp!

During the shows the past few years staffing the exhibit hasn’t been much fun… People were interested in looking but were too worried about the future to allow themselves to dream. But this year, the fun is back! People have been involved in the discussions, planning, laughing, dreaming and yes, ordering boats. The backlog of orders is growing by the day so if you are dreaming about adventures in a Gig Harbor boat, now is the time to make your move.  The show runs through 4pm on Sunday – if you’ve been thinking about coming to take a look it’s well worth your time.  Visit www.seattleboatshow.com for information and tickets.

One other quick thought:

One the reasons why we enjoy the shows is because it is kind of a family reunion. Lots of folks come by to tell us about their experiences in their Gig Harbor boat. We get a wide range of reports. Everything from a young child’s first row from the home beach to (get this) one of our smaller tenders going on deck of yacht to antarctica. We’ll be posting some pictures and more stories later.

(Apologies for the camera phone photos – not having time to take some pro pictures of the booth is a good problem for us to have!)

Pricing and option details

Let us know if you’re interested in this or any of our other Available Now boats!

Next up on our list of available demo models is a 12′ Point Defiance Sailboat!

This is a brand new boat, built specifically for the Portland, Oregon boatshow. We have another Point Defiance for the Seattle show so this one is available for sale at a nice discount.

Pricing and option details

Let us know if you’d like more information!