Your Latest Bilge Pump

WBA member Katina Real has issued an invitation to all WBA members to attend the 2021 Cruisin' Lake Lewisville boat and car show at Pier 121 in Lewisville on Saturday, October 16. There will be both in-the-water and land displays.

This show is a great opportunity to enjoy classic cars and boats, and to get out on the water late in the season. Let Katina know if you can attend by sending her an email. This should be a good one!!

Oct. 8-10 LBJ Event Canceled

The Austin Hll Country Boat Show originally slated for October 8-9 at Horseshoe Bay on Lake LBJ has been canceled. Our Faithful Treasurer and host of the event, Scott Reichardt, suffered a badly broken leg in a bicycle accident, and will be recovering for the next several weeks at his Austin home.

Scott's injury will prevent him from coordinating and planning all of the activities at the marina, the club, and his lake home that comprise this gathering. We wish Scott strength and comfort during his recovery, and look forward to the day when he's up on his feet and we can get together on Lake LBJ again.

Emerson Presents Modern Finishing Options at August Meeting!

Jay Emerson brought us part two of his presentation on varnishing and finishing wooden boats at the August 19 meeting of the WBA. While part one, presented in July, dealt with traditional spar varnish techniques, this presentation featured more modern, two-part finishes like Imron and Awl Grip. Jay covered the pros and cons of each during his talk. You can watch Trey Bull's presentation summary video here.

Another highlight of the meeting was an informal talk by longtime member, Bill Kimball, who reminisced about the early days of the club and his own lifelong interest in boating, and especially wooden boating. Bill has been a pillar of the WBA organization almost since the beginning. Thanks to Jay and Bill for sharing their experiences!

Project Updates from the Lucas Palookas!

(Above) Ann Hallam gives a first coat of varnish to the birch veneer half-seat springs that will go under the front seat of her 1959 Yellow Jacket Trigger.

(Above) The half-seat springs are used under the seat bottoms of Yellow Jackets that have a fixed seat back, normally attached to a center deck in some models, including the Hallams' 1959 Trigger.

(Above) Bob Adair designed a two-piece clamping jig for the seat springs, using a 2" thick sandwich of medium density fiberboard (MDF) and 1/2" plywood. The layers are glued with West System epoxy and slow-cure hardener

(Above) Bill Mott and Robin McGeorge have just installed the aluminum trim strips on the side graphics area of the Nevada Yellow Jacket, which is a 1958 Riviera. Yellow Jacket and Riviera decals will follow.

(Above) Carl Lapiska, just returning from a trip to Mystic Seaport, vigorously scrapes the copper bottom paint from his Chris-Craft Super Sport with help from Ray Widmer.

(Above) Robin McGeorge marks off cutting lines on birch veneers at 2" intervals. After sanding, the Yellow Jacket seat springs are 1-7/8" wide. It takes 38 layers to make one spring.

(Above) Once the lamination is dry, a lap joint is cut to join the upper and lower sections of the seat spring. The lap joint is secured with epoxy thickened with adhesive fibers, and two brass machine screws.

(Above) Bill Mott and David Kanally attached the restored cutwater on the bow of the Nevada Yellow Jacket. Since this photo was taken, the bow eye has also been installed. (Carl Lapiska photo)

Next WBA Monthly Meeting September 16th, 2021. Zoom Only!

Our next meeting will be Thursday, September 16th at 7 p.m. Due to the recent surge in Covid infections and hospitalizations, we are compelled to have this meeting virtually. We will NOT be gathering at Two Guys for the September meeting. We'll be continuing our door prize tradition, giving out a classic boating book from collections donated by Pat Baldwin to a lucky winner.

Plus, we'll have a presentation of general interest to antique and classic boating enthusiasts.

The meeting will take place on line, 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 on 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: The Passing of Christie Nalle

We are saddened to share the news of the passing of Christie Nalle, following a 30-month battle with cancer. Christie was a friend of our club and a classic boating enthusiast from Austin. Many of us knew Christie from her celebrated role as "The Mermaid" each May at Keels & Wheels in Seabrook. Christie was in charge of welcoming all the boaters to the event, providing them with welcome packets and directing them to either the launch ramp or the land display area. She wore a blue and green dress very reminsicent of a mermaid costume, and brought enthusiasm and joy to the show. Her husband, Bill, was "Harbor One" on the radio, and Christie would let Bill know who had arrived and which boat they had brought. Christie was laid to rest this past Saturday at the Nalle Family Cemetery on Bunny Run, near Austin. Our sympathies are extended to Bill and the family. Please consider donations to the Helping Hand Home for Children Foundation, 3804 Avenue B, Austin, TX, 78751 or St. David’s Episcopal Church Foundation, 801 E. 8th St., Austin, TX 78701. Read Christie's obituary here.

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