Applebee 27  'Helen Back '     Welcome to our Blog  -  Building an Outboard  Trawler 

January 24th, 2023 I wanted to write this yesterday but I fell asleep. This is our first experience with 'stitch-and-glue' boatbuilding. ...

January 22, 2023 We left the bottom panel and the two bilge panels in 'traction' overnight, coaxing them into shape. This morning I got...

January 17th 2023: We received the dinghy plans (download) on Friday. After examining the plans, we made a final decision to go ahead...

Tarp and Cradle: There was no wind at all on Sunday, even out on the peninsula, and the temperature got way up there near 20C (68F). It...

Winter Preparations Continue: I made this thin cover for the motorwell out of cheap 'doorskin' plywood. In an effort to make it last,...

This is a shot of our homeward bound trip on our last outing of the year (Saturday). And this is the shot of our completed installation...

Finishing the interior is a real slow process but things are moving along quite well. Here's the starboard side grab handle bulkhead all...

I was out of town for a week and mainly spent my time helping myself to Mom's meals, wine, deserts and snacks. Got to visit with Gerry...

Last Day of Spring. Tomorrow, the days start to get shorter again :( We played a set at the open mic event Thursday and Neil joined us...

We took a drive out to Oakville to visit Mom on her birthday (June 9th - which happens to be Lynda's birthday too) and we stayed a couple...

What a Day! It was flat calm all day and we took 'Helen Back' out for a trip over to Smiths Island. But that's not all. . . . Before...

Flashback! 43 years ago today, Donna and I were married. Yeah, I know eh? June 2nd, 1979 It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day. Left to...

Boat Work: It was the nicest day! Very warm on shore but on the boat, with the breeze blowing in from the river, the temperature was...

May 15th, 2022: I know, it's old news. But it's such great news! Here she is, sparkling in the morning sun on Saturday in slip #57. Rain...

As promised in our previous blog post, here are the neat shots that Ron took with his drone camera. Thanks Ron! But wait! That's not all....

It has been four exciting days. After launching the boat on Tuesday, we needed to remove all of our 'boat building' paraphernalia; the...

Happy Birthday Brian Applebee! Donna taking a break after we worked hard to prepare the boat for launch. Leaving the shelter for the last...

Flashbacks: May 1992: We set out on a cross-Canada motorhome trip; Mom, Dad, Michael (4yrs old) Donna, me and our dog 'Captain'. May...

Launch Date Set! We are scheduled to launch on May 10th at 1:00pm. Needless to say we will be re-arranging our work schedule to ensure...

Just back from a week's visit with Mom. It was a great week. We solved most of the world's problems and I think we shared a bit more...