April 1, 2026

Hello Fellow members,

I can’t believe it’s April already! All the blooming trees and shrubs are nature’s eye candy for me. It even looks like the pollen is in its last throes so I can start removing the yellow stuff on all my outdoor things and get the boats cleaned up.

We had a few things going on in March, chief among them was the workshop we had at Cape Fear Community College. There were 25 in attendance, including chapter members and CFCC students. We were honored to have Gary Lowell form Lowell Boats lead the workshop. We also got to meet Matthew Majewski, the new wooden boat building instructor at the college. And of course, our own John Olsen was key in making sure that the classrooms were set up as well as keeping us from running too far afoul due to the road closures due to the St Patty’s Day parade. Mike Loch organized the lunch arrangements and Judy Hills took care of the drinks and snacks. We were fortunate to have an old 13’ Lyman available to practice the art of steam bending on. Gary talked us through the process, then we had lunch while the oak ribs were in the steam box. After lunch, Gary led a hands-on demonstration of getting the ribs out of the steam box and into the boat. While this was going on, Judy and Anne Marie Hartman went off on a Ladies Day adventure that saw them visit several of the many attractions in and around Wilmington.

ACBS HQ sent out an affiliation agreement to all chapters for us to sign off on. Our chapter board took issue with several of the paragraphs in this document and after discussion, decided that we would not sign off on it as presented. We notified HQ of our intent based on what we felt were unfair rules for the chapter to follow. In the end, we were able to sign the agreement which included an addendum that aligned with our concerns.

Oh, I almost forgot! There was some kind of big deal boat show in Florida this week. From what I heard, Sunnyland chapter provided everyone with one fantastic show as well as St. Johns River cruises before and after the show. Our chapter had several members participate and they sent in a bunch of photos short reports. Unfortunately, there isn’t space to include them in this issue of the newsletter so look for that next month.

In closing, I would hope that you can enjoy the warmer weather on your boat; either riding in it or working on it. Also, the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort is having their show May 4^th. Signup starts April 1^st and I hope our members will support this long running show and plan to participate. Click here.

Yours in classic boating, 

Yours in classic boating,   
Alan Hills, President