Grace and Speed Boathouse

The Grace & Speed Boathouse is a wonderful way to see beautiful boats up close

View up to 20 wooden boats in the water

Celebrate the 11 wooden boat builders of the Muskoka area of 80 years ago

Visit often as the boats change frequently

Learn the history of each boat and its unique lines and engine

Admire the many, many, many coats of varnish on the boats

Boat Builders of Muskoka

Disappearing Propeller Boat Company
In 1914 W.J. Johnston Jr. (Young Billy), while working as manager of his Uncle’s Port Sandfield Rowboat Livery, was introduced to the concept of the disappearing propeller by a local engineer.  Young Billy saw how the idea could be used in a rowboat with a newly available, light weight, gasoline engine.  The critical “Device” allowed the propeller to be cranked up into a housing in the bottom of the boat out of danger from rocks or deadheads.
In 1915 the first Disappearing Propeller Boat was constructed in Uncle Billy’s boat shop in Port Carling.  The boat was promoted as “The greatest little motor boat afloat”.  The little boat commonly known as Dispro or Dippy attracted investors in a new corporation and by 1920 they were selling quickly from Sales Offices in Toronto and Buffalo for $325.00 f.o.b. Port Carling.  Dippys were shipped to England, Ireland, France and Brazil.
The Port Carling plant failed in 1925 as a consequence of some unethical financial dealings by one of the principal investors.  The company was sold to Lindsay Boat Company and produced Dispros for 10 years before returning to Muskoka.  Greavette Boat Works of Gravenhurst purchased the assets of the company in 1936 building approximately 400 boats until 1956.  Over 40 years more than 3000 Disappearing Propeller Boats were built.

John Matheson
John Matheson emigrated from Scotland in 1884 and built boats in Toronto before moving to Port Carling in 1892.  He worked for W.J. Johnston Sr. (Uncle Billy) before opening his own shop in 1910 where Duke Marine is now located.  Matheson worked with one helper and built one launch up to 32’ long and 25 or more rowboats each year.
Matheson was a master boat builder who never used power tools.  He introduced electricity into his shop in 1912 for lighting only. 
Matheson sold the shop to Ernie Greavette in 1923; however he came out of retirement in 1927 and continued to build boats until 1934 at a workshop just north of the Port Carling locks.   

Duke Boats
C.J. (Charlie) Duke moved to Port Carling with his parents and brothers in 1896.  He worked in construction and in 1905 he built the original Town Hall in Port Carling.  From 1910 he pursued a boat building career, partnering initially with his brother Albert and later working for Ditchburn, and the Disappearing Propeller Boat Company.
In 1924 Duke partnered with Ernie Greavette who had purchased John Matheson’s shop.  Duke took over the shop in 1926 and with his son’s Claude and Audrey, and Daughter Alva created Duke Motor Service.  In 1931 the workshop burned to the ground along with most of the main street.  It was replaced with a very similar building.  
In 1933 the 18’ Duke Playmate was designed and became so popular that more than 150 were built.  The last Duke Boats were built in 1968.
The business was purchased in 1977 by Edward Skinner who continued to restore antique boats in the same workshop until 2010.  

Port Carling Boatworks
Following the collapse of the Disappearing Propeller Boat Company in 1925, W.J. Johnston Jr. (Billy) and a number of former employees formed The Port Carling Boatworks in 1926 at the site of the current Boatworks.  Their first boat was called the “Johnston Special”. 
The workshop was destroyed by fire in 1931 along with most of Port Carling’s business district, and was immediately reconstructed.  By focusing on lower priced boats, SeaBirDs continued to build large numbers of boats throughout the depression.
During the war Port Carling Boatworks built 25 foot motor cutters for the Royal Canadian Navy, and assisted in the building of 13 112’ Fairmiles at Midland, Ontario.
The last SeaBirDs were built in 1958.

W. J. Johnston Sr.
W.J. Johnston Sr. (Uncle Billy) arrived in Muskoka with his father and 4 brothers around 1865.  His father was appointed post master for Port Carling in 1868.  Johnston, with little experience in boat building, began building the first rowboats built in Muskoka under the Post Office.  He later built a house and shop on the river across from Duke’s present location.  By the mid 1870s Johnston had established rowboat sales and rental liveries in Port Sandfield and Windermere and eventually had a fleet of over 300 row boats for rent to tourists.
In 1892 he hired John Matheson, an experienced boat builder and in 1900 he hired his nephew W.J. Johnston Jr. (Young Billy).  In 1904 they built their first 27 foot long gasoline motorboats.
Uncle Billy granted his nephew a partnership in the booming livery business in 1910.  Johnston Senior retired in1917 and contributed his assets in return for shares in the newly formed Disappearing Propeller Boat Company which was to be run by Young Billy.  In his retirement he made spoon oars and puttered at the D.P. Boat Company.  

William J. Johnston Jr.
W.J. Johnston Jr. (Young Billy) started his Boat Building Career working for his Uncle, W.J. Johnston Sr.  He is credited with inventing the Disappearing Propeller Boat (Dippy) and was the factory manager for that company until 1926 when he and other Dippy factory employees formed Port Carling Boat Works.  In 1929 Johnston Jr. left SeaBirD and began his own business at the site of the old Dippy Factory. 
Johnston’s first boats looked very similar to SeaBirDs however he quickly developed styles that were uniquely his own.  His boats were known to be fast and smooth running.
Johnston built boats until 1956 when he retired at the age of 75. 

Ditchburn Boats
Henry Ditchburn, boat builder, arrived from England to start building boats at Rosseau in 1875.  In 1893 he moved to Gravenhurst.  Also, a building yard was found in Orillia for larger boats of more than 50 feet and there were depots and showroom in Montreal, Brockville, Toronto and many establishments on the Muskoka Lakes.
A new company was formed in 1907 with directors being Herbert Ditchburn, Henry’s nephew,   Alfred Ditchburn and Thomas Greavette.  They were situated beside Muskoka Wharf where the trains brought tourists from southern cities to the steamships and then the resorts of the Muskoka Lakes.  This company built mainly 16’ to 45’ specially ordered launches with very high quality workmanship. A fire consumed this factory in 1915 but it was rebuilt with a brick building on the same site. This production in Gravenhurst including many luxury launches ranging up to the 73’ boat called Kawandag II. Other famous boats include Dolly Durkin and the Rainbow series of race boats designed by George Crouch and built under the direction of Bert Hawker, plant superintendent. Production boats included standardized 36’, 31’, 27’ and 24’ models as well as the famous 27’ Vikings models with a step hull style.
The recession during the 1930s and lack of orders contributed to the demise of Ditchburn Boats on May 26, 1932.
A new company was formed about 10 months later called Ditchburn Boats and Yachting Co. Ltd.  Product included stock boats from 18 to 24 feet and funeral caskets.  This company was re-organized in 1936 as Ditchburn Boat and Aircraft Col (1936) Ltd. But the final closure was in the summer of 1938 when the bank called in a $10,000 loan.

Greavette Boats
Originally founded in July 1930 by Tom Greavette as Rainbow Craft Ltd., this company was known as one of the first boat builders in Canada to use the assembly line for production.  Herb Ditchburn who built the famous Rainbow series of race boats during the 1920s was very upset that Tom Greavette had named his new company Rainbow.  Tom eventually changed the name to Greavette Boats Ltd in 1932.
Initially, four stock boats with sawn frames were produced and adapted under license from Dart Boats of Toledo, Ohio.  Speedy production soon created a surplus of boats in a depressed market and the newly built production plant was closed for several months. A re-structuring of the Board of Directors now included E. A. Wilson of Ingersoll and a decision was made to change from production luxury boats to more economical boats which continued to sell well. John Hacker made an arrangement in 1933 to be the exclusive designer for Greavettes and the well known Streamliner design appeared in 1934.  This series included the well-known Curlew, a double ended streamliner.
In 1937, Douglas Van Patten, a well known naval architect, joined Greavettes and in response to a request from Tom Greavette designed a completely elliptical boat.  This style was produced from 1937 to 1966 in 22’ to 30’ sizes.
The rights to production of the Disappearing Propeller Boats came to Greavettes in 1936 and production continued until about 1956.
Other boats included “V” bottom lap strike, round chime boats, 30’ crash boats and Bomber Range vessels were produced along with parts for Fairmiles for the World War II efforts.
Tom Greveatte died in 1958 but business continued until 1962 directed by Tom’s daughter Lorraine and her husband Ron McNabb.  Then C.H. and J.D. Heintzman purchased the firm and Ron McNabb remained as manager
During the 1960s inboard outboards were introduced both single and twin screw.  Sunflash and Fireflash model gentleman’s racers with controls aft of the engine contributed to the ‘sporty’ look. 
Under the ownership of Bruce Wilson in 1972 wooden boats were still produced but he also introduced fiberglass hulls.  Manufactured by Currie Fiberglass Products of Bala, they were finished off with wooden decks by Greavettes.  These 18’ I’Os were handsome but proved too expensive to be competitive.   Bruce sold the Gravenhurst property to Robson’s Marina in 1978 and opened a new shop in Port Carling.  Profits were discouraging and he soon closed the business forever.  

Earl Barnes
Earl Barnes was talented in woodworking, clever regarding mechanical work and was also an accomplished boat designer.
Starting as an employee of Bert Minett, he struck out on his own in 1926 establishing a boat building shop on Slater Street in Bracebridge.  His early products were soon highly regarded for their quality.  He produced patterns for his own hardware designs including his trademark Indian head which rode proudly at the top of the cutwater on all his boats.  Upholstery was produced by Earl’s wife Gladys.  Hard chime hulls were introduced around 1930.  These sleek designs included one with a torpedo stern.  The shadow of the Depression caught up with this small company and the doors were closed in 1937.
Earl Barnes continued his designing, however, for Shepherd Boats, Chris Craft and for race boats in the USA for Ventura Company. For a short time he worked for Moffat Manufacturing Co. in Great Britain, cut with the outbreak of WW II in 1939, he returned to do design work for small vessels for the Canadian government.

J. W. Borneman and Company
Julius and Herman Bornemann started their boat building career on Sparrow Lake rowing and sailing skiffs for their uncle, Otto Roehl, owner of a tourist camp.  Eventually they joined the employees at Ditchburn Boats in Gravenhurst when that business was founded in the early 1900s. This was fortunate for them as they were learning the boat building trade from one of the best of the time.  The brothers went off on their own in 1909, building boats themselves in a boathouse on the shore of Gull Lake at the foot of Brock Street, Gravenhurst.  Starting with canoes and rowing skiffs, they eventually built some very fine launches and speed boats of their own design.  In 1924, they decided to close the business and become the Ford automobile agents in Gravenhurst.

Minett & Minett-Shields
H. C. Bert Minett was arguably the finest boat builder of his time in Muskoka.  Although there were only about 150 boats produced in a period from the late 1890s until the early 1950s, the fact that many still exist today is testament to their high quality.
Bert produced his first boats in a shed behind Cleveland’s House Hotel, Minett.  Some were powered by early make and break ignition engines.  Beginning in 1902, he built the 45 foot steam launch MIneta on a beach in front of the hotel.
After gaining valuable experience while working with John L. Hacker at Algonac Michigan and with Stevenson a well known sailboat designer in Boston, Bert returned to Muskoka in 1910 and formed the H. C. Minett Motor Boat Company in the old Hess Furniture Company at Bracebridge.
Until 1932 Minett produced boats from 28’ to 36’.  The factory was located at the top of the falls in Bracebridge and the boats were transferred by horse drawn wagons to the bottom of the falls for launching. One boat however, Rita by name, was 50’ long and was shipped by rail car to Gravenhurst for launching to avoid having to transfer the boat down the steep roads leading to the still waters of Muskoka River at the bottom of the falls.
IN 1912, Bert Hawker moved from Hamilton, where he had been producing drawings for Minett to work at the Bracebridge factory.  Around 1916, he joined the Canadian military forces.  He was demobilized after the war and joined Ditchburn Boats.
In 1923, Bert Minett moved his building shop to property close to the shores of Muskoka River below the Bracebridge Falls.  This gave much better access to water for launching of the larger boats. Unfortunately, the economy was poor at this time and bankruptcy soon closed the business.  Bryson Shields bought the business in 1925 and founded the Minett-Shields Co. Ltd.
The late 1920s saw much prosperity and the demand for quality and these expensive boats were high.  There was a revolution of design taking place with more powerful engines allowing far higher performance with planning hulls and front steering with more stylized design.  Owners of older displacement hulled boats were eager to trade in their traditional styled units on these new designs and business was good. This boom time saw as many as 15 boats a year produced ranging in size from 24’ to 36’.  The end came sadly in 1929 with the beginning of the Great Depression.
The 1920 were a real struggle in spite of the company putting emphasis more on luxury boats often sold through connections of Bryson Shield.  The shop was kept going by offering to modernize older styled boats.
Bert Minett once again became involved with the company and in 1934 arrangements were made to construct racing boats to designs by Vetnors, a well known U.S. race boats manufacturer. There was also success once again in luxury boats. In January 1940, Douglas Van Patten joined Minett-Shields.  Some pleasure boats were built before the company became involved in production boats for the Canadian government war effort.  The end came in 1948.

Clive Brown
Clive Brown built boats on McMurray Street in Bracebridge from 1914 until his death in 1959.  There were few boats in number, about 27 in total.  Clive worked by himself using some of his own designs or if customers requested it, he would use plans which were created by naval architects and supplied by his customers.
His clientele included many well known individuals including W. J. Mellon, Carl Borntraeger, Harvey Miller and the Brogans of Mortimer’s Point.
Nelson Davies had Rocket built in 1948, a stunning 22’ runabout.  This boat was a two year project and cruises the lakes today.