By Bruce S. Kershaw

                             Kevin Kelly

     I believe that this pretty little lady qualifies as the youngest member of the BYYB! Congratulations to Kevin and Anne Kelly, on the birth of their first child, Michelle, born April 6th, 2000. Michelle’s daddy is building a Vacationer. He has been taking his time over the last year and a half or so, working on it when he wants to, and he is really enjoying himself. For now, being a new father has put the boat on the back burner.
    Kevin has a permanent shop set up in the basement of his North Gower, Ontario home, where he works on the smaller parts during the cold, Canadian winters. He says his wife, Anne has given him "an incredible amount of support in this project". He tries to involve her in building things that she wants, and has shown her how to use the tools. This has given her a better understanding when... (pay attention guys) it comes time to buy that next tool. He says he tries to keep to the basics, but good quality is important. In the spring, boat parts and hand tools move up to the garage where the boat is coming together.
     We should be seeing a web site from Kevin some time soon. Designing web sites is what he does for a living. It’s understandable that he has better things to do with his free time, but he has hinted that one is in the works.
     North Gower, according to Kevin, Is just south of Ottawa, Ontario, and is not lacking in nearby places to sail. He is ten minutes from the "historic and beautiful" Rideau Canal, thirty minutes from the Rideau Lakes, thirty minutes from the Ottawa River, where there is a large sailing community, and two and a half hours from the Thousand Islands. Two hours away, is his family’s cottage.
     Kevin’s interest in sailing began at the cottage, years ago, when his father bought a windsurfer. After several tries, he finally figured it out. Except for a sore back, and being stuck in the middle of the lake once when the wind died, he really enjoyed it. Next came the CL-14. A fourteen foot, Canadian made, Bermuda rigged, centerboard daysailer.
     Because of his family, he decided he wanted a bigger, more stable boat. He fell in love with the Vacationer. Some of the things that attracted Kevin to the Vacationer are it’s ease in trailering and launching, it’s stability, and the fact that it will really stand out from all the "Tupperware" boats floating around at the marina. It has room for his family, and he will also appreciate having the cabin, because along with day-sailing, he is very interested in trying a few trips. This is not his first boat building project, but so far, it is his largest. He took a college course on building a cedar strip canoe, and helped his father build a fourteen foot, wooden skiff.
     As with most of us, Kevin is doing a few things to personalize his boat. For better access and drier butts, he’s going with slatted, top entry cockpit seats. He’s making another modification that I find very interesting. In place of the gooseneck, his boom will have jaws that fit around the mast, much like those on the gaff. When the sail is raised, the boom is held down by a downhaul. While at rest, the jaws sit on a small "shelf" that wraps around the mast. According to Kevin, most traditional gaffers were set up this way. So he figured he’d give it a try. Other things in the works are, custom dacron sails, built to his design, with reef points, hand sewn grommets, and all the goodies. In the cabin, the plans are for a collapsible bench seat, that turns into a bed.
     Besides helping out with his new daughter, the rest of Kevin’s free time is taken up with the usual home repairs and renovations, and helping out with the vegetable garden. He also likes to do a little cooking. Especially when it involves the barbecue, or his smoker. Along with sailing, he enjoys swimming and fishing at the cottage, and running his Brittany Spaniel, Pepper, in the bush. It seems Pepper is also teaching him how to loft boat parts.
     Personally, I believe all of the best things that I was exposed to as a child, involved water. Fishing, swimming, boating... I know of one little girl, who is going to grow up with many pleasant memories.

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