Boatbuilder Eric Renshaw tries out Adventurer 16 prototype in icy Saginaw River. Custom Wooden Boatbuilder Launches Rowing Livery in Saginaw River
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Eric Renshaw is a custom boat building craftsman with a vision which may transform the old Cass Avenue Bridge area of Bay City into a center of activity for water lovers, sportsmen and sportswomen.
"This is great, I'm in love with it," he enthused as he floated a 16-foot Adventurer prototype fishing/camping boat in the Saginaw River at Cass Avenue on Friday, March 21.
The river ice had barely cleared enough for Renshaw to get his boat trailer down the new launch, bumping over a little shore ice still resisting the sun on the first day of spring.
"Look at how nice she rides on the water," exclaims Renshaw. The boat rides so much in trim that the bow and stern are almost fully on top of the water. It draws only inches and skims across the surface with the slightest effort on the oars.
Renshaw, 40, of Montrose, is opening a rowing livery in the Saginaw River near his shop in an old brick building which once housed the Eddy Shipbuilding Co. A main advantage of the livery is that a new Cass Avenue boat launch has recently been completed and placed into service by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The launch is next to the shop of Renshaw's Traditional Marine Services.
Water lovers who want to rent a hand-crafted fiberglass composite boat, which can be propelled either by oars or a small outboard engine, may do so by appointment this spring and summer. By next year Renshaw hopes to have enough boats and staff to have regularly-scheduled hours for boat rentals on the river if demand warrants.
Involved in the marine industry as a crewman on commercial fishing boats since he was 19, Renshaw gradually developed his boatbuilding skills by restoring dozens of Chris Craft and other wooden power boats and wooden sail boats.
He started Prestige Wooden Yachts in a garage and moved the company to Bay City on a $5,000 budget. Traditional Marine Services is a new company formed to build and sell a line of handcrafted fishing boats. Renshaw has plansfor a series of Great Lakes fishing boats in 20, 26 and 32 foot lengths as well as a 20 foot Adventurer along with the recently launched 16-foot model. The Adverturer also will be developed as a sailing craft.
This determined young craftsman produced his latest 16-foot long masterpiece in a couple months from scratch using fiberglass composite and Gougeon Brothers West System(R) epoxy."I've never seen one like it," he says of his original concept and design. The Adventurer is designed with ten slots for moveable rowing chocks, moveable seats placed on copper rails, and a tent for camping and protection from the weather. Wooden slats resting on the seats provide a sleeping area under the tent. Renshaw plans to camp out for a weekend soon to try out the new boat.
The Adventurer weighs only 150 pounds and can easily be trailered, loaded on a truck bed or lashed on top of a vehicle. It is constructed of a laminate core with fiberglass and epoxy. The bottom is a half inch laminate layered top and bottom over one inch Dow "blue board" plastic foam. Renshaw says the foam absorbs the shock so well that he feels it would float even if the outer core was punctured.
The GL series of center console fishing boats will be fully rigged and ready for fishing. "They are extremely strong and are designed to handle the rough waters of the Great Lakes, giving fishermen a stable platform to pursue their sport," says Renshaw.
"These boats are unique in construction as a production model," Renshaw adds. "By using a laminate core and hand laid fiberglass with the West System(R)epoxy, we achieve a higher weight-to-strength ratio and eliminate water seepage and gel coat blisters that plague other fiberglass hulls. Other manufacturers use inferior resins like ester and polyester which allow water to seep into core materials causing delamination and gelcoat blisters."The long range goal of Renshaw's 10-year business plan is to develop the Wooden Boat Basin, a small marine exclusively for wooden boats, and the American Heritage Boat Sales and Museum on the site, which has 1,000 feet on the river. The property is owned by Brennan Realty, former owners of Brennan Marine Sales.
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