A 1957, 15' 1/2 ft. Shepherd Junior

(owned by Doug & Bianca Barrett)

August 2007.....I found another nameless boat I wasn't looking for! Well, I met a neighbour at our cottage on Little Boshkung Lake and found we had an aquaintance from Sarnia as they are both pilots for Air Canada. We got chatting and I turned the topic to wooden boats and of course began to tell him the story about mine ("Privateer"). Well he told me he had also purchased a cedar strip recently from a man who lived near the Stanhope Airport east of Carnarvan. He also told me the gentleman had other wooden boats, not just the cedar strip...one even had two cockpits. Well, my head was spinning madly and I decided I'd better just have a quick look to see what he had. I obtained directions and drove to his house the first thing in the morning.

I found the house and the gentleman...Keith Burns. As it turns out the boat I was looking for was already gone to someone in Cobourg. So, we chatted about boats and I told him my connection to the TSACBA and he told me about his connections with Dwight Boyd (Clarion Boats) from years back. I was about ready to leave and Keith advised me....well, he does have one boat I might be interested in. We proceeded to the back yard which happened to have a river running through it....with a dock on the river...and a boat at the dock. It was a 1957 Shepherd Junior.

He had had it for quite some time but was getting to where he couldn't give it the attention it needed so it was time to part ways.....I guess I must have seemed like a good person to pass it on to. We discussed price and what he would like to get and I had to see if I could clear with my bank Manager, Bianca. A few weeks passed and I finally called Keith and we settled the deal for the Shepherd, 40hp Johnson and the trailer. A few weeks later Bianca and I drove up to pick it up...on the weekend in November just days before it snowed!

This boat is useable though it is in need of some TLC but that is not going to happen quickly. The seats had been done by the Truax's (Ship n Shore Canvas) so they are in fine condition. I've spent many hours on my first boat so I'm looking for a hiatus to relax, use the boat(s) and play golf again. So, stay tuned and drop back every once in a while to have a look....but don't expect movement for about two years.......

For more information on this boat, you can contact the webmaster (remove "no spam" before sending email!!)