2024 Door County Maritime Museum Classic and Wooden Boat Festival - Part II

One of many weekend festivals and events on the peninsula is the Door County Maritime Museum Classic and Wooden Boat Festival.  We've been attending over many years as our schedule allows.  Most of the time hosting guests over the weekend.

A subset of the festival is the Sikaflex® Challenge Build-a-Boat Cup series. Sponsored by Sika at similar festivals every year these exciting competitions challenge contestants to design, build, and race small boats using plywood and lumber, zip ties, and fast-curing Sikaflex®-291 adhesive & sealant to keep their watercraft afloat.

This year was especially exciting as it was the first time we've attended where not a single boat disintegrated and sank in the bay.  One boat capsized at launch, the crowd howled for a Mulligan.  A relaunch was attempted to no avail - boat capsized.  

Disqualified!

We all agreed that 2024 not only brought the best selection of creatively-designed wooden boats; but some of the sturdiest and fastest marine engineering in memory.

Here are some selected photos and videos.....

2024 Door County Maritime Museum Classic and Wooden Boat Festival - Part I

This last weekend brought the return of the Door County Maritime Museum Classic and Wooden Boat Show.  Thirty-Three Years Running!

We had out-of town guests and made a weekend of it.  While the weather was hot and sunny there was a cooling lake breeze and refreshing food and adult beverages to be found both at the show and at Kitty O'Reilly's and Water Front Mary's .  There was even some single malt whiskey to sip in the evenings before bedtime.

Here are some pics of the classics.

Be sure to return this afternoon for pics of the Sikaflex Challenge Cup Boat Race....

Chug Chug Goes the Tug

From the Kahlenberg web site:

Established in 1895 as Kahlenberg Brothers Company, Kahlenberg Industries, Inc. has been continuously family owned and managed since its founding over a century ago.

The original three Kahlenberg brothers, Otto, William, and John, began by constructing small steam engines for marine and stationary work. From this early beginning the company expanded, eventually manufacturing and selling gasoline and diesel marine engines across the globe. During World War II, Kahlenberg was the recipient of the Army-Navy “E” (Excellence) Award as the company worked around the clock for the war effort. Engine manufacturing was discontinued in 1960.

William and Otto Kahlenberg opened a machine shop in Two Rivers, Wisconsin in 1895. The brothers installed their first gasoline motor in a fishing boat in 1897 with great success. The Kahlenberg gasoline engines were two-stoke make-and-break designs and quickly established a reputation of dependability and economy. Manufacturing was done using jigs and standardization to create easily interchangeable parts, a practice that was relatively new at the time.

In 1914 William began development of a hot-bulb or semi-diesel engine, the first of which was put to work in 1916.  A new line of semi-diesel engines was introduced in 1922.  It was this product family, referred to as the Kahlenberg Oil Engine, which led the company to tremendous success.  These two-stroke engines came in two, three or four cylinders with horsepower ranging from 20 to 200.  The Kahlenberg oil engine is largely responsible for eliminating sail and steam power in the Great Lakes commercial fishing industry due to outstanding reliability, speed and efficiency.  For many years there were more Kahlenberg-powered fishing vessels than all other types put together.  They remained the dominate engine power until the 1970’s when more modern high-speed diesels became widely adopted.

Kahlenberg remains in business today in other commercial marine segments including air horns, commercial propellers and low volume custom manufacturing.

 

 

Jimmy L

Recently I was walking along the dockyard while attending the Door County Maritime Museum Classic and Wooden Boat Festival and a volunteer docent from the Maritime Museum commented-on my t-shirt.  Seems he was originally from Muscle Shoals Alabama  and we engaged in small talk about all of the music artists that found their way thru Fame Studios and the role that the session musicians - The Swampers - played in their recording success.   As we prepared to continue on our separate way he pointed to  this harbor tug tied-up in its berth and shared some maritime history that I was previously unaware-of.   

This large tug was built in 1939 by Defoe Shipbuilding as the WYTM-92 Naugatuck for the U.S. Coast Guard.

USCGC Naugatuck (WYT-92)

The Naugatuck spent 40 years with the Coast Guard as an ice-breaking harbor tug and was decommissioned in 1979. The following year, she was acquired by the Calumet Marine Towing Company and renamed Timmy B. 

In 1994, the Timmy B. was purchased by Selvick Marine Towing and renamed Jimmy L. Selvick Marine Towing became Sarter Marine Towing in 2019. 

This boat was the first USCG Cutter on the scene the day following the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Who knew?

 

Eighty-two years of continuous service is an impressive accomplishment.

 

Sure is a wealth of maritime history here in Sturgeon Bay and northeast Wisconsin 

Door County Maritime Museum Classic and Wooden Boat Festival

One of the highlights of the Door County Classic and Wooden Boat Festival is the Sikaflex Challenge.

Lilly Pad

On Saturday participants build their own boats using nothing but thin plywood, a few pieces of lumber, zip ties and the marine construction sealant known as Sikaflex.  Construction time is limited to four hours.

Hawaiian War Canoe

 

Mayday

There are no plans - construction is ad-hoc.  Costumes and themes are encouraged.

Mayday

Accompanied with the requisite fanfare and hilarity - the sea trials of the Sikaflex craft are held on Sunday afternoon.  

Some of the vessels break-apart immediately upon launching.

Lilly Pad

Others break-apart slowly before making the first turn on the racecourse.

Hawaiian War Canoe

A few sink spectacularly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remarkably, most of these craft are truly seaworthy - Some more than others.  One or more are competent and maneuverable vessels.

 I have to find someone to partner with me in 2022.

The Sikaflex Challenge is a hoot!

 

Wooden Boat Festival - Redux

Some pictures from the Door County Maritime Museum's Classic and Wooden Boat Festival...

RMS Titanic

Door County Pot Heads

The Commando

The Boatmobile

And the ever-vigilant USCG

click on images to enlarge

Wooden Boat Festival

More about the Door County Maritime Museum's Classic and Wooden Boat Show.  These boats were constructed of 3/8 inch plywood, zip ties and Sikaflex (an adhesive caulk).

During the sea trials some of these vessels capsized immediately, one broke in-half on the return leg of its maiden voyage and others completed their sea trials successfully.  Albeit slowly.

Here are some before and after pictures...

click on images to enlarge

 

Learn more about the Sikaflex Challenge here.

Wooden Boat Festival

A selection of photos of classic wooden boats from that past weekend at the Door County Maritime Museum's Classic and Wooden Boat Festival.

Enjoy...

click on images to enlarge