A piece of BC maritime history - recently recreated in Sechelt - is being re-enacted along the Sunshine Coast to Lund this month.
In the early 1900s, small double-ended wooden rowboats, called “handliners” fi lled the waters of Georgia Strait. Designed to be easily handled by one person jigging with a hand line (as opposed to using a rod or net) and easily rowed at trolling speeds, these little boats were very seaworthy.
In the boom times after World War II the handliner lost the popularity contest to the power and fi berglass craft. Of the hundreds that operated between Alaska and Oregon, only a few survive, and the majority of these reside on the Sunshine Coast.
Recently, using traditional methods, materials, and plans from the handliner on display at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives (SCMA) Sechelt boatbuilder Larry Westlake built a replica vessel that will undertake a Migration Journey to Lund during the fi rst two weeks of August, returning to Gibsons August 18.
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Accompanied by other handliner replicas and small wooden heritage boats, Westlake’s boat will visit historic handliner fishing and camp sites.
After a Community Welcoming BBQ luncheon in Madeira Park on August 1, the Pilot Migration Journey moves northward, with a celebration at journey’s end in Lund on August 7. A week’s row back to Gibsons will allow the oarsmen to visit and photograph historical fi shing areas and camp sites.
Construction of the replica was conceived by passionate wooden heritage boat enthusiasts, and support from individuals as well as the BC government, Howe Sound Pulp & Paper, Sunshine Coast Community Foundation, Bank of Montreal, Prudential Sussex Realty and Home Hardware made it possible.
For those who wish to build their own handliner, plans may be purchased at the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives, on Winn Road in Gibsons (opposite the Post Office). Phone 604.886.8232 or e-mail scm_a@dccnet.com for more information.
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