Cathlamet Yacht Club sponsors boat drawing

Michael Baccellieri of the Welcome Slough Boatworks on Puget Island has donated a 7-foot wooden wheelbarrow boat to the Cathlamet Yacht Club for a raffle to raise funds for both the benefit of all boaters in the Cathlamet area and members of the Cathlamet Yacht Club.

Past raffle proceeds have been used to help maintain the Elochoman Marina’s canvas enclosure, upgrade the barbecue grill, provide a propane heater for the covered area and dock life rings used by local and visiting boaters alike.

Harry Bryant of Letete, New Brunswick, Canada, designed this very unique and utilitarian 7-foot wheelbarrow boat. It is a small rowboat with a wheel in front and wheelbarrow handles so that it can be loaded with fishing, picnic and other supplies, rolled down to the water and launched. The handles then come out and become the oars.

Baccellieri made this model of mostly cedar with a fiberglass overlay making it strong and scuff resistant with a weight of roughly 60 pounds.

Bryant charges $2450 for one of more traditional construction. More information about Harry Bryant and the various boats he has designed and built is available at his website: http:wwwharrybryan.com/harrybryan/boats.

Raffle tickets are available for a suggested donation of $1 apiece. They may be obtained from any Cathlamet Yacht Club member or by mailing a check or money order to Cathlamet Yacht Club, PO Box 665, Cathlamet, WA. 98612.

Tickets and the boat itself will be available at the Elochoman Marina in the Cathlamet Yacht Club tent on the far side of “F” dock on Memorial Day weekend, at Vista Park for Vista Days on July 30, at the Wahkiakum County Fair in August, and Labor Day weekend at the Elochoman Marina.

Drawing for the raffle will be at the Cathlamet Yacht club’s September general membership meeting. Winners do not need to be present to win. Information about the Cathlamet Yacht Club is available at their web site: http://www.CathlametYachtClub.org.

Baccellieri, when not building wooden boats, is president and CEO of Longbottom Coffee and Tea Company in the Portland area.