
Crystal River Boat Builders
Nearby gyms & sports facilities
NW 5th Street
34428
34429
W Fort Island Trail
North Citrus Avenue
34428
SW 1st Place
SW 1st Place
SW 1st Place
S. Cherokee Way, Homosassa
Se Valare Lane
Kings Bay
NE 1st Street
34429
Comments
CRBB is an educational organization which works to preserve and continue local maritime heritage.
Operating as usual


Working in Cortez, Florida

We will be on the road this coming weekend. We will be exhibiting the SILVER TIDE and the SALT RIVER SKIFF at the Florida Maritime Museum in Cortez. See and hear the 100 year old Gray Motor Company motor start and run. See an early 1900's fishing boat typical on the west coast of Florida. And celebrate the holidays.
https://www.floridamaritimemuseum.org/visit

…and here she is! “Salt River” is our new 15’9” skiff, CRBB designed and built. Frame is cypress and planking is 1/4” occume plywood. She rows nicely but she is designed to shine with low power. She is pictured here doing 7 knots with the 2 hp Honda. The future of powerboats is efficiency, so here’s our small start in that direction.
A good friend of ours dropped off a recent copy of Wooden Boat Mag. to show us the article on the put-put bateaus. We have our own version of a put-put here, our early 1900's mullet boat powered by a 1920 2cylce 2 cylinder motor. The question that comes to mind is if there is interest in the central Florida area for a put-put get-together now and then or an informal group. If there is we may be able to host such things here in Crystal River. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLGnEYTCAl0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLGnEYTCAl0
Our Palmer PW27 engine from 1968 came back to life today. Now we have to build a boat for it! We are considering a harbor launch with a Seabright skiff hull, like some old William Atkins designs.

Bill is putting his CLC Jimmy Skiff I for sail. Beautiful little boat comes with Trailex trailer, CLC sail kit, take apart oars- all like new. Ready to sail, row. $2,500.00 https://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/wooden-sailboat-kits/Jimmy-Skiff-II.html

We've been working on this 1975 C Scow for some time. It was in sad shape. We have made it strong and fun but not a race capable boat. We did not hide repairs or previous scars. First test had little wind but everything was working and it ghosted well. We hope to have a more exciting sail in it before it goes to a new owner. It is titled and available. It has two older but strong sails. We are asking $1,200.00.

We always ask our traveling members to bring us pictures of traditional boats they may come across. Theo brought us these from L’escala, Spain.

Pinmill Thames sailing barge race 2022!
Big old wood work boats putting on the ritz
Sailstice day. It was hot and a weekend but a few of us put boats in Crystal River and had a nice sail anyway. On board with Theo in his Joel White Haven 12.5, sailing with Kevin aboard his Cape Dory Typhon, and passing a slightly modified Rushton Princess replica.

Riding the TIDE at Cedar Key Saturday.

Our skiff build is coming along. Chines are fastened in, and we trial fitted the sides. Frames still to be beveled for the side plank.

A few weeks ago Evan thought we could use a clock so we challenged him to design and build one. He showed up with this masterpiece. Under the clock Evan is cutting his first scarf.

Lofting the first of the CRBB skiff series
Siver Tide start up prior to launch this morning

the tide gave us enough water to launch the Silver Tide this morning



We had a wonderful time visiting today at our Holiday get-together. A special treat was rides during the last sea trial of the electric Aqua-velvetride shore cruiser. There is just a bit more "pretty" work to do before it hits the market.

She’s almost done, and she’s beautiful—the electric pirogue “Electra Glide”!
Bill and Ed did the foredeck and are working on the aft deck. John (seen touching up the rubrail) is doing the bright finish.
The "crystal river" in motion

This is a project we are just completing for the Crystal River Best Western Hotel. They asked for a display cabinet that represented the Crystal River area. The Hotel sits on some of the same property used for a cedar mill in the early 1900's hence the cedar top. The base is made from pine, another typical local wood. The "river" on top represents the Crystal River and the blue on the bottom represents the beautiful springs found here.

For the gearheads. Earl opened up the Silver Tide's transmition for inspection. Plenty of wear and a bearing issue in the reverse gearing. We lubricated what we could but will let the bearing issue ride for a bit. This is a unique system, in forward all components are fixed and turn with the input shaft.
We now have all three components of our drive system woking together. The reconditioned/repitched propeller, motor, and newly adjusted transmition. Cruising at 4 knots at 400 RPM. Top speed around 5 knots.
20211023_084044.mp4
This mornings sea trial.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CSTBSqz5PtJ9XrlJYhaIS8sdnaRKfupl/view?usp=sharing
Skiffs information pkg.pdf
A member asked us to send out some more information on the skiff projects. Here it is. We should be beginning work on one of these in the next few months. We have not decided which one will be first. Another thought that has been raised: could these designs be the basis for a sailing boat?
What do y'all think?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KVscEGSKuHSyA14snN6uIWC8YPxc6ur4/view?usp=sharing

ANNIE is now back home on disply with the EGRET at the Best Western Hotel, Crystal River. The Electa-Slide Cruiser is getting paint and will soon be ready for a new owner.

The majority of the funding for our limited budget comes from donated project boats. We have to be picky with the donations so we have a chance of them making money for us and definitely not costing us. Here is a really cool boat that we declined. It is reported as professionally built Florida boat, probably around 60 years old. It is a sharpie hull displacement power boat with an outboard well just ahead of the transom. The boat was recently surveyed by a professional wooden boat builder. The hull was found solid but the pilot house needs rebuilt. And of course all the cosmetic details. 27' long and trailerable, this tiny ship would make a nice economical coastal cruiser. We can put you in contact with the owner.

Our Swifty 14 is SOLD. This is a well behaved, roomy 14 footer with a like new sail. A donation of $650.00 makes this yours. An excellent little trailer is available for sale with this boat. $1,550.00 for both.

We'll offer this first to local boat builders who need a few pounds. We have scrap sheet lead available at $1.25 lb. Contact through our facebook PM

Evan finally was able to experience his boat in the water. He has been working hard to make the necessary repairs. This was also his first time rowing. Now on to making it look good.
The TOO FAR Water and
Natural Resources organization will meet at 6:30 p.m.
July 22 at 9228 E. Gospel Island Road in Inverness.
Joel Abramoviz, a member
of the Crystal River Boat Builders group, will give a presentation about historic boats used
on local waters.
Refreshments will be served
prior to the start of the meeting.
The organization is dedicated
to promoting conservation, restoration and sustainable use of
natural resources for present
and future generations.
A committee seeking funding
for a clean-up project on Lake
Henderson will also make a
progress report at the meeting.
For more information, call
352-634-4216.

Joel checking out boat trim and his motor control engineering in this test launch. This is going to be a fun little shoreline cruiser. Watch for the completed boat- it will be available.

Evan has been working hard on his boat while learning a whole lot of good boat building and boat fixing stuff

Rebuilding a wooden boat - 4 years in 29 mins! (Tally Ho EP100)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSXYZHVqmwY
Rebuilding a wooden boat - 4 years in 29 mins! (Tally Ho EP100) Rebuilding Tally Ho - UP TO NOW! (EP100)Rebuilding a historic sailing yacht - Rebuilding Tally Ho - UP TO NOW! (EP100)Support / Donate; http://www.sampsonboa...

With our EGRET now on duty as a historical land display we have Egret particular sailing items for sale. If you are building a Joel White Egret or planning to this is your deal. Suitable trailer, sails with gaffs and sprit booms, and ballast. We will sell separately but are hoping to get another Egret sailing.

We lowered the SPIRIT's mast this morning for maintenance. Oiled the mast, greased the stays, and checked the hardware. All good and the mast back up in a couple of hours.

We had a good time talking with friends at the Coastal Region Library in Crystal River this morning. After a short talk inside the SILVER TIDE got a close inspection. Photographs courtesy of the Library.
Our Story
CRBB is an educational organization working to preserve and continue local maritime heritage. We build replicas of the indigenous watercraft of the Nature Coast. Everything we build, we do by hand using traditional methods; and we try to use the materials and tools of the period. There is always a work-in-progress and we love "show and tell." Kids of all ages can get "hands on" with history. Our work tells the story of the fishing and transportation industries of Florida and especially Crystal River -- including, of course, the role of watercraft on the Nature Coast during the Civil War. We are a chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association.
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Address
614 NW US-19
Crystal River, FL
34428
Opening Hours
Wednesday | 9am - 12am |
Saturday | 9am - 12pm |
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