The diminutive, gleaming mahogany boat, which the Longbranch resident built just over five years ago, comfortably seats three and drew admirers, especially children, over the weekend during the Olympia Wooden Boat Fair on Percival Landing.
“I designed the boat myself,” Akins said. “I stole all my ideas from somewhere else.”
The organizers of the 31st annual fair prepared for 10,000 visitors each day of the event, said event chairman Hal Van Gilder. This year, dozens of vendors offered food and wares and 46 wooden boats were on display at Percival Landing, including 19 new entries, Van Gilder said.
Though the event continues to go strong after three decades, Van Gilder said that the success of next year’s fair is a concern because of construction that will close Percival Landing.
BOARDWALK WORK
Starting late this summer, Olympia city officials plan to start on a $10.4 million replacement of Percival Landing’s deteriorating boardwalk and many of the fixtures along the city’s waterfront park.
Construction could take up to a year, which could affect next year’s Olympia Wooden Boat Fair.
Fair organizers are considering ways to work around the construction, he said.
“The city provides us with the venue, and we are dependent on the good will of the city,” he said. “We still haven’t determined yet how it will be next year.”
Van Gilder said that part of the fair’s appeal is its family-oriented entertainment, the fact that it is free, and the appeal of the classic boats.
While some boats, like Akins’, are new, many are 40 years old or more.
One boat registered was built in 1916, Van Gilder said, and another boat was made from the salvaged wooden parts of older boats.
Most new boats are plastic or fiberglass, and it takes a certain amount of patience and skill to maintain a wooden boat.
“It takes a lot of tender loving care to have one and keep it afloat,” Van Gilder said. “It’s a woodworker’s dream. It takes some talent in order to do that.”
Venice Buhain: 360-754-5445 vbuhain@theolympian.com
