“When I say mammoth undertaking, I mean MAMMOTH undertaking! Last year I wrote about the restoration and captain of the M.V. Idyllwood, Randy Potts. He had faithfully restored a 1920's era private yacht that is now offering cruises on the Muskoka Lakes. Well, he’s at it again! This time it’s a converted oil and gas tanker that was formerly owned by the BA company.”
Recently Judi and I had the honour and privilege of meeting
with Randy Potts
(aka “The River Rat”)
at his home along the banks of the Muskoka River. We were there to see the
progression of Randy’s handiwork on the historical vessel “Peerless II”.
It is difficult to tell you all the interesting and exciting information Randy
shared with us, but the following are a few facts and interesting stories from
Randy himself.
The Peerless
II is a 60 foot long ship that was built in 1946 at the Northern Shipbuilding
yard in Bronte, Ontario for the BA
Oil Company. This is the only “Tanker”
they built. Randy is restoring the Peerless
II “not in
essence of true exact restoration, but to help people remember the past.”
Randy is 100% custom building the Peerless
II, mostly by his own hand. However, he is proud that he has been able
to employee some others, such as professional welders, who seem to have the “young eyes” required
for the finer details.
To Be Continued in Part 2)
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