Send us a Message
- 586 Main Street, Georgetown, ON Canada
L7G 3T6 - 905-873-0141
- 905-8671112
- kidsandclassics@gmail.com
Welcome to K&C Boatshop Museum and Sea Hawks Toronto
Two separate organizations that share the same values, personnel, resources and website.
Our Missions
K&C Boatshop Museum:
preserve and continue the artistry and craftsmanship of heritage watercraft for the general benefit of the community.
Sea Hawks Toronto:
expose young people to new environments, new skills and new perspectives that impacts their self-perception and creates greater self-confidence and self-esteem.
Thanks to everyone who came to see us
at the boatshow!
see you next year!
About US
Kids & Classics Boatshops Museum in Glen Williams, ON had its genesis in the Ontario Place Mahogany Harbour programs of the early 2000’s. Malcolm Black established a number of integrated projects to showcase heritage watercraft. Activities included, wooden boat exhibitions and demonstrations, restoration of wooden boats and motors, as wells as outreach boat building workshops for at-risk youth.
In 2005 the Mahogany Harbour left its waterfront location and moved its resources to a dedicated boatshop in Glen Williams, ON. It was at this location that the Kids & Classics Boatshops Museum was established as a not-for-profit organization continuing the mission and vision to preserve, perpetuate, display and educate the public on the artistry and craftsmanship of wooden watercraft in Canada.
In 2010 The Sea Hawks Toronto, a charity serving disadvantaged kids was added to the Kids & Classics mandate to formalize our work with youth and to provide a charitable vehicle for fund-raising. The two organizations have separate missions but share a volunteer base and resources (including this website).
In 2024 Kids and Classics Boatshops Museum continues to save donated classic boats and motors that were destined for destruction and display them at the Toronto International Boat Show and the Vintage Boat Show in Gravenhurst ON. The Sea Hawks Toronto organization continues its youth programs through its paddle carving seminars and boat building programs with kids in the Youth Justice system.
Boats4Folks Program
Our long-running Boats4Folks project pairs our organization with Probation Officers to provide boatbuilding programs for young people in the court system.
The program takes place over one weekend – on Saturday morning four youth show up at our shop with their probation officer, work with our volunteers through the weekend and by Sunday afternoon they are out on the water rowing a boat that they made themselves!
Over this short period they will hopefully gain some STEM knowledge and some tool skills but the main goal is to help in breaking a cycle of failure – they show up believing their task to be impossible but by the end they have undeniably made something that works!
The boats are then raffled off over the year at events and the proceeds go back into buying materials for the next builds, completing a small but self-sufficient cycle.
Build a Boat
Volunteer
We are a 100% volunteer organization and we are always looking for more of us. No specific experience is necessary but all prior experience is valuable – in fact, being an all volunteer group, if you have a skill or interest, we probably need it! If not don’t sweat it – a lot of us were drawn here through existing interests and ended up learning something completely different
Drop us a line or better yet, drop by the shop and find out what we’re all about and how you can get sucked in too!
Volunteer Opportunities include:
- Get your highschool community service hours
- Working with boats, kids and youth
- Improving mechanical, woodworking and teaching skills
- Event Volunteers – if you can only make it to events that’s great! Many of us do this and it’s when we need numbers the most. Check our calendar for regular and annual events.