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1957, 15 1/2 ft. Shepherd Junior (Richardson)

BOAT HISTORY

After meeting with some rocks in Stony Lake with the family's Lakefield cedar strip in 1956, the Richardsons began to consider a new boat. In 1957 this Shepherd was purchased and brought to the family's island near Crowe's Landing. Peter Richardson's father had always been a great fan of the Shepherds, and the family is quite sure that he welcomed the excuse to acquire one. In the early years, it was used extensively by the five boys in the family as a ski boat. By the early 
1970s it was not used much at all.

 

With the death of Mr. Richardson (senior) in 1974 the boat was laid up for five years or more. Peter and his wife Nancy built a cottage on the same island, beside the family cottage, and soon after they acquired the ownership of the Shepherd. With continual use, this little runabout has served the family well. When Peter's son Jonathan attended the 2004 Antique Boat show in Peterborough, and saw similar boats to the family's Shepherd, they contacted John to make arrangements to have the boat restored to her original beauty.

 

Work began in the early winter of 2005, and by July it was looking pretty good, although not quite completed. The Richardsons decided to take the boat to use during the summer, then brough her back to the shop in April of 2006 for completion. For power, a Merc 78 is remembered as being the best engine, but in more recent years Evinrudes have been used. Upon delivery in July, she was sporting a brand new (2005) Evinrude 75hp Etech... Reliable, fast, and attractive!

Shepherd Hull # 57 15-6 157

THE RESTORATION
TESTIMONIAL

Peter Richardson (1957 Shepherd Junior): 

"The crowning glory of John's work is the varnished finish; it's a thing of beauty that you want to care for, and insist that everyone else cares for it too. Underneath that finish is very careful work that, in our case, undid the ravages of rot and careless work by another boat restorer, and got us   back much more nearly to the original form as it came from the Shepherd Boat Works. All in all, we're delighted with   our "new" boat. And we've never had so many compliments!"

 

Johnathan Richardson (June 2007)

Hello there, I just wanted to let you know how pleased I am with the boat ... she looks absolutely fantastic and it is truly a pleasure to have her back . I have since built a nice little mahogany box which fits up under the rear deck and is accessed   through the hatch , storage for small accessories . I will send a photo , it turned out well . Thanks again for your    efforts; it is all much appreciated!

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