WATERTOWN, NY (June 24, 2024) – Vintage Vessels, a new series set to premiere on WPBS-TV in June, focuses on the restoration of classic boats, from vintage wooden runabouts to antique canoes. Filming for the series took place mainly in the Thousand Islands region and Ontario, Canada.
From engine maintenance to hull repairs, to boathouse construction, Vintage Vessels will feature everything related to owning and operating classic wooden watercraft. Visiting marinas, marine museums, collector events and shows, and restoration shops, this series will be informative and entertaining viewing about the art and love for wooden boats.
The broadcast on WPBS is the world premiere of this new series, which will be made available to PBS station audiences across the country this fall.
Episode 1 (Thursday, June 27 at 7:30pm)
Vintage Vessels visits a classic boat show in Port Carling Ontario where we meet up with owners of some classic boats, like a 1902 Lozier Launch, a 1927 Minette-Shields, a 1956 Shepherd Runabout. Then we visit the Peter Breen Antique & Classic Boat company where Peter and his son Jeffery show us around their shop.
Episode 2 (Thursday, July 4 at 7:30pm)
Peter Breen showcases his collection of boats in his cottage showroom and takes them out on the water. Boats featured range from a 2019 boat based on the designs by John Hacker to a restoration of a 1911 Mullins, a 1929 Peterborough Launch to a gentleman’s racer with a hull based on Ditchburn’s 1920 race boat.
Episode 3 (Thursday, July 11 at 7:30pm)
Vintage Vessels joins one of Peter Breen’s clients as they go to the Vintage Boat Show in Gravenhurst Ontario in his 1939 gentleman’s racer by Greavette. At the show we meet up and see classic vessels like a 1925 Neptune, a 1949 Shepherd, a 1935 triple cockpit Seabird.
Episode 4 (Thursday, July 18 at 7:30pm)
Rick McGraw showcases his collection of vintage vessels restored and build by Peter Breen Antique & Classic Boat. One of the boats featured is a 1916 Gold Cup winning raceboat, the Heldena II. We learn the history of this award-winning boat and see the work that was done to restore her and keep her on the water.
Episode 5 (Thursday, July 25 at 7:30pm)
Vintage Vessels visits the Antique Boat Museum classic boat show in Clayton, New York where we meet up with owners of classic crafts, like a 1928 Chris Smith & Sons, a 1928 Baby Gar runabout, a 1947 race boat, Miss Comet. We tour the show and watch a boatwright as he builds a skiff.
Episode 6 (Thursday, August 1 at 7:30pm)
We feature the boat collection of Bill Ringo who introduces us to the work Peter Breen Antique & Classic Boat company has performed. Each boat is taken out on the water and consist of a gentleman’s racer, a Ditchburn launch and a 1890 Dan Kidney.
Episode 7 (Thursday, August 8 at 7:30pm)
Vintage Vessels visits the Muskoka Steamships & Discovery Center in Gravenhurst Ontario. We are given a tour of their collection of boats and look at the electrification of the Wanda II, a yacht owned by the Eaton family.
Episode 8 (Thursday, August 15 at 7:30pm)
The collection of boats at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton New York are featured and we tour the 1903 La Duchesse, a gilded age two-story houseboat built for 19th century hotelier George C. Boldt. Vintage Vessels tours the Boldt Yacht house and its collection of classic vessels. Then Vintage Vessels visits the Paul Blackley Boat company in Gravenhurst Ontario where they are restoring Henry Ford’s 1924 race boat, Evangeline.
Episode 9 (Thursday, August 22 at 7:30pm)
Vintage Vessels visits one of the last surviving supply ships that worked on the Muskoka Lakes in Ontario, the Peerless II. Captain Randy takes us on a tour of the boat, outlining its history and showcases the work that was done to restore her.
Episode 10 (Thursday, August 29 at 7:30pm)
In dry dock, the RMS Segwun, the oldest Royal Mail steam ship in the world, undergoes its 5-year inspection and maintenance. We tour the boat and look at the work that is being performed to maintain this vintage vessel.
About WPBS
WPBS is a PBS station serving approximately 600,000 households throughout Northern New York and Eastern Ontario via cable, satellite, Internet and over-the-air distribution. WPBS is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate, inform, and engage its two-nation region with exceptional and trusted content across multiple platforms. Its vision is to be the premier provider of extraordinary public media that instills wonder and curiosity across generations and borders. More information about WPBS, including a full channel listing, is available at wpbstv.org, or by following WPBS on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Download the free WPBS Mobile App to follow WPBS on the go.
