14th Annual Sikaflex "Quick & Dirty" Boat Building Competition to be held September 6th & 7th, 2025.
Last years annual SikaFlex Quick & Dirty Boat Building Competition held in August 2024 was a huge success. A total of seven teams participated and the weather for the weekend event was perfect. Some of the designs were particularly creative and the race itself was probably the closest and most exciting finish we've ever had. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.
First held in 2011, this annual SikaKFlex Quick & Dirty Boat Building Competition has quickly become one of the "must-see" events of the summer season. Sponsored by the Sika Corporation, a supplier of Marine Adhesives & Sealants, the event provides would-be boat designers and builders a chance to showcase their creative skills and talents.
THE CHALLENGE: Using only the provided supply of plywood and lumber, plastic cable ties, and adhesive/sealant (SikaFlex 291 of course!), two member teams must build, paint and then paddle their design around a designated course in Port Jefferson Harbor located just offshore of Harborfront Park.
At the conclusion of the race awards are presented to the three front-place race winners as well as for best Original Boat Design. Following the award ceremony our annual raffle is conducted which rewards some lucky person(s) with the current years raffle boat. If you, your friends or family, or members of your organization are looking for a fun and entertaining event to participate in this Summer, then the Quick & Dirty Boat Building Competition is definitely for you.
LISEC also invites and encourages local community businesses to become a sponsor for this annual event. In addition to providing advertising and community awareness for your business your sponsoring contribution will help defray event costs and provide welcome enabling support for all of LISECs current and future programs.
If your business or organization is interested in becoming a sponsor for this event please fill out our Sponsorship Form and mail it into the address listed on the form.
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The Twelvth Annual Quick & Dirty Boat Building Competition will again take place this coming August at beautiful Harborfront Park. If you are interested in participating in this fun event please fill out our Application Form and General Instructions and mail it to the address listed on the form.
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The
Date!
Quick & Dirty Boat Building Competition
Artists Rendering of an Armed Whaleboat
Whaleboat 1776 Project Featured on TV & Local News Media
The Whaleboat 1776 Project is getting noticed! Thanks to both our local press and metro news organizations, public awareness of this historical project is growing and beginning to reach audiences well beyond the Port Jefferson Village boundaries.
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Many of our visitors now mention that they came to visit us specifically because they either read about the project in Long Islands Newsday and/or saw it featured on Channel 12 News Long Island. It wasn't long after when CBS News New York contacted us to do a featured piece on the project.
The CBS news article in particular provides a good overview of the project and a bit of the history behind it. Included are interviews with several of the volunteers who are helping make it happen.
Note: To watch the video allow the initial advertisement to play thru to its end and the video will start automatically (make sure the audio is turned on).
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Join us For a Month of Giving: Silent Auction Fundraiser (Ends April 9th)
​We are excited to invite you to the Bayles Boat Shops first ever Silent Auction Fundraiser featuring a beautifully crafted, hand-made model of a classic wooden schooner. Built by the late Bob Lotz , a master modeler formerly from Freeport, NY, this unique piece of maritime craftsmanship is a fitting tribute to his dedication to the art of model boat building. Bob's skill and attention to detail is truly something to be admired and this model is well deserving of a prominent place of display in anyones home or office. The auction is open to all bidders providing a rare opportunity to own a beautiful piece of true maritime art.​
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​Our Silent Auction provides a fun and easy way for you
to contribute. Simply click on the Silent Auction link or
scan the QR code provided, each will take you directly
to the auction website where you can place your bid.
All auction proceeds will go directly to support ing the
continued work of the Bayles Boat Shop, a non-profit
organization dedicated to preserving, promoting and
celebrating the art of wooden boat building. Don’t miss
your chance to contribute to a great cause while bidding
on this one-of-a-kind model. Thank you for your Support!
Previous Maker Faire long Island Events
The Annual Maker Faire Long Island Event to be held June 7th, 2025
The Bayles Boat Shop is proud be part of the Maker Faire Long Island annual event held in picturesque Port Jefferson, NY. The Maker Faire Long Island Event is hosted by the non-profit Long Island Explorium and is part of the internationally acclaimed Maker Faire program with Faires being held in locations throughout the world. Maker Faire Long Island celebrates creativity and innovation in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math.
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As we did for the 2024 event, the Bayles Boat shop will again be showcasing our Whaleboat 1776 Project with demonstrations of the ongoing work and fabrications. Many faire-goers stopped in to see and learn about this exciting project As we have done previously, we plan to have several of our past projects on display on the front lawn. We look forward to seeing you at this years Faire.
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The Maker Faire Long Island event is
held at Port Jefferson's beautiful
Harborfront Park. If you missed the
event in 2024 be sure to mark your
calendar for this year's event to come
see whats been called "The Greatest
Show (and Tell) on Earth". For more
information on this event please
visit Maker Faire Long Island
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Bayles Boat Shop Sponsors Golf Hole for Port Jefferson Rotary Indoor Golf Classic
On March 1st 2025, the Port Jefferson Rotary Club will hold their 8th Annual Putt & Pub Crawl fundraising event in beautiful downtown Port Jefferson.
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The Bayles Boat Shop enthusiastically supports this annual fundraising event by sponsoring a golf hole which is set up at one of Port Jeff's local dining establishments. This year, our host for this event will be Port Jefferson's ever popular Port Bistro & Pub. And what better design for a golf hole then our very own Bayles Sloop tied up to the dock.
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This event is always a fun afternoon of golf (putting) and frivolity at some of the Village's most popular eateries and drinking establishments. Just the thing to shake off those winter blues and hone your putting skills at the same time!
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Bayles Boat Shop Craft Featured in the Filming of "One Life To Give"
A young gentleman walked into the boat shop one Spring morning and inquired whether we might have an 18th century rowboat available that he might possibly borrow for a day for use in a film which he was helping to produce. The gentleman's name was Michael Tessler and he was Executive Producer for the film One Life To Give. Now most boat shops wouldn't usually have a boat of that vintage just laying around but we did happen to have a 40 to 45 year old Adirondack style canoe available which we felt would fit the part quite nicely.
Michael agreed and was very excited to have found a worthy boat on such short notice and we were equally as excited about having it featured in such an historical film. There was only one slight catch however; our wooden canoe had not been in the water for a good number of years and the filming was to take place the following Saturday (only two days away). As any classic wooden boat owner will tell you, any traditionally built wood boat (this canoe is lapstraked spruce fastened with copper tacks) will most definitely leak until the wood swells and the seams close tight. Our boat was no exception!
And so, very early on Saturday morning, with high hopes and fingers crossed, we headed off to East Beach in Mt. Sinai, NY for the start of filming. As luck would have it, on this particular morning the beach was blanketed in an extremely dense fog. Rather than being dismayed Michael and the film crew felt that the fog would lend a very dramatic effect...and indeed it did.
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While waiting for the film boat to arrive (used for filming the off-shore scenes) the actors went about familiarizing themselves with their boat. They eagerly stepped into the canoe and were pushed off for a short paddle to nowhere. It took only about 15 minutes before they were seen to turn around and head quickly back to shore. Then, above shouted questions of "How'd it go" and "Is everything OK" you could hear their exclamatory shout..."THE BOAT LEAKS!"
We quickly mentioned that this was "kind of" to be expected, it being such an old boat and yada, yada, yada. And the actors, much to their credit, laughed it off and proceeded to sit their wet bottoms back down into the boat and go out and do it all over again, and again, and again...but not before emptying the boat out each and every time upon returning to shore. Needless to say, filming took the entire morning and the results are in; the shoot was a great success!
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The film One Life To Give premiered on June 24th, 2018 at the Staller Center in Stony Brook, NY. It tells the incredible true story of the friendship between two young American heroes, Nathan Hale and Benjamin Tallmadge. A friend- ship that saved the American Revolution and changed the course of human history
