Sparta Fieldhouse puts on a hull of a show

SPARTA — Just add water was the recipe for fun in the Fieldhouse at Sparta Friday, Saturday and Sunday as the North Jersey Boat Show welcomed future skippers, and the just curious, to a display of new, classic and famous boats.

“This is our second boat show,” said facility manager Troy Jones of Sparta. “We added a few really nice additions with the Golden Pond Boats and the Bat Boat. We have a few different vendors as well.” It was also the first time the event was open on Friday.

Katz’s Marina displayed three boats made famous in the movies. “There were four boats used in On Golden Pond — two for the crash, a backup, and this was the main picture boat,” said Chris Schouten of Hopatcong, pointing out a beautifully restored Chris Craft. “Henry Fonda sat in that boat.”

Another restored boat, with United States Postal Service markings, also appeared in the film and was on display. Action movie fans were drawn to the Bat Boat from the 1966 Batman film.

Custom kayaks Boaters preferring a muscle-powered wooden boat talked to Carl Cipollone. The Franklin resident designs, builds, and sells wooden kayaks. “Pygmy Boats has the best ocean kayak designs,” said Cipollone. The design features of ocean kayaks let them handle sudden storms better if a boater is out in deteriorating conditions. Cipollone recognized that the one-size-fits-all sizing of manufacturers did not properly serve kayakers. “There is no consideration to the ergonomics of a person,” said Cipollone. Using a computer controlled cutting machine he can tailor a boat to fit a specific kayaker. His custom designs address leg length, arm length, torso length, shoulder width, weight, waist size, and foot size. “The boat has to be adjusted to suit the person and no one is doing that I know of.” A properly fitted boat gives the kayaker the best performance, and is comfortable. For information on kayak building call Carl Cipollone at 973-827-1754.

Save the environment Boat owners taking their vessels out of storage can do the environment a favor by recycling the plastic wrap. Dumpsters for rolled and tied shrink wrap are located at the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority facility in Lafayette, and Danforth’s Inc., 60 Main Street (Rt. 517), Ogdensburg. “We are a drop-off for people who store their own boats, and all of our storage customers’ wrap goes into the bin,” said Scott Overmire, sales and service manager at Danforth’s. “Typically we will fill a 40 yard dumpster three or four times.” Overmire explained the average boat is 20 feet long and the plastic wrap is 16 feet wide. With 350 boats in storage, Danforth’s uses approximately 112,000 square feet of plastic. That is enough to cover two-and-a-half football fields, and that does not include the wrap dropped off by those storing their boats themselves.

Save a life Skippers of new, used, kit-built or classic boats need to keep safety in mind. “The biggest things we see happening is that people don’t wear life jackets often enough,” said Lorraine Cannata, Flotilla Commander of Flotilla 10-07, United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, based in Lake Hopatcong.

“New Jersey requires that children under 13 be wearing life jackets when the boat is moving. Many, many families don’t have their families doing that.”