Expo News

 

Expo 2008 - Saturday, July 26th!

At

Cape Fear Community College - Wilmington, NC

 

Download Registration Form HERE

 

For more info, e-mail HERE

 

 

Expo 2007 - Another Great Show!

Though attendance was somewhat lower than previous expos, there was no disappointment in the variety of Simmons Sea Skiffs at this year's event.  The weather was hot and humid until mid afternoon, when the wind and rain set in.  The event was covered by NC Boating Lifestyle Magazine in their October issue.  Many thanks to Ed Verge of Cape Fear Community College, and all participants and spectators.  Some photos below.

 

       

 

 

Expo 2006 - Great Show!

It was truly our biggest event so far.  The Simmons Expo combined with the Cape Fear Community College Wooden Boat Festival proved to be a great event, not only for the boat owners, but also for the college and all who came to see the boats.  There were 34 Simmons owners registered for the event - that's a record!  The number of spectators was estimated as 3000.  There was a raffle for a 1/8 scale model of a Simmons 20ls, which was won by Russell Downs.  In the evening there was a "Pig Pickin'" (Carolina-talk for pig roast) for all participants.  The weather was hot, but clear until after dinner.  A few photos below.

 

       

Left:  Jake Cornelious' 20 low-side in the forefront.  Right: Goerge Allen's 22 and Troy Allen's 20.

 

Every Expo has a "Simmons Row."

 

2006 Registered Boats

 

Jack Easley - No boat info                                                Auley (Lee Crouch) - 1964 Simmons 20hs

Banks Currin - 1998 Replica 20hs                                     Reggie Holderfield - 1967 Simmons 20hs

Larry Henry - 1998 Replica 22                                         Jack Farrar - 2004 Replica 20hs

Pete Hartman - 1972 Simmons 18                                    Paul Garrison - 1966 Simmons 20ls

Thomas Williamson - 2004 Replica 18                              Alex Slaunwhite - 1963 Simmons 22

Bill McEntire/Mike Joye - 2005 Replica 20hs                    George Allen - 1971 Simmons 22

Jim Martin - 2000 Replica 18                                           John Becker - 2003 Replica 18

Jim Katz - 1996 Replica 20hs                                           Paul Weber - 1989 Replica 18

Craig Allen - 1960 Simmons 20ls                                      Troy Allen - 1970 Simmons 20hs

Carl Jordan - 2002 Replica 18                                           Harry Dew - pre1955 Simmons 18

Russell Downs - 1969 Simmons 20hs                                Jake Cornelious - 1954 Simmons 20ls

Jerry Slaunwhite - 1963 Simmons 20hs                             Tom Broadfoot - 1963 Simmons 20hs

Lloyd Watkins - 1972 Simmons 22                                    Bill Nau - 1965 Simmons 20hs

Bill McLean - No Boat Info                                              Thom Rhea - 1965 Simmons 16

Steven Ezzell - 1995 Replica 20hs                                     Jim Holladay - No Boat Info

Edward Harris - No Boat Info                                           Palmer Wilcox - 2001 Replica 18

Cameron Roberts - 200? Replica 22                                   Neill Thompson III - No Boat Info

 

 

2005 Expo

 

 

       

Left and Above: Some of the boats docked at St. James Marina.  Right: The He De Hi De Ho with Mike Joye at the helm and

passengers Bill McEntire and Jerry Slaunwhite.  Bill and Mike built the high-sided 20-footer themselves and first splashed

her earlier this year.

 

       

Left:  Larry Henry's 22-footer, built in 1998.  Right:  Reggie Holderfield's 1967 high-sided 20-footer.

 

2005 saw the first springtime expo.  The change to springtime was an attempt to avoid hurricane season and get a weekend with better weather conditions.  Unfortunately, the days leading up to June 3rd were rainy and stormy.  By Saturday morning, the rain had stopped and the boaters had an overcast, but non-rainy day.  A last minute scheduling glitch made it necessary to move the expo to another location.  St. James Plantation Marina stepped up and took us in with open arms.  The cruise on the ICW was great.  Several folks stopped off at local waterfront restaurants for a bite to eat.  Ed Verge, head boatbuilding instructor at Cape Fear Community College was this year's guest speaker.  He gave some good advice on how to properly care for and restore a Simmons hull.  The third annual meeting of the Simmons Sea Skiff Club took place on Saturday afternoon.  Special guests were Ann Simmons Mincy, Gale Lewis and other Simmons family members.  Also present was Hal Forsen, a Simmons enthusiast who flew in from San Clemente, California just to attend the expo.  There were a number of boats that had not been to previous expos.  Some boats of interest were Thom Rhea's rare 16-footer and Eric Tannery's beautiful 1972 20 high-side, one of the last boats T.N. Simmons built.

 

2005 Registered Boats

David Coste - 1955 Simmons 18-Footer                                Paul Weber - 1988 Silva 18

Eck Faulconer - 1971 Simmons 20 High-Side                        Currin Banks - 1998 20-Foot High-Side

Bill McEntire/Mike Joye - 2004 20 High-Side                        George Allen - 1971 Simmons 22-Footer

Carl Jordan - 2003 18-Footer                                               Will Woodard III - 1958 Simmons 20 Low-Side

Reggie Holderfield - 1967 Simmons 20 High-Side                  Larry Henry - 1998 22-Footer

Thom Rhea - 1965 Simmons 16-Footer                                 Tom Broadfoot - 1973 20-Foot High-Side

Jerry Slaunwhite - 1963 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side             John Hamrick - 1988 Silva 18

Troy Allen - 1970 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side                      Fred Jelinek - 1993 Silva 18

Bill Brogdon - 1969 Simmons 20-Foot Low-Side                   Eric Tannery - 1972 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side

Jake Cornelius - 1954 Simmons 20-Foot Low-Side                Lee Crouch - 195? Simmons 20-Foot Low-Side

Alex Slaunwhite - 1963 Simmons 22-Footer                           Lloyd Watkins - 1972 Simmons 22-Footer

Glenn Holland - 1959 Simmons 18-Footer                             Leslie Silva - 1993 Silva 18

Ben Hewett - 1966 Simmons 20-Foot Low-Side                    Thomas Williamson - 2004 Simmons 18

William Nau - 1965 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side                   Tommy Robbins - 1964 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side

Jimmy Vass - 1966 Wilson 20                                                Harry Dew - No Boat Info

Charlie Watson - 195? Simmons 18-Footer                            James Lee - 1965 - Simmons 20-Foot High-Side

 

 

Look for the 2006 Expo to be held in conjunction with the Cape Fear Community College

Wooden Boat Show.

 

 

2004 Expo

 

       

Left: Two 18-foot Simmons Skiffs - one original and one reproduction.  The ugly cloud in the background spawned a tornado

several miles away.  Luckily, no one was injured and there was only minimal property damage.  Right: T.N. Simmons' daughter,

granddaughter, and great-great granddaughter.

 

       

Left: Four 1950's vintage Sea Skiffs.  Clockwise from lower left: Will Woodard's '58 20-Low-Side, Jake Cornelius' '54 20-Low-Side

Glenn Holland's '59 18-Footer, and David Coste's '55 18-Footer.  Right:  Looking down one of the docks at South Harbour

Village Marina.

 

       

Left:  Three nice 18-Footers.  Right: John Becker's home-built 18-Footer.

 

 

The 2004 expo, in spite of the weather was a great success.  Unlike the previous expo, this year's provided several opportunities for exhibitors to get out in their boats for some cruising and fishing.  This year's Saturday morning parade made the scenic trip to Bald Head Island.  The sloppy water in the middle of the channel provided an opportunity for Simmons owners to show off their boat handling skills.

Special guests were Ann Simmons Mincy, Gale Lewis (T.N. Simmons' granddaughter), and three of Mr. Simmons' great-great grandchildren, who got to take their very first rides in a Simmons Sea Skiff.  The expo was covered by NC Boating Lifestyle Magazine, Wrightsville Beach Magazine and Southport's State Port Pilot newspaper.  Some boats of interest were Glenn Holland's beautifully restored 18-footer, and Jim Parker's new home-built 20-footer.

Simmons building and restoration expert Mike Hubbard held a wonderful Q&A session on Saturday afternoon.  The second annual meeting of the Simmons Sea Skiff Club took place on Saturday as well.

The 2005 expo will be held in June, in an effort to avoid the hurricane season.

 

2004 Registered Boats (incomplete)

David Coste - 1955 Simmons 18-Footer                            George Allen - 1971 Simmons 22-Footer

Carl Jordan - 2003 Home-Built 18-Footer                          Will Woodard III - 1958 Simmons 20 Low-Side

Jerry Slaunwhite - 1963 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side         Troy Allen - 1970 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side                        

Jake Cornelius - 1954 Simmons 20-Foot Low-Side            Alex Slaunwhite - 1963 Simmons 22-Footer

Glenn Holland - 1959 Simmons 18-Footer                         Ben Hewett - 1966 Simmons 20-Foot Low-Side

Tommy Robbins - 1964 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side         Palmer Wilcox - 2001 18-Footer

Don Tezza - 196? Simmons 18-Footer                              Ronnie Moore - 1962 Simmons 16-Footer

Thom Rhea - 1965 Simmons 16-Footer                             Maury Keiser - 1996 18-Footer

Jim Parker - 2004 20-Foot High-Side                                 Eddie Hatch - 1964 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side

Vincent Gross - 2004 18-Footer                                         Pat Wynne - 1961 Simmons 20-Foot Low-Side

Jack Farrar - 2004 20-Foot High-Side

 

 

2003 Expo

"A rainy day boating is better than a clear day at work"


 

The rainy weather didn't stop some die-hard Simmons owners from attending the 2003 expo.  Although the number of boats equaled that of the 2002 expo, the original goal of 50 boats was well out of reach.  But most activities went as planned, if somewhat late.  There were some beautiful boats in attendance.  Roy Rogers (not the cowboy) brought his beautiful home-built 18-footer all the way from Media, PA.  Roy was scheduled as a guest speaker, but due to the weather, and no backup plan for it, he was bumped - maybe next year.  Dave Carnell was given a special gift of recognition by the boat owners.  The award consisted of a small brass ship's bell, engraved with the words, "Presented to David Carnell in recognition of his tireless efforts in preserving the Simmons Sea Skiff Legend."  Dave was also given a framed page from the 18-footer plans.  As many Simmons owners as could be rounded up signed the page as a sign of appreciation.  Alex Silva, the son of the late Nelson Silva was there and, along with Troy Allen, gave a wonderful description of Nelson's methods of building Simmons replicas.  Two of the boats that Nelson built were at the expo.  Also in attendance were Ann Simmons Mincy, daughter of T.N. Simmons, and Gale Lewis, T.N.'s granddaughter.  Franz Van Baars, who has unofficially become the official "Simmons Artist" was on hand with several beautiful paintings of Simmons boats in different scenarios.  A few of the paintings have been printed in limited numbers, including one that was done at the 2002 expo.  All things considered, the expo was a success.  There is still a lot of merchandise for sale, including t-shirts, hats, and the video of last year's expo.

Left to Right: Dave Carnell with a framed page of Simmons Plans signed by Simmons owners.  With him

is retired USCG Captain, and Simmons owner, Bill Brogdon.  Maury Keiser cruises through the Southport

Yacht Basin.  Ann Mincy shows off the "Order of the Long Leaf Pine," North Carolina's highest civilian

honor, which was posthumously awarded to her father, T.N. Simmons.

 

Left to right:  Roy Rogers' home-built 18-footer, flanked by Geroge Allen's 22 and Ben Hewitt's 20LS.  Simmons Row

in the rain.

 

2003 Registered Boats (incomplete)

David Coste - 1955 Simmons 18-Footer                                 George Allen - 1971 Simmons 22-Footer

Carl Jordan - 2003 Home-Built 18-Footer                               Jerry Slaunwhite - 1963 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side

Troy Allen - 1970 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side                       Jake Cornelius - 1954 Simmons 20-Foot Low-Side

Alex Slaunwhite - 1963 Simmons 22-Footer                            Ben Hewett - 1966 Simmons 20-Foot Low-Side

Tommy Robbins - 1964 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side              Don Tezza - 196? Simmons 18-Footer

Thom Rhea - 1965 Simmons 16-Footer                                  Maury Keiser - 1996 18-Footer

Eck Faulconer - 1971 Simmons 20 High-Side                          Roy Rogers - 2001 18-Footer

Gerald Lindsey - 1968 Simmons 20-Foot Low-Side                 John Hamrick - 1988 Silva 18

Dave Carnell - 1964 Simmons 20-Foot High-Side                    Tom Broadfoot - 1973 20-Foot High-Side

Lloyd Watkins - 1972 Simmons 22-Footer                              Bob Emanuel - 1966 Simmons 20-Foot Low-Side

Carl Watkins - 1957 Simmons 18-Footer                                Charlie Sneed - 1988 Silva 18

 

Merchandise Page

 

Expo 2002


The beautiful South Harbour Village Marina loaded up with Simmons Skiffs.