Master boat builder passes away
Buford Haines spearheaded restoration of BCP 45
By Paul Rudan
The Mirror
Mar 23 2007
In the last few years of his life, Buford Haines spent hundreds of hours working on
his labour of love, the historic BCP 45, at the Maritime Heritage Centre.
On Saturday, at 1 p.m., family and friends will gather at the centre to celebrate the
life of Haines who died on Monday of cancer. He was 83.
Haines spent most of his his life on the water as a fisherman and then as a master boat
builder. He was born in Spallumcheen, lived in Bella Coola and Naramata, and then settled
down in Heriot Bay with his wife Louise and two children, Larry and Lynda.
Last year the couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
More than three years ago, Haines and a handful of volunteers began rebuilding Canada’s most
famous fishing vessel inside the Maritime Heritage Centre. Haines saw the project through to
completion and led the craftsman who meticulously rebuilt the old table seiner.
“(Haines) won’t blow his own horn but I will,” volunteer worker Glenn Ashby told the Mirror
last year. “He’s known up and down this coast for his experience and expertise. We still get people coming in here to ask him questions.”
Last June, Buford was climbing up and down ladders as they completed the restoration project.
But he took a moment to take a seat on the deck of the BCP 45, as he reflected on his life and his work.
“I built 20 wooden boats over 20 years in Campbell River, and during the summers I would go
fishing. As a fishermen, it helped me understand what needed to be done,” said Haines.
At the age of 13, he built his first boat and by age 80, he was working on his final piece
de resistance, the BCP 45.
“It would have fallen apart and we realized what we had to do,” stated Haines.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the BC Cancer Agency
or the Maritime Heritage Centre.
Campbell River Maritime Heritage Centre - BCP45
BCP45 now National Historic Site
Campbell River Mirror - September 23, 2005
Official: Federal minister proclaims the national significance of fishing vessel
First Part of the article.
Second Part of the article.
The designation means the site will be posted on the Parks Canada Web site. Keep checking to see when it is published. http://www.pc.gc.ca/progs/lhn-nhs/index_E.asp
The BCP 45 restoration
From Monday to Friday starting at 7:30 am through noon when the
fog horn blows the restoration begins and ends for the day. The
forklift, drills, saws, sanders and hammers are silenced when the
restoration crew head home for lunch. Silence then reigns and preparations
are made for the afternoon tours.
Yellow Cedar Donation
Two logging trucks full of yellow cedar logs from Weyerhaeuser and
Timber West were milled by Ron Bohn and Pallan timber respectively
and delivered on site by Early's Building Supply. The lumber was
hauled inside the Center by volunteers from Day break Rotary and
the Maritime Heritage Society. The cedar was cut to size and will
be used for the restoration of the BCP 45. The volunteer boat builders
are replacing decayed ribbing and planking along with deck beams
and decking. The cabin is also getting all decayed material replaced.
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