The side-launching of ships was once common on the Great Lakes, in times when the area abounded with shipbuilding yards. However, the number of active lake shipyards has decreased dramatically in recent years, and Collingwood Shipyards is now the only lake shipbuilder that regularly side-launches large vessels. A Collingwood launch is a spectacle par excellence, and one to which increasing multitudes of observers flock whenever it may occur.

Member Robert Woodcock has produced an excellent book that graphically illustrates how a side-launch is performed at Collingwood. Each step of the process is described in detail and is accompanied by photographs. An 8" by 11", 119-page softcover, SIDE LAUNCH - THE COLLINGWOOD SHIPYARD SPECTACLE is a book that should be in the library of every lake shipping enthusiast. Complete with coloured front and back covers, the book features a foreward by John B. Aird, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, who had the privilege of riding his namesake vessel into the waters of Collingwood Harbour when she was launched in 1982.

The book is available for $12.45 (including postage and handling) from Summerhill Press Ltd., Toronto, and a handy order form is enclosed with this issue for the convenience of our members.

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Reproduced for the Web with the permission of the Toronto Marine Historical Society.