Kinsmen rebuild pontoon boat for Lake Lisgar

Frank Kempf pilots the newly rebuilt Kinship 1 on Lake Lisgar. The boat recently had a neck installed and some of the hardware replaced. (Contributed Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

The only motorized boat docked on Lake Lisgar has a new look.

Called Kinship 1, the pontoon boat is used for lake maintenance by the Kinsmen, and mostly by member Frank Kempf.

Kinsmen Pat Carroll explained the boat was purchased by the Glen and Ellen Springer Trust, a $50,000 trust established to maintain the beauty of Lake Lisgar. It was purchased in 2018, but it was already more than a decade old, so the wooden deck on the boat needed replacing.

The boat went into the shop shortly after the fountain was installed on April 18. Carroll and Richard Mann disassembled the boat and replaced the plywood and stainless steel hardware. These items were donated by Home Hardware and 3E Power.

“Frank is elated because he has a solid boat because he’s going to do his big project at the north end of the lake,” Carroll said. “Now, it’s pretty solid, so it should last until the next generation.”

Lake Lisgar has been a pet project of the Kinsmen, and Kempf is also involved with the Lake Lisgar Revitalization Committee. The Kinsmen purchased a new pump for the fountain, painted the bridge, and annually install and remove the fountain. Carroll said there is also a lot of behind-the-scenes work involved with the fountain after its removal, including cleaning and replacing the pump gaskets.

Removal of silt in the north end of the lake is planned this summer.