“What Katherine liked best was the new skiff. For $25 Edson had bought one at Fred Huck’s Shop…It was a typical St. Lawrence River skiff, 16 feet long, lap-straked and double-ended, beautifully varnished and easy to row.”

— Margaret B. Keats, The Grandfather Book, 1999

In 1889, Fred Huck moved to Rockport, Ontario, from Cape Vincent, New York, and started a boat building business. Originally a German immigrant, Fred had a reputation as a fine craftsman and grew his business through hard work and dedication. In 1905, he established a blacksmith shop and foundry, where he developed and manufactured one and two-cylinder engines called the Invictus. This engine powered the many wooden boats he built, including the St. Lawrence skiffs. Fred Huck is considered one of the early pioneers of motorized boats in the Thousand Islands.

Fred’s son Ed took over the business in 1945, and by the early 1960s it was run by four of Fred’s grandsons and included a marina. Destroyed by fire in 1962, the family rebuilt the business with a focus on marine sales and service. Today the fourth generation is still running Hucks Marine and Resort in Rockport, just 19 kilometers (12 miles) east of here. The business has been on the River since before Boldt Castle was built in 1900, making it one of the oldest marinas in the Thousand Islands.

Boats built by Ed Huck Marine Ltd in the Museum Collection:

While the Museum doesn’t own any boats built by the Huck family, in 2013 the Boat Museum team used Fred’s 108-year-old wooden moulds to teach local high school students how to design and build an authentic St. Lawrence skiff. The boat is named Skiffy.