Partner Spotlight – Johnny’s Boat Yard
Through support from the Explorers’ Edge Partnership Fund, Johnny’s Boat Shop is strengthening its digital presence to better connect with paddlers, visitors, tourism operators, camps, resorts, and outdoor businesses across the region.
With more than 25 years of combined experience, Johnny’s Boat Shop specializes in the repair and restoration of canoes, kayaks, and other small watercraft. Working with both traditional woodcraft and modern composite materials, the business provides an important service to the region’s tourism and outdoor recreation sectors, helping keep the vessels that are central to paddling experiences maintained and on the water.
The partnership focused on the design and development of a modern, user-friendly website that will make it easier for customers and tourism businesses to discover Johnny’s Boat Shop, understand its services, view examples of restoration work, and connect directly with the business. The enhanced digital presence will also help expand its reach among tourism operators and generate new service inquiries and partnerships.
While the project is digital in nature, its impact reaches well beyond the website itself. Canoeing and kayaking are an important part of the outdoor visitor experience in the Explorers’ Edge region, and businesses such as Johnny’s Boat Shop provide the behind-the-scenes expertise and services that help sustain those experiences. Strengthening this type of tourism infrastructure contributes to a more connected and resilient outdoor recreation economy.
The partnership also recognizes the cultural value of traditional watercraft craftsmanship. By maintaining and restoring canoes and other paddling vessels, Johnny’s Boat Shop helps preserve specialized skills and knowledge that are increasingly at risk of being lost, connecting the region’s longstanding relationship with paddling and water-based travel to its tourism economy today.
The partnership demonstrates how supporting the digital capacity of a specialized local business can have a broader tourism impact—helping visitors and operators access essential services, supporting the longevity of the region’s paddling experiences, and preserving craftsmanship closely connected to the region’s outdoor identity.
This partnership between Explorers’ Edge and Johnny’s Boat Shop supports both economic development and heritage preservation, while reinforcing the region’s reputation as a destination rooted in authentic, nature-based experiences.
For more information about how to get involved through the Explorers’ Edge Partnership Program, connect with Jennifer Montpetit at [email protected].
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