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Christine DeMerchant's Web Page

What's New?

I separated my website into 2, I moved the gardening, butterflies, making charcoal at home, grow lights, and gardening for cats, to Some of the links on this page will point to the gardening page.

mouse in a bottle

I built a no kill mouse trap

I built a no kill mouse trap and caught 5 mice in 5 days, I may have more of a mouse problem than I though!! So I built another mouse trap that can catch more than one mouse at a time.

bucket trap

I built another no kill mouse trap

canna lilies

Growing Canna Lilies from Seeds

Although it's faster to use tubers, Canna Lilies are easy to start from seeds and much cheaper.

turned over

Working on the Topside

My SCAMP is turned over and I've been working on finishing the topside

black eyed susan

Plants that attract butterflies

Many flowers attract butterflies. These are the ones that are most successful in my garden.


How to check your cat for ticks and how to remove them.

Spring has sprung, sort of, and ticks are starting to show up. Time to check the critter for ticks. New page tells you how to check and remove ticks.

black swallowtail

I Raised Black Swallowtail Butterflies

I was updating pages and realized that I had never posted this. Gorgeous Black Swallowtails. Garden Porn to help wait for spring.

treating fleas in cats

Improved article on Treating Fleas on cats

Getting Rid of Fleas in the House

It's time to treat the cats for fleas. I've improved and updated the page and added a new page on how to treat the home for fleas.

I added a new Bird photo page to my bird pages and moved the lot to the garden side of the site.


Turkeys are back

Niagara birds in Winter

hull is painted

Hull is painted

Hull paint is drying, next I need to turn it over and start finishing the topside.

What is that boat called? A dictionary on types of boats

Boat types and names are confusing, here is an attempt at figuring out what was what. This page is the result on my own notes trying to figure out different types of boats. It's a bit clearer now.

metal shoes installed

Finished and Installed metal strips on skegs

These will add another layer of protection for the skegs. I have a lot of rocks and shallow areas to deal with and this will help.

Too much epoxy to matrix ratio weakens a composite

Weight for weight, the greater the % of epoxy to your composite, the weaker it will be.

It's Springtime and the Dogs and Cats will be spending more time outside. It's time to start treating everyone for fleas and ticks.

I've added a couple of gardening pages to my gardening site.

starting seeds

What is a hybrid?

What is a hybrid, are they better than regular seeds, are hybrids GMO?

starting seeds

What seeds need to germinate

What do seeds need to come up quickly and produce healthy seedlings. Why are some seed so difficult to grow? This article looks at some regular and some exceptional requirements for seed germination.

I don't usually allow guest speakers on my website but I made an exception. It's a great project. He's the kind of teacher I would have liked to have.

building a pirate racer

Springhouse Community School build a Bolger Pirate Racer

He includes a Kickstarter appeal, throw a few dollars his way. He's making a better world for us.

This is what David Reece had to say about the project: ... these kids are taking to boat building like seagulls to a bag of Cheetos. For those of you who love boats and sailing, you know how rare and rewarding it is when the younger generation gets excited about those things, too. Here is a group of kids from a tiny rural town in the mountains, willingly learning about boats, boat design, sailing, construction, woodworking, and nautical life.
The kind of skills they are learning are beyond my expectations. Not only manual skills, but highly transferable skills like problem solving and cooperation, resilience and creativity. When problems arise, these students confront them with the same determination and grit that you would expect from adults.
This is going to be transformative for them.

kayak paddle float

I made a Foam Kayak Paddle Float

This float will help me balance the kayak if I need to get back inside after a tip.

opossum tracks

How to recognize opossum tracks

How to recognize the odd little star shaped opossum tracks

dog tracks

I finally made myself a Clamp Rack

Finally after many years, I finally gave up the "chuck everything into a milk crate" school of clamp storage and made myself a rack. It's got wheels too!

dog tracks

How to tell the difference between dog and coyote tracks

Once you know what to look for, it's quite easy to tell the difference between dog and coyote tracks.

paracord bumper

What is paracord and how to make a small boat bumper

Paracord project are many and some are quite fun. Here I made a bumper for the Skerry. 2 versions. Softer and more gentle than most commercial versions.

sennit braid

How to braid a 4 strand round braid, sennit.

This is useful as a knife rope, dog leash braid, or any other round cord.


Have you ever wondered how potentially Rabid animal bites are treated?



I turned the Scamp over. Link to Video

wood scraper

I bought a new scraper and I'm thrilled

In an effort to make cleaning up and finishing epoxy easier I got myself a new silicon carbide blade scraper. I'm thrilled with the stupid scraper. Go figure!

Why do cats pee in the house?

I had a spot of trouble with one of the cats. I quickly became an expert in Cat Pee.

How to find cat urine stains using a UV light

How to get rid of Cat Urine Smells (or dogs)

What do vets learn when the analyze your cat's urine?

Led lights

LED Lights

I made a light to help start seeds inside.

How much epoxy is needed to cover fiberglass cloth?

I was running out of epoxy and wondered if I would have enough to finish the hull or if I should order more.


I found a great local lumber mill

Located in the Niagara Region. It's always great fun to go on a field trip. I found good lumber for the gunwales of the SCAMP.

Comparison of characteristics of red oak and white oak

Can I use red oak for boatbuilding and what is the difference between red and white oak.

Table of Characteristics of red and white oak.

diatomaceous earth

Diatomaceous earth is one of the safest garden insecticide there is

What is it? How do you use it? How safe is it?

graphite powder

Graphite powder is often added to epoxy to make it more slippery

It is used on hulls of light boats and for parts that need to slide against each other such as centreboard and its case.

Knowing how to Heave-to could save your life

Heaving to is often the safest way to weather a storm if you can't get to a safe spot in time.

quiz about sail

So you Think you know everything about sails? Take my sail, rig and sailing quiz.

I've been playing with a simple Javascript quiz. Test your Knowledge, basic and otherwise.

Ticks and their control in Cats

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Getting Around

Some Navigation Pages


boat navigation page

Boat Plans

boat plans navigation page


cat navigation icon


garden navigation page

My Photos

navigation icon for photographs

Steps in Building SCAMP

  • Dragon Boats
  • CATS
  • MY ART

  • emails:Email if you have a comment, want to exchange links, or found a mistake. Christine


    Small Print

    Unless otherwise indicated, I own the copyright for all the material on this website, including photos. If you want to use some, contact me for written permission.

    Small Print

    I link to some Products. I try to find links that are relevant, of acceptable quality and interesting. It helps pay for the website. I have tried some of the products but not all. I do not recommend any product unless otherwise stated. Let me know if you've had a bad experience with one of my links and I'll remove it.