Careers at Toronto Yacht Club

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced sewer who knows marine canvas and upholstery. You would build and repair boat tops, enclosures, covers, cushions, and interior pieces using industrial sewing machines, working with the fabrics, vinyls, and clears that marine work demands.

Key Responsibilities

• Operate industrial sewing machines to produce and repair marine canvas and upholstery: boat tops, enclosures, covers, cushions, and interior pieces
• Work with marine-grade fabrics, vinyls, and clears, matching patterns where required
• Cut and prepare patterns and materials
• Read job specs and follow project directions
• Keep a clean work area and maintain machines in good working order
• Work with the team to solve problems and adjust to design changes

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Working knowledge of canvas and upholstery sewing and fabric cutting
• Experience on industrial sewing machines (walking foot, single and double needle)
• Comfortable sewing different materials: fabric, vinyl, and marine clears
• Strong attention to detail and an eye for quality workmanship
• Basic math and measurement skills
• Able to take feedback and work with changing designs
• Reliable, organized, and safety-conscious

Hours and Details

• Full-time, daytime hours, Monday to Friday
• Boat season peaks April to October
• Pay: competitive, based on experience

About the Role

Toronto Yacht Club is hiring seasonal labourers to shrink wrap boats for winter storage. We have been doing this since 2017 out of three marinas: Krates in Keswick, Grand Harbour in Brechin, and Driftwood Cove in Port Severn, plus mobile work around Toronto.

Shrink wrapping is building a wood frame over a boat, pulling heavy plastic over the frame, and shrinking it tight so it holds up to snow and wind all winter. The season runs from the end of September through January. It is outdoor work in the cold and it moves fast, because every boat has to be covered before the weather turns.

What you will be doing

• Build and install wood framing over boats of all sizes
• Measure and cut lumber to length on site
• Pull, position and heat shrink the plastic over the frame
• Install vents, zipper doors and strapping
• Load and unload materials and keep the work area clear
• Drive between marinas and customer boats in Georgina, Georgian Bay and the Toronto area

What we are looking for

• Experience with hand tools. Skill saw, drills, the usual.
• Your own vehicle. This one is not flexible, we move between marinas most days.
• Valid driver's licence.
• Able to work outside in the cold, on ladders, on your feet all day.
• Shrink wrap experience is welcome. If you have not done it before, we will train you.

Pay and schedule

• $22.00 an hour to start
• Full time through the season, end of September through January
• Gas paid separately when you are working out of Georgina or Georgian Bay

About the Role

Toronto Yacht Club has been repairing and finishing boats on Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay since 2017. We run three marina shops with over 100,000 square feet of indoor space between them, so the work keeps going after the boats come out of the water. This position is based at Krates Marina in Keswick.

We are looking for a fiberglass technician who has done this work on boats. Most of it is gelcoat: chips, scratches, gouges, cracks, impact damage, blistering below the waterline, and colour matching into hulls that have been sitting in the sun for twenty seasons. A good repair is invisible from a few feet away, and that is what we are hiring for.

The work

• Fiberglass and gelcoat repair on hulls and decks
• Gelcoat colour matching and blending into existing finish
• Below the waterline repair, including blistering
• Compound, polish and finish work on repaired areas
• Prep, masking and spray work, including paint where the job calls for it

What we are looking for

• Real hands-on experience with gelcoat. This is the one thing we cannot train from scratch.
• Comfortable with spray equipment and finish work
• Someone who can be handed a boat and left to run with it
• Valid driver's licence, since we work across three marinas plus the Toronto area

The details

• $30.00 an hour to start
• Full time
• Indoor shop work through the off season, boats and docks through the summer
• Small crew, no layers of management