Skip at the helm of a sailboat
Dog Toy Donations

Old boat rope.
New best friend.

Retired marine lines turned into tough toys and given free to local shelters.

Skip and Jessica Salmond of Friends of Strays holding a bundle of rope dog toys
A delivery to Jessica Salmond at Friends of Strays shelter in St Pete
A Pet Pals volunteer holding armfuls of rope dog toys in front of a blue dog and cat mural
A delivery to Pet Pals shelter in St Pete

How the rope gets a second life

1
Rope comes off the boatsRiggers, marinas and owners save retired lines instead of tossing them.
2
Skip makes the toysCleaned, cut and knotted by hand, and built to last.
3
Shelters get them freeNever sold. Every toy goes to a dog waiting for a home.
Have old rope? Let Skip know. Run a shelter? Ask about toys. Want to help? Tools or an introduction.
Your owner's rep

Someone in your corner.

An owner's rep who gets his hands dirty.

An owner's rep keeps your interests front and center while everyone pulls on the same line. With decades of experience up and down the East Coast, from boatyard to brokerage, Skip works alongside the yard, the right specialists, and stays with it until the job is done.

Prelisting inspections and market analysis
AI generated work estimates
Brings in trusted specialists and sees every job through
Tell Skip about your project
A blue-hulled sailboat on stands in a Florida boatyard, freshly painted
A fleet of one-design racing sailboats with dark sails, crews on the rail
Photography & boat portraits

Your boat, the way you see her.

Regatta and on-the-water photography by Skip, plus custom portraits of your boat, your crew and your dog, created with artist Mallie Sykes.

Racing sailboats under bright spinnakers on Tampa Bay Framed boat portrait by Mallie Sykes: a blue center-console boat under a textured sky
Framed painted-style portrait of a couple holding their small dog aboard a boat
Created from a photo by Skip
Artist Mallie Sykes smiling in a printmaking studio, wearing a paint-covered apron
Mallie Sykes, the artist behind the portraits
See the portrait gallery See Skip's photography Ask about a portrait
Hand-tied rope pieces: two red monkey's fist knots, a red and white knotted loop, a white braided ring and a small blue knot
Custom ropework

Rope, made by hand.

The same hands that knot the dog toys make rope that works hard aboard and looks good doing it: lines spliced to fit your boat, and artist knotwork you'll want to show off.

Dock lines & mooring linesSpliced to length, sized for your boat.
Working ropeFender lines, tails, whippings and replacements.
Artist ropeworkDecorative knots and one-of-a-kind pieces for the boat or the home.
Ask about custom rope
With thanks to

The crews who make it possible

The Yacht Rigger
St. Petersburg · supplies most of our raw material
Zern Rigging
Pensacola, Florida

From the dock

Deliveries, new toys and happy shelter dogs.

Follow @dog_toy_donations
The pikSkip promise
Started is easy.
Finished is everything.

Lots of projects get started. Too few get finished. Whether it's a rope toy, a boat portrait or a repair, Skip sweats the details and sees it through. Completing the project is paramount.