Wife's Valintines Boat

Old Boats

My favored boat is a sail boat because there is something about needing nothing more than the wind to make it go, just seems to make it better. They fit well in to the GREEN movement of today. I can go out on my boat and spend all day on the water, have fun and spend nothing for fuel. It is quiet, relaxing, requires a little skill to get where you are going and back home so it is a little mentally challenging, is fun and very stylish.  A disadvantage to sailing is it is slow and you cannot keep a tight schedule.

There are other types of boats I would like to have. The first motor boat I saw and fell in love with was a Chris Craft Wood Runabout. My family had a Alumina Craft 17’ foot with a 25 horse Evinrude outboard. I thought it was a slug, a clunker, a hulk, and any other bad adjective I could describe it. Looking back on it now, 45 + years… 8-)… later it was actually a very nice family boat.  A “Old man” in his late”50’s” had this Wood runabout. It purred like a cat, roared like a lion when it took off and was beautiful on the water.   

  

 I wanted my Dad to get one, but his logical reason for declining to consider a “boat like that”, was the out of the water upkeep each year was like buying a new boat each year. A few years late when I had a little money set aside for a boat I checked in to the cost of a “boat like that” and the cost of yearly upkeep and I found my Dad was a lot smarter than I thought. I bought an aluminum boat. 8-)

We know a boat crazy couple, like us, that live up river from us. They have even more boats at their dock than we have at ours. He spent years restoring a classic wood boat. It is a prize winner. It is stored on land and protected. I think it is worth as much as a house these days. This is one boat my wife and I would look good in.

What my wife and I would like to have in a motor boat would be an 1800 style motor launch to chug around in. Something in the long, skinny, wood cabin on the front, with an elegant classy design, type of boat.

I would want it electric drive and with solar panels built in and hidden on the cabin roof. It would need a wood ships wheel at the stern, seating for 6 to 8 and lots of brass and big instruments. Where we would dock it I have no idea. I would want is to go at least 20 mph on the water. If it cannot do that I could take a sailboat.

This is basically the style I would like to build. We would look classy in it. It would be my Wife's Valentine boat!

My wife likes the same type boat and some day we will find a design we both like and I will build it for her. This “Old Couple” would look good in it I am sure.