This one is from pictures that Barry Long took at the small craft festival at St Michaels, Md last week. The guys and I had planned on going but then my hip fell apart and I wouldn't let them go without me. I'm all fixed up now but still missed this great gathering. You don't even have to bring a boat if you don't want to. You can fly up to Baltimore, rent a car and have a fun week there. There was no wind to speak of this time but it's still a great place to go to in Oct. For more pictures of this gathering click on Barry's link.

Some people take better of their boats than I do. Here's good ol Sweet Pea, the Finwick Williams 18 catboat that Judy Blue Eyes got from us. As you can see, her idea of a proper finish and mine are vastly different. I don't think it's house paint making this blue hull reflect like this. This one is getting prepped for a wooden show up there someplace.

Blue Sweet Pea

This is Cassey the quilt girl, one of the group of wild women who come out and terrorize us boat guys on the river. If only young kids realized how much us "old farts" really knew they'd be totally shocked. They can't imagine that we've "been there, done that" and remember it all. Cass's man Roy can tell you stories that will curl your hair. Sorry Cass, I'm not implying that you're an old fart, just me and Roy and Stan and Howard and Jim and especially Red.

Cassey's Quilt

Cessna loves to dig a big hole and sleep in it. It's so much fun to watch her do it that we don't mind having to fill up the bomb craters she makes.

Cessna

Oh come on, you knew that I had to show you a picture of my hip scar. He just opened my leg up, cut out the old worn out hip, put in a new one and sewed it back up. No muscles cut. I'm up walking around a week later with little pain and no pain meds. These staples come out in a couple more days. Speaking of hips, I've been out of the hospital less than a week and I seem to be back up to full speed. No pain or pain meds, today I even helped Howard pull the lower unit out of the big new outdrive we got for him. Imagine what they'll be able to do in a few more years.

New scar

Here's the motor from that big old ugly Sea Ray hanging in the air. It took Howard about a day to break it loose, pull it up, replace the starter and all the fluids and put it back in. I'd still be standing there wondering if I should even try doing it. With Howard it's best to just stand back and out of his way.

After it was back in I did what I do best, I stood on the ladder and said "well lets fire this som bitch up" and we did and man did it sound great. A 350 Chevy running through basically open headers. Still lots of adjusting and replacing of rubber stuff but this one's a real runner.

I'm almost ashamed to show this one; this is Crazy Steve in his "going to a wedding" outfit. None of us have ever seen him in anything other than grubby cut off tee shirts. This brings back old working days memories, sorry to have to show you.

Steve

Texas Jim Rester finished his modifications of this little Marshall catboat, a sandpiper I think. He had them put on their custom tabernacle for the mast. This is the boat he stole from some little old lady, sure wish I'd known about it.

Jim's Cat

The Fl maritime museum at Cortez has a little boat called a Scallop boat and here's a picture of Marinell's grand daughter sitting it it. I think these little boats were really used for pulling behind you when you're wading to put your catch in. Marinell is another feisty babe that you don't want to mess with. They seem so nice till you cross the line and then it's just cover your head and take the beating.

Marinell's Granddaughter

Ain't she cute. Richard from Ct sent me this one. Probably the last trip to the beach before the ice sets in and he can go ice racing in a row boat.

Richard's doggy

Lee sails has a new distributor for North America and here he is. Bob and his Lab. I needed two new sails for some of our melonseeds and ordered them through him. Hey, if Uncle Sam can borrow trillions of dollars to China I can order a couple of $625 Beetle cat sail from them and is Hong Kong really China anyway?

Sailmaker Bob's Tokla snow

Helen's sister Norma Ann came from Seattle to help take care of me and spent most of her time in the river with Cessna. It was hard to get either one of them out of the water. My care was sadly lacking through this ordeal.

There's a fixed dam about two miles up stream from me that separates the fresh from the salt water. After all the rains we've had the river is totally fresh and the dam is about under water. Here is the water ripping over it.

Water over the dam

I should bad mouth him but it seems that Washington Dan is doing the same thing we are. He got this old boat with an inboard outboard and was going to pull the drive train out to use for another project and got to thinking, "hell this is a good strong hull" and I've always wanted a tug boat looking thing so why not.

And it's a six cylinder motor with a carb and no electronics, anyone can work on one of these things, at least anyone over 50.

Here's his rendition of what he's thinking about and since winter's set in up where he lives this should keep him going till the thaw.

Last is another rendering for a fishing boat. We've got a kid who comes around when he needs something, is there any other kind, who loves to fish in small places. He goes out in kayaks but would really love something he could stand up in. He ask if we could possibly have an old sunfish hull laying around out in the woods and of course we do. I have a 1974 hull in perfect shape. This should be a good place for him to start. All you have to do is peak my interest and I'm fully on board to go for it.