Rumors

Rumor has it that my father's old boat, the Poppy, an 18 ft. Webbcraft runabout may soon end up in the hands of my brother-in-law John. This after sitting for fifteen years as my brother Pete struggled to make it workable for him. Pete has since opted for a smaller, more trailable craft of Canadian manufacture (I can't remember who makes the boat) and I think that will turn out to be a good thing for Pete. Captain John on the other hand has a daunting task ahead, but I cannot think of a more qualified, capable person in my family to salvage the derelict craft that was my father's pride and joy.

It's been difficult to watch that boat, which really was my father's pride and joy sit for so long and slowly fall into disrepair. It was equally difficult to watch my brother become more and more frustrated and angry as his efforts to make use of the boat were thwarted at almost every turn. I would be gratified to hear that John has rehabilitated the boat and is making good use of her. My feelings about this mostly stem from the fact that I was "involved" to a small degree in the selection and purchase of the boat, some twenty-five years ago. I also felt like I had some "sweat equity" having worked on that boat many times, cleaning, polishing, organizing, assisting my father with the mechanical maintenance and outfitting, so it has been mildly painful to watch my brother struggle with a boat, that he has admitted on more than one occasion that he never really liked all that much.