I'm So Glad No Wooden Boat Called To Me

When I first moved to this marina, Native Son was a well maintained work boat and a bit of traditional art. The fit, as 4 generations have lived on the property, and even more generations worked the local waters.

March 2011. And then crabbing suffered and the owner started a successful marine carpentry business, which financially was a much better idea. There has always--so it seems--been a marine railway on the property. But wood doesn't understand about priorities and change.

May 2012: The boat to the right sank in the neighboring slip but was refloated several years ago, and yet the owner pays slip rental for a bot he has not visited or worked on since. Sorry about the blurs; I'd been kayaking and got a blotch of saltwater on the lens.

Fiberglass is dull, predictable, and functional. I like that. I'm fascinated that marine carpenters learned to make such functional machines from trees, but I'm satisfied that modern engineering and materials make the sport and the pastime so accessible and practical. Of course, we've added gadgets to keep the maintenance and finances challenging; what does that say about human nature?