“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
I always loved the water and messing about in boats. Here are a few that brought me the most joy.
First was the "Shwoogie Boat." One of my buddies named her this when he first laid eyes on her and the name stuck. By far the most fun boat ever. We crabbed day and night, hunted ducks, fished lakes and ponds, went clamming, scallopping, and saltwater fishing. It is an incredibly versatile boat for it's 12 foot length. An old airboat hull that was extremely stable with 4 or five guys aboard doing all these things.
Next was my first fishing boat. An 18 foot aluminum bathtub. Built a little center console, put an old 40 hp Evinrude on it, and the family had a ball going fishing and doing to the beach.
That lead to a more capable saltwater boat that I had a ball with. Fishing Niantic Bay, the Race, Plum Gut, Fishers Island Sound, we were out every minute we could. On nice days we would take trips out to Block island and Montauk, chasing stripers, fluke, and cod.
Looking for a weekend camper, I picked up this old Morgan sailboat so we would have a place to sleep. It didn't take long to fall in love with cruising to distant places and just enjoying the sea.
That of course lead us to move up to a boat where we could take the whole family on trips. Stella Blue is our 400 Mainship Trawler. We have traveled all about Cape Cod and the Islands. Even made a trip up to Boothbay Harbor, Maine.
My latest toy is a small Edgewater we use as a tender when we anchor out with the Mainship, and utility boat for clamming, and bay fishing.
