On Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:02:06 -0500, HK wrote:

wrote:
On Jan 11, 12:56 pm, BAR wrote:
HK wrote:
Wayne.B wrote:
On Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:46:52 -0500, HK wrote:
How do I know that? Well, I've sawed plywood and oak and built small
boats
Bovine excrement. You might have watched other people do it but
there's no chance you have ever built a complete boat from scratch and
finished it. If so, you'd have a lot more respect for the skills of
others.
How long did it take you to run your father's old boatyard into the
ground? And what about all of those old world craftsmen who lost
their jobs as a result?
A. As previously stated, I built plywood dinghies and small skiffs. When
I was a real youngster, someone else would cut the pieces out of sheets
for me on the electric saws, but after that I was on my own for assembly
and finishing. There were plenty of guys around to help if I needed it.
It's not that difficult. These were simple boats, simply finished. I was
probably 10 or 11 when I cut the plywood from patterns I traced. It did
not take a lot of woodworking skill to build these boats. We used bronze
nails and screws to assemble the pieces. "Finishing" them consisted of
being patient with sanders and sanding blocks, taking the boats into the
painting shed, staining, putting on three coats of Petit marine varnish,
and installing oarlocks and deck hardware.
Did you have the proper training and were you holding a union card when
you built these boats.





B. After my father died, I took over and in fairly short order, sold all
the boat, motor and parts inventory. I had no interest in running the
boat store or marina, and put the real estate up for sale. Most of the
guys who worked for my father were "moonlighters" from places like
Sikorsky or White Truck or other such places, typically guys whose main
employers kept promoting them until they no longer were able to work
with their hands. They were all long-time friends of my father and
either found other "hobby" jobs or something else to do with their time.
They were natural and highly trained mechanics and craftworkers, boaters
all, and could fix the engines of their era in their sleep.
The marina property sold quickly. The store on the old Boston Post Road
took longer, and, in fact, was sold by two of my boyhood friends, one of
whom was my father's lawyer and the other, his accountant. Last time I
drove by there, a dozen or so years ago, there was a fairly large strip
shopping center on the site. The marina site was supposed to go condo,
but I don't know. Never been back there.
My uncle (my father's older brother) and I had been after my father to
sell out for years, and to retire. My uncle had retired from his
business in 1970 and moved to Boca with his wife. He played 18 rounds of
golf almost every day and lived to be 90. My father died at 60. For what
the real property realized, he and my mother could have had a long,
carefree retirement. My mother sure did.
How's your knowledge of what simple, small wooden boats sold for in the
1950s, Wayne? Still faulty, I bet.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The thing is, after all this rhetoric, he has stated in the past that
he has not built a boat... I tend to beleive the former, based on
comments he has made that just don't add up to boatbuilder.. even
crappy little ones like mine...



Yeah, well, I never considered putting together little dinghies and
skiffs out of sheets of plywood as "boat building." I'm old enough to
have visited real wood boatbuilders when I was a kid, real boatbuilders
like Bill Luder, from whom my father bought a boat. We visited Luder's
yard at least once a year to look around. Luder had a number of still
famous apprentices, too, like Ted Brewer. They are boatbuilders.

And the guy who built that lovely pilothouse - the Miss Rebecca/Jack Tar
- he is a boatbuilder.

I just built cheap little prams and a couple of skiffs. Hardly what I
would consider skilled boatbuilding. The prams were for folks who wanted
a little rowboat for their kids, or who didn't want to buy a much more
expensive Dyer dink.

Harry, this is not a barb.

I just want to let you know that there is *at least* one person here who
believes you. He might live in Cleveland or someplace, but I'm sure he
exists.

Hopefully, that'll make you feel better.
--
John H