...........a 77~78~79 year old man to be exact. I never asked him his exact
age. We became friends when we had our 32 foot boat and docked near each
other, even though I am young enough to be his son (actually his grandson).
He is a remarkable man....but more on that later.

He just purchased a 1978 32 foot Marinette flybridge (sistership at
http://tinyurl.com/mj7t7 ), with the initial offer made in January. 12 foot
beam, dual helm, twin screw powered by a pair of Chrysler Crusaders with
1,000 hours on them, Velvet Drive transmissions. The boat was pampered.

It was surveyed last Friday and he just received the written report, along
with over 100 pictures on CD. Greg Group was the surveyor (that name should
ring a bell if you followed Chucks post a while ago about the multimillion $
decision against Treasure Cove Marina) and gave it a thumbs up. He went
through every nook and cranny of the boat as evidenced by the pictures.

After dinner we went through those pictures as my friend does not have a
computer (warning.....*new* technology). The boat looks solid although
there appears to be some soft spots around the rear deck area drain (Greg
indicated the same in his survey report). Electronics appear to be
original (flashing type depth sounder) yet operable. The hull is solid, as
does appear the galvanic protection system and sacrificial anodes, including
the one running the length of the boat under the keel. Those darn aluminum
hulls.

He will be taking possession of the boat (now in western NY) and piloting it
along the southern shore of Lake Erie to Huron, Ohio sometime in May, with
his son serving as 1st mate. It should be a nice trip, weather and seas
permitting.

He has his old 28 foot single screw Marinette up for sale at the marina but
no buyers yet. He bought the boat to make it easier for him to take it out
and then dock it by himself....twin screws. ;-)

Now to the point.........what amazes me is that this 77 year old man is
still into boating and doing so on his own. His wife died many years ago
and he lives by himself. He is a retired aircraft landing gear design
engineer with Parker and served on a PT boat during WWII. His stories are
amazing and still told in vivid detail. He is a pretty remarkable person
and am proud to call him a friend. ;-)

I hope to be able to be boating with my wife, son and daughter when I am 77.
Heck, I hope to be able to pee on my own in a bathroom when I am that age.
;-)