The Bold Venture

The Bold Venture

I was about thirteen years old when it was started.

My dad was in the backyard hammering away on what looked like a small box. Little did I know that this little box would lead to an adventure that would last a number of months and an experience that I would remember the rest of my life.

Taking his task to the old barn behind our house in New Jersey where my dad kept a machine shop, I watched as he measured and cut and cut and measured for what seemed like days. This was not unusual as my dad had a sideline; building big wooden vats; we called them tanks. I later found out that those tanks were bought by some of the fabric companies as dye vats where they would immerse the fabric and dye it to the desired colors.

Somehow though, I knew this was different. There was a lot more wood than usual, a different kind of wood, and a lot of swearing. I finally was curious enough to ask what he was building. He told me he was building a boat. A BOAT? WOW!

I had a picture in my mind of a canoe-like craft that we could take out on Crestmere Lake and enjoy the day. However, there was too much wood for that, and it kept being delivered. My dad said, “I’m building a cabin cruiser.” I don’t think that I knew what a cabin cruiser was, so I checked his magazines. As it turned out he was building a 23- foot boat to take out deep sea fishing.

I asked where the plans and blueprints were, and my dad pointed to his head. I shrugged, and went on with what I was doing; as my dad had often made plans for the old buildings in the back of the house and those never materialized.

As his work progressed, I could see the ribs taking shape and got more curious with each step. I would go out to the “shop” after school every day and check the progress from the night before.

Then one day my dad said, “I could use some help.” I obliged and began to see the plan in his head come to fruition. However, I was confused about how that flat wood could possibly be turned into the bow of the boat. Were we going to have a rectangle for a boat?

That turned out to be part of my job. My dad handed me this contraption and explained how I would steam the wood so it would get flexible, and he would be able to bend it into the shape he wanted.

At some point, I don’t remember when or how; the boat was moved to the barn part of the building and put up on a scaffold. There we worked at night and on the weekends until the big day finally arrived. We would move the boat off the scaffolding onto a trailer and take it to the launch site in the Passaic River. Easy you say? NOT!!!

It seems that the original plans in my father’s head didn’t account for the flying- bridge above the cabin. The flying-bridge was an after-thought but did look impressive. If you haven’t guessed yet, the opening we had to go out was not big enough. OOPS!

My dad got his trusty circular saw out and in about an hour we had a doorway that was more than adequate to get the boat out and maneuver it onto the trailer.

We arrived at the launch site where my dad had arranged to dock the boat. As the boat slid gently into the water, it began to float. I don’t know why I was surprised. We did some last-minute things once the boat was in the water and when my dad started the motor, it was more exciting than anything I had heard in a long time. We slowly pulled away from the dock and were soon cruising down the river on our maiden voyage.

It was time to turn around and head to the dock. That should be a simple task. However, as my dad turned the steering wheel to the right, the boat had a mind of its own and turned left. My dad recognized right away that we had crossed the steering cables and decided to get back to the dock before he corrected the issue.

Now, once you get that in your head. Turn right to go left, turn left to go right, you would think it would be ok. However, your mind likes to play tricks on you and make it much harder than it seems. My dad did a great job. But, as we approached the dock, my dad had trouble guiding the boat, and we hit the dock with a big thump and chipped the newly painted bow.

My oldest brother who was aboard, and couldn’t swim a lick, saw the chipped paint and just knew we were going to sink. He made a desperate leap for the dock.

That was the day he learned to swim.

With all the smashed fingers, comic relief, and learning about flying bridges, fiberglass, transoms, and Mercury outboard engines. I also learned another very important lesson.

If you have an idea and pursue that idea with passion, hard work, and dedication, and oh yeah, a little swearing along the way, that idea can become a reality.

Oh, I forgot to tell you the name of the boat; ‘THE BOLD VENTURE’, it certainly