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INFATUATED BY BOATS |
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How I managed to live four decades without sailing is difficult to
understand. I drew thousands of sailboats in school when I should have been
paying attention, and I always dreamed of sailing, but the opportunity never
availed itself. Although cars were
a primary obsession during my youthful years (see my long article on this subject:
"Car Crazy"), I also had my share of boats. I didn't get my first sailboat, however, until I was 39.
My first boat was a wood and canvas canoe which I fixed up and painted.
The photo below was taken in 1959. I am seen helping four siblings get in for a Sunday
afternoon paddle on Daretown lake, where our family lived.
Around 1960, I restored a rowboat and built two 8' prams to sell.
We lived in Austria from 1964 through 2002. In 1967, I built a rowboat with
the church boy's club. Here
they are with their boat.
In 1972, the boat was repainted and served the youth group for several years
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MY FIRST SAILBOAT |
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Taburyak II
In 1979, the owner of a gas station next to Attersee Lake (Austria) was
selling a complete sailing rig for a Tabur Yak II. The boat had gotten
smashed on the rocks in a violent storm and was beyond fixing. Because the price
was right, I bought the package and advertised in a newspaper for the boat, which the sail, rudder and dagger board
would fit. I actually found the 8-foot dinghy but financial problems forced me to sell the boat before I learned to sail.
From that time on, I was constantly on the lookout for another small sailboat, but it would be five long years before I found it.
See Kolibri.
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