morning at the Boatworks

On Monday I went over to the Boatworks, late morning so I could meet up with our friend, Red. He lets me know when he's going to be there, just in case we can meet up and chat. Steve brought me over by boat of course . . . in that photo you can see I'm holding the book Red gave me that day, for my birthday!! He thought I would like it because of the hand drawn illustrations and he was right! 

Here is Red, rigging up his boat Tom Hand. View large. Now, I know Steve could tell this story better than me (yes, see extra details in his comment below), but I do know that Red had a boat that was falling apart that was very important to him. He brought it to Lucas Boatworks and begged them to fix it. They actually rebuilt the whole thing. The only part that is the same is the keel and maybe one other part. Howard did most of the work and now it looks like Red's old boat when it was brand new! Steve built the trailer for the boat, to make it easier for Red to get it in and out of the water. Yes! Red still takes it out at 90 years young, although he usually has a friend go with him. It is a great little boat. A number of years ago Red had a boat he chartered called the Gypsy Star. I think it was a 50 ft long sailboat . . . he has had some experience sailing! He and his wife did that for 10 years I think, in the Virgin Islands, before landing in Bradenton. I am always happy to see him!! He has lots of great stories and is very kind.