Do you remember your first boat

Yep, a Dyer dinghy. I used to put the oar up to make an extra sail with Mums table-clothe to make the rig a yawl.

Got given a Laser soon after, for Christmas.

Parents bought me a Penguin when I was about ten (that would be 1962). I had been to summer camp in NC the previous 2 years and spent as much time as possible sailing either solo in their 8' prams or as crew in their Lightning or Rebel sailboats. My father had raced Lightnings in Savannah, GA at the SYC. My parents had taken me sailing on that boat in a collapsible playpen before I could walk. The Penguin was not really suited for the Wilmington River and was replaced with a 14' Hobie Cat in a year. The first boat I actually bought for myself was an AMC Force Five. It was a toss up between the Laser and the Force Five. I went with the Force Five because it had a little more sail area. They still race Lasers at the SYC, not to mention the Olympics, and Force Fives are extinct. Oh well. It was fun.

A 1950 Winner that had a blue lightening bolt on the hull and came with a 25hp Evenrude in 1956 for $600. Upgraded to a 40hp Lark about 1960 before jumping to boat completely out of the water on 26 consecutive waves and putting the center seat through the side. Dad was not pleased.

Thats my first on! From the late 50's, a Snapdragon, about 7m. It's sailing on Neusiedler See in Austria, won the Blue Ribbon for the fastest boat in 1967 (with some previous owners, wasn't born then). Still have it, still sail it, still love it!

If someone is in Vienna, I'd be glad to invite you for a sail

My first boat... was a 12 foot all plywood hard chined open motorboat.
I started building it at 10 years old and finished it just before I turned 11.

It was built with money I earned delivering papers, selling greeting cards, doing yard work... painting... any odd job I could con the neighbor ladies into. I bought everything myself as my father was steadfastly against the project.

I had reviewed many many plans but designed my own. All the tools were mine including my handed down great grandfathers cabinet making planes and hand tools which were invaluable... he was a what is termed a gentleman farmer and that was his hobby. Neither my father or grandfather helped in fact thought it was crazy... but mom intervened.

I had hoped to build round hulled with real boat building techniques like steam bent frames, hardwoods, etc. but my resources both skills were too little. So I settled on the plywood "Vee" bottomed hard chine technique... as I could accomplish that... that was very important to complete it. As my father said I never would. I can remember screwing hundreds of screws it seemed... used the bit and brace as hand turning them in with a screwdriver was too hard even though I predrilled properly. I did not fiberglass anything and it was closely fit, glued and non-tradtionally chalked as all the seams were backed up with battens with so I only had to use putty to fill imperfections, and not for seal. The hardest part was drilling the shaft hole through the keels right and installing the motor. It had a tiller rudder but I did plan to build a wheel system.

I had a major technical problem as it was built in the basement which had an old fashioned very small parking space for a car or more likely a carriage as the house was very old and a townhouse... my construction area... right off my bedroom (moved down there into the unfinished basement to be near my small shop and the boat). The problem was my father had the double doors made over to non-openning and put steps on the ramp... dad was very very passive aggressive, something I did not understand until later. So I could only get it out a conventional door and steeps up after a 90 degree turn. So I modified it by cutting in halve and bolting together for assembly... this would make transport easier. This rather major mod was not that bad to do and did work with use of putty gasket material. My brother and I pulled the two halves to a pond in a large park about a 1/2 mile from the house and it did work with minimal leakage. We had a shaft alignment issue and the motor could only be used for a few minutes before the shaft would start leaking. This was solved by loosing the bolts and shimming by trail and error. The stuffing box was a pipe with caps drilled a little larger than the shaft. I did get some epoxy glue to glue the stuffing box into the keel... so it was very fixed in place. We found you had to pack it very tight with oakum and use lots of grease.

We made three trips to the pond... using our toy wagons to haul it on... before dad turned the the car into the very tight parking place behind the house off the alley... right into the boat pretty well destroying it between the house and the bumper. I wish I still had pictures but a house fire due to an old heater ruined a few rooms... many years later... an that erased that.

Anyway... I did it myself... it was not really what I wanted but is was pretty good and very excellent for a kid. I was probably the most important thing I did as a kid... but you forget and its seems so far away and puny now. I considered it a failure after the accident.

My grandfather taught it nothing much... never said one word in encouragement despite his yacht and seafaring experience... I was a child who had no business building boats... he was old school that children should be (hardly seen) and not say anything. I thought he would be very interested... but he had none. He was the kind of man that a couple years later I had tagged along with him and broke my arm at the wrist when I got it caught between the pier and his "real boat" when I helped cast off and dropped the rope and grabbed for it... and the rather large boat much like Sultana herein crushed it... never said a word to him or anyone until hours and hours later... when I went home and had to tell mom I broke my arm and needed to go to the doctor... really hurt but would not say anything to grandfather!

My father later commented about the boat project when mom said she was going to finance a replacement if I did the work... "he'll never finish it"... so I never started having out grown building boats... besides my clarinet practice requirements and school work so of killed a lot of free time I once enjoyed.

Actually had not thought anything about it for as long as I can remember but this thread brought it back. Maybe the story was a little sad in some ways but it helped make me and was an adventure..

A 13 ft Boston Whaler. I still remember the registration number ME 4410 H, and I kept the bow cleat polished. As I was 14, I went looking for wakes, and could not understand why no adults wanted to ride with me.
Best,
Maldwin

Hi,

When I was about 8 or so my Dad moved up from a 26 foot Owens to a 36 foot Richardson sedan.
The sedan came with a row boat, on a contraption, mounted on the roof.
This looked awful to my Dad and it was a pain to operate. It was a big square davit with a geared winch that lifted the row boat up and over the side in a 180 degree arc. then you'd need to winch the boat down to the water, all by hand.
Dad did that once.
Gave me the row boat and trashed the contraption.
The row boat was round bottomed and about 6 feet long and almost as wide, with wooden seats and a rub rail of 1-1/2 rope.
Dad called it a "Peanutshell"
While the Richardson was all wood, this row boat was, I think, fiberglass with brightwork wooden seats and foam under them. the bow seat was so small only my skinny butt could sit there.
It fit neatly into the back of his pick up truck to haul home in the winter for me to spruce up seasonally.

For an adult, trying to get in and out of this little boat was like balancing on an egg.
For a kid it was perfect.

I had oars that were 18 inches taller than me and I rowed that thing all over.
Never beyond my parents sight and always with my trusty KAPOC life preserver strapped in place.
Being in an old boat yard, on a quiet creek with little cuts and sunken boats it was a great place to be for a kid and I spent as much time as my folks would allow in that little boat.

I loved that boat and like Maldwin, I kept it clean and painted and ready for my next adventure. I was very proud of it. I always had it to myself because of the tippieness (sp? )

Of course that was the beginning of the end.... I have never been without a boat since then and hopefully never will be.

I wish I had a picture.

My first was also a Dyer dinghy. I wasn't actually the owner. It was the dinghy to my Dad's Pacemaker. I sailed that thing all around the anchorages in Long Island Sound at around 6 years old took it fishing a lot also and loved it. A little later my Dad got a 3 horse outboard for it and I happily putted around with that as well. The good ole days.

When I was 10 years old, I had the best Christmas ever. Santa brought me a brand new 9HP McCulloch outboard motor and a new 12' Crestliner aluminum boat. (Actually my dad got a new boat and motor.) After that, I had the longest winter ever waiting for the lakes to thaw. Almost every day after school I would fill a garbage can with water and run my motor and dream of the forthcoming days out on the lake.

I still have the motor in its new condition but with 100's of hours on it and all the fond memories of growing up on the water. When my parents passed away, I found the original sales receipts for the boat and motor. The boat was $92 and the motor $270.