Raised in boating by my Dad, as a youngster. We had a 16 ft wooden (who knows what....) with a 35 Johnson Seahorse, and later, a 18ft Glastron Tri-hull with an 80 Mercury. Learned to launch from the steepest ramps in the world at Lake Barryessa, to using a manual "strap lift" in the Alameda Naval Shipyard.
Moved to Nashville in 1976, bought a 17.6 Glastron Carlson with a boat cover (and no motor...couldn't afford one, but got a great price on the boat :). My girlfriend (Wife now..) and I used to sit in the driveway, with our portable radio, IN THE BOAT, and sun, while listening to the radio :) Then, we would over it up and push it back in the garage..ha, ha, ha. My Dad took pity on us and helped us buy a Merc 140 outboard.... When our kids were born, we sold the boat and went "boatless" for 5 years. Every year we attended the annual boat show in Nashville, to dream of which boat would be our next. Our priority was to insure that the boys would learn to swim and be comfortable around boats first. So my Wife & I carried them on and off of everything made, from the boat show to dealership. The next year, we bought our first Chris Craft...a 19ft I.O. bow rider, and proceeded to raise the boys on the local lake, Percy Priest. We sold the 19ft, 5 years later and waited a year to buy our 24 ft Chris Craft bow rider. Two years later, we downsized to a Chris Craft 21ft bow rider.... We sold it the next season and were boat-less again for 5 years. We bought a 1974 44ft Gibson houseboat, with our best Friend, Fred Salts. It is powered by twin Ford 351 windsors. It is the Parrothead, Port of Margaritaville. We have been working on it since September of last year. She is a "CUTIE".... We hauled her out at Rottgerings Marine, located up the Cumberland river in Eddyville, KY. Had the work done that we figured that we had better contract to the professionals (re did the bottom, trued the props, re set cutlass bearings), and piloted her back to Nashville, to the Key West of the North....Cedar Creek Marina, where she resides now. :)
