Rear Step

Once you drop the swim ladder, it is a big step back up to the deck. Jim has been wanting to put a step there.

Normally we don’t get to do a lot of swimming, so I didn’t see it as a necessity. But, after spending a couple of days at Silver Glen Springs, where I spent a lot of time in the water, I realized he was right.

Jim never throws anything away…he had a couple pieces of teak left from a table on another boat…and now it’s a step.

He can be very innovative. He loves making something out of something else. He’ll spend a lot of time just sorting through the “stuff” he has laying around, before ever going to the store.

When were were truck drivers…he had me scanning the parking lots  for bolts, nuts, washers etc. One day I came back with a large unusual bolt…he tossed it in the collection.  A few months later…something broke on the truck or trailer, can’t remember which, but that bolt was just what he needed to make a repair that got us to our destination on time.  Sure made me a believer. Now I don’t throw anything away until he looks at it…no matter how insignificant it might  seem to me.

He switched from Injected Fuel to Top Fuel(‘74 - ‘81), when drag racing, because just about anything could be done, as long as, you passed inspection. It left a lot of room for innovation….it eventually became restricted, governed and for the rich and big sponsors.

I guess he’s kind of like a wood carver who can look at a branch or chunk of wood and see birds or fish and then whittle away and ends up with something beautiful or useful.

He’s my “MacGyver”.  And believe me….that is one item in the “tool” box you really need aboard an old boat.