Somewhere in Central California, Jim was, in the back of his mind, thinking of retiring, and fishing, and boats, again/still. I was time to get that retirement boat, and though wife Dorie wasn't crazy about boating, she was crazy about Jim, so she did the good wife thing and just said "Well go ahead honey" and so he did. He set about to put together the perfect "Fish your way to Alaska" boat. He had been getting tired of number 33 anyway and so the new challenge of making this into the perfect "Go North" boat for them was exciting. On previous boats he had had bits and pieces of perfect, but number 34 was going to have it all, all together. The right electronics package, the perfect, amenities for two on board, and all the right gear plus of course, the right fishing gear for every situation. After all, he was going to fish his way to Alaska, and around the Pacific Northwest. With all the specs specked, and all the ads perused, and the bankroll in hand, the obvious choice was the only dealer in the state and so he stated the specs, laid the money down, signed the contract, and labeled the new 22 foot, burgundy -- called "cabaret" C-Dory Cruiser as his 34th and last boat purchase ever. He knew what he wanted, he knew what he was doing, and he knew what would be good and what would work: It was his 34th boat, and he knew. After taking delivery of "Jim's Dorie" he spent some time doing some exquisite cabinetry, adding beauty and function to his perfect boat. Then a trip to the PNW where they could do the engine break in, and shakedown, getting the feel and getting ready for the early spring departure for the fishing trip of a lifetime. It was his 34th boat, and it was a good one.
Unfortunately, I never met Jim, or Dorie either for that mater. After their PNW fishing season (80 hours on the OB's -- twins), and heading back to Cal. Jim never made the trip back. We found the boat sitting beside a very unkempt, empty looking home, very deserted looking. It took several weeks to find the owner, who had no interest in keeping the boat, (It had been her husbands 34th, and she hadn't decided how to deal with it yet, after 11 or so months.) But was happy to talk to us. It worked, and we worked out a deal that made us all happy. Our test drive was to peek under the canvas cover and see "yup, it looks like a C-Dory" and all the purchase was by mail. Jim's Dorie was ours.
And now for the rest of the story. Working on the boat, parked in the ally on day a neighbor from the other end of the block comes walking by. "That's a really fine fishing boat" he says. "Yes it is, but I don't fish" I replied. "No, you don't get it" he says, "It's a really good fishing boat, good at catching, I know, I have been fishing on it" OK, so now he has my full attention, and I'm saying "A C-Dory, sure, but this one? It's from California." His name is Adam. "Yup, fishing on this boat right here, back when I lived in California. Jim and I were fishing buddies." OK, so now my spine is tingling and I'm on hyper- alert. Turns out they lost touch when they were moving and my poor neighbor was pretty startled when he saw the boat at the ally parking spot.
I can't list all 33 of Jim's previous boats, but I can tell you this, he was pretty right about picking the perfect boat for number 34. Jim's Dorie morphed into
SleepyC over the next year, and I think it is the perfect boat.
Harvey
SleepyC:moon
