Evening star., 1938-06-12
By A. Stanley Morean.
HARLIE and I decided to buy
4. a boat. He is another United
I States park police oficer.
aho11t "a vears old and his

boat. He Is announcer united
States park police oncer,
~ about SO years old. and his
description in police lookout would
read. "Ruddy complexion, wearing a
mustache."
Any boat larger than a rowboat Is
luxury and Charlie knew it. He
thought that while he could not stand
the expense alone, he could pay for
one-half OF the expenses Charlie is
a canny fellow, never given to biting
of more than he can chew. Since
his family and mine had lived to-
gether in Washington. D. c.. during
the time of the Government pay cuts,
We felt that we knew each other well
enough to get along together in a
partnership.
My wife, Helen. and I had spent
all of last summer without ever get
ting away from the house, because 1t
took every penny could earn just
to pay living costs and last winters
coal bill. While others were taking
trips to Chesapeake Bay we took
plunges in the bathtub to cool of. So
she was willing that we should buy a
boat.
OUR first advertisement, in the Feb
ruary l edition of The Washing
ton Star, read: Wanted, cruiser or
hull above 80 feet. Cash. Greenwood
37l4." That was typographical error
Answers came in by the dozen. Own
ers who had spent $4,000, $4,000 and
$l2,0 900 for their boats were willing
to sacrifice them for $1,000, Sc, 900 and
$1,000. One had six hunks, galley,
toilet and brass rail all around it.
The rail might as we'll have been made
Of gold as far as we were concerned.
The second advertisement, a cor
rection Of the first, read about 80
feet" This time we heard from q
three-man partnership that had
Navy motor -sailer, 80 feet in length,
9-foot beam, four bunks, chemical
toilet, galley and engine for $50. That
was better fitted to our pocketbook.
The boat was in wet storage at an
abandoned District of Columbia dock
where it cost nothing to keep it. Yacht
clubs and boat yards want from 81
to IS month for winter storage on
land. IS to $40 to haul out, and the
same to. put her back into the water.
The boat had the sweet, beamy lines
Of the Navy design up to the gunwale,
when we went to see her, but above
thof thApA To ka avs
two-seater lying on its side, fore and
aft. The short foredeck was rotten,
SO that daylight could pour through a
hole as big around as a peck measure.
The painted canvas on the cabin top
was badly checked and needed re-
placing and all the paint needed to
be scra9ed to tho wood. A canopy
extended from the after end of the
cabin over the engine in the cockpit
to the short afterdeck.
The engine was the original equip
ment, . Norfolk Standard, type GIG,
two cylinder. two cycle, ten horsepow-
er. It had two sets of spark plugs,
battery starting and magnetic operat-
ing. Some previous owner had in
stalled an auto battery and a timer
attached to the shaft forward Of the
hywheel and couple OF Model T
spark coils.
T>HE trial trip on the next Sunday
didn't 60 of 50 well. The water
pump went in and out, but pumped
no water. It couldn't very well with
out packing, no matter how much it
was frightened. The engine got hot
and stopped. It cooled again and we
made the. dock.
Three days later Charlie and I took
the boat about miles down the Ana
costa River to . boatyard to get an
estimate on the repair work on the
foredeck. "Thirty-five dollars" the
man said, and 1t would not have to
Be taksn out on the marine railway.
Hs could DO the work alonsaids ths