The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1954-04-02
TRIBULATIONS
OF A
BOAT OWNER
BY Carlton Morris

around the corner, for all the
sporting goods stores are dis
playing fishing tackle, boat pad
dies and life preservers and such
impediments peculiar to the fish
erman's art.
While / am sucker for every
new lure that is displayed, / can
resist the temptation to buy very
well considering the fact that 1
never have found one that I like,
which the fish would agree to
like also. But when it comes to
boats-well, that is another story.
! became boat owner for the
first time back in 1947 when the
whole world was on a buying
spree. l lived ON the coast at that
time and as oysters sold for So
per tub right where you caught
them, I had visions of becoming
a capitalist as we'll as a boat own
er and so paid out $315 of good
hard cash for small boat equip
ped for dredging oysters. hired
a man on a share basis and sent
him out onto the sounds and bays
to make us both rich, which he
didn't do.
He reported back to me after
a few days and stated that our
oyster dredge was too small. /
went out and around and soon
found man willing to sell me
one for a mere $40, and so / sent
my man back out to work for I
didn't want the season to pass
without me at least getting my
original investment back. Each
time he went out on the sounds,
furnished him with food and
gasoline, motor oil and such, and
each time he returned he was
fresh out of everything. And he
was soon back again, and this
time the teeth were worn down
too short on the secondhand
dredge and so / must go get it
and haul in into town and pay
$500 to get new teeth made for
it. The next week, my operator
went out and when he returned
at the end of the week, he paid
me almost $40 as my share of his
oysters. Business was really look
ing up, but l had agreed to keep
up the boat, and that week the
battery went dead, and it so hap
pened I had just one in my store,
they being hard to get at that
time. 1t sold for $40.
Anyway, 1 fixed my man up
with groceries, gasoline, etc, and
sent him forth to fame and for
tune. He had only $3.50 to turn
in the following Saturday night
as the wind was blowing all the
week and he was afraid to ven
ture out very far in a 25-foot
boat, he said.
He tied up the boat in a canal
at Swan Quarter. The fast run
ming tides had cut away a shelf
of earth and at high tide the
canal was much wider than at
low tide. He tied the boat when
the water was at its highest.
When the tide went down, my
boat careened over on its side
and when the tide came in the
boat could not come back up and
so ran full of sea water and sank.
l went down and helped get it up,
then had to buy a new generator
and starter, beside the new bat
terry leaked out all the acid at
low tide and filled up with salt
water at high. / was a deter
mined cuss. sent that man out
again and that was the week he
got drunk. That was also the
week l went out of the oyster
business. didn't seem to be able
to get out of the boat business.
One freezing cold day, l took
my boat and drove it the 40 miles
around the sounds and bays to
where I livel, and it rewarded
me by sinking at its mooring. I
took it out on the river bank that
summer and gave it several coats
of beautiful paint and stopped all
the leaks and slipped it back into
the creek and it sank again that
night. l pulled the motor out and
sold it to an acquaintance for $40,
which he was to pay by install
ments. He had paid me $29 when
he came to see me and declared
the motor block was cracked and
he wanted his money back. sold
the dredges and winders for $25
and when another friend came
along and offered to trade me a
small row boat for my 25-foot
hull, / did so gladly. AS my
friend lowed my boat away, ]
stood ON the river bank and wept
no, not because I loved that
boat, nor because my dream Cd
making money was gone. 1t was
none of these things. wept fol-
pure joy.
CAR WRECKED MONDAY