Nanna's boat has a great story!

Nanna's row boat has a great story.

Nanna got a row boat with her first cottage and sold it to a neighbor down the lake who had three children who would enjoy it. He fixed it up, painted it and put a motor on it. The kids enjoyed it for many years, but grew up and moved on to other things (and maybe bigger boats!). He offered to sell it back to my mom, with improvement for the same price he bought it for. She accepted.

Mom, Sammy and the boat.

The motor later needed work and I remember my dad putting it in a big barrel of water to work on it. Eventually he got fed up and it moved on to other adventures elsewhere.

2001: Charla and Angie

The boat, now equipped with oars, was just fine for us. Many a time Charla and I rowed to the dam or over to Dad's cottage. I remember taking my mom in the boat and our dog Sammy tried to follow us. She couldn't get in the boat and was tired, so we had to row back to get her back home. We often took Pat out for a ride on her annual summer visits, too.

Those oars were lopsided and repaired many a times and finally replaced with shiny new ones. Our old neighbor Larry came over to help me drill the holes for oar locks. When mom built her house Uncle Wayne made new seats for the boat. Cameron and Darcy helped me paint them and then Kevin installed them. More recently Kevin and I got a motor boat and inherited a small boat with a motor and the row boat, needing some love, was put aside. 

The new seats

Then last summer we were re-acquainted with the boat's previous family! My mom told them about their connection to the forlorn boat lying upside down on the lawn. This summer, Connor, the grandson of the man who bought, fixed, and sold it back to my mom decided to give the boat new life and asked if he could buy it. My mom said she wanted to keep it, but he could borrow it for the summer and anytime he wanted. He was thrilled and couldn't wait to get it home and fix it up.

Connor fixing the boat

A few days later I was there as he cut down a branch, cut out and planed a piece of wood and fixed the transom. Promptly his motor was on the back and trials were conducted!! The picture and video below are his maiden voyage.