The Story of RAVEN and Company
I used to be in the boat building business. In 1977 I had the opportunity
to purchase a classic 1948 - 32 foot commercial fishing boat named
Danny Boy.
She was in wrecked condition and cost me $500. As I had always loved Edgar
Allen Poe's poem
'The Raven'
I decided to rename this boat RAVEN.
Then the real
work began. Scraping the peeling paint was hard work but not
without
it's rewards.
Replacing planks and rechaulking work was done by my brother
Craig,
an expert shipwright. Finally, after months of work RAVEN is ready
to be launched. I
loaded her onto our company's flatbed trailor and hauled
her to LaConner, Wa. to be launched. First we had to load a
keg for the
sea trial cruise and then my mother Ginnie
christened
RAVEN with a bottle of
champagne. The next day we set off on RAVEN's maiden voyage with a
motley crew of party hounds.
We
cruised frequently to Deception Pass and The San Juan Islands
until I sold her a couple years later. Unfortunately, the new owner had
more dreams than skills and ended
destroying
the boat while trying to
refit her. But she lived on in my memory and I have already constructed
the hull
for her replacement and someday a
smaller version
of RAVEN will
again be afloat.
e-mail me
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