The boat builder

Boat builder, boat builder
Build me a boat...

For more than a year, I've kept this blog focused on Asheville. But now in its second year, I feel like it's time to branch out into my other favorite places in the world. I can't help it.

Should I start another blog? Or – dare I say it – is it time to join the Tweeterverse?

Christ on a cross. Another existential crisis has begun!

True Caribbean
The impetus for my latest psychological distress is the trip Barb and I just took to Grenada. Holy shit. This was the best trip we've taken in a long, long time.

The problem is that Grenada passed the test: I can definitely live there. I think Barb might be able to as well. And the people are so great, they actually bump Thais and Balinese to second and third nicest people in the world.

So I have to write about it, right?

My first Grenada post is about the boat builder in Darvey Bay, on the north coast of Grenada. The boat builder skips to the front of the line because my newest best friend Chris requested a boat builder blog post ASAP. I think my other newest best friend Jim would have agreed, but he was still over on Bathway Beach drinking rum. Or at a party somewhere.

Fun fact: Chris and Jim are by far my favorite drinking friends. Ever. They're also in their mid-70s. Go for your life, mates!

Back to the boat builder. He's a very nice man who – wait for it – builds unbelievable boats. Which is a good thing. After all, it would be pretty weird if you're called the boat builder and you actually build lousy banjos.

I used to take notes when I traveled, but it made people really nervous. So I stopped. Therefore, I couldn't remember the boat builder's name. Chris has visited with the boat builder a few times and had drinks with him, so I asked what his name is.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Chris said, thinking about it. "Yeah..."

"Let's just call him the boat builder," he finally said.

The boat featured here is 28-feet long. It's made out of pine and cedar. The boat builder bends the wood with clamps and sheer strength.

Barb the boat inspector

The really interesting thing is how the boat builder actually builds his boats. Or how he kind of doesn't build them. The young guy on the left in the picture above – who actually looks like he's the one doing all the work – is a fisherman who commissioned the boat. While working on his projects, the boat builder has the owners work with him on the boats so they become extremely familiar with them. 

As someone who grew up on boats, that's a great idea. Because shit always goes wrong on boats. Always.

And when you're a few miles out in the ocean and a storm is whipping up, that's not the best place to think to yourself, "Hey, I wonder how this whole boat thing works?"

That's it for today, my friends. But don't worry, FYA will be talking about Grenada more in the future. Probably a lot.

Because that place really floats my boat.