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The Maiden Voyage

Chad’s boat was completed and he had tested it with a water hose for leaks so it was time for the first trip to the lake.  It’s really a duck hunting boat but until he gets a trailer for it, it’s going to be a backyard boat!  He worked really hard with fiberglassing it, and coating it with some kind of resin, then did his camo artistry on it.  He was proud of it but I was more proud of him for having done it all . . especially during all the heat we’ve had.

The boat was about twice as long as Vince’s little S-10 pick but we made it to the park near our house.  Notice anyone standing around supervising . . not helping with the heavy lifting?  Maybe it’s because he has on his good clothes!  🙂

Here we go . . sink or float??  Bobby is at the back of the boat and he was as excited as Chad was.  Robert, in the light blue shirt, is a local EMT.  I made him go . . just in case! 🙂

I think Chad was a bit apprehensive.  So much work had gone into it and he wasn’t sure it would even float.

Look how pretty this lake is!  I love Missouri!  I really love Missouri.  What about the boat seats?  Chad is sitting on a folding camo stool.  Bobby is sitting on an orange bucket.


They’ve paddled way across the lake . . so far, so good.  They were giggling like school girls.  Bobby stood up in it and did a little dance to see how stable the boat was and they decided it was definitely stable enough for a hunting boat.

Here they are coming back.  Chad was really happy with is boat!  He has snap on sides that will be covered in camo netting so he can do his duck hunting . . without the bright orange bucket I assume.

Good job Chad!  Great boat building effort.

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Comments

  1. This is awesome! Did he paint the boat or is that a covering? Good job Chad. I esp. like the touch of hunter safety orange. 🙂

  3. Good work; well done! Better get your duck recipes ready to hand….once Chad can really hide in the reeds/blinds, who knows but that he’ll bag the limit each DAY? 😀

  5. That is cool!! Good for Chad. The boys would love to do something like that – I will have to show them the post.

  13. That boat looks really great (of course, you’d not catch ME in anything that size). Between all his duck calls and now this great boat, I think your freezer will be full of duck before much longer. I did notice Vince was wearing a very special “boat christening” outfit. LOL

  14. Three cheers for Chad. He did a great job! He deserves a great big start!!!!

  17. Judy, Tell Chad nice going. In the picture with the 2 of them floating along, from a distance it looked like they were sitting on top of an alligator’s back. The boat is so sleek and low in the water. Sure hope the lake is calm most of the time. Your lake looks lovely though. I’d love to sit in his boat and catch fish! Do you think he would rent it out during crappie season??? That would be worth the trip to your area.
    Dar

  19. YEAH CHAD!!! keep the Safety Orange bucket, it is a nice touch. I love that you took an EMT with you. Many times when my husband goes out I make sure someone else in the group is CPR and First Aid certified. He is but ususally he is the one to be injured.

  20. That island in the lake used to have a swimming pool connected to it. You walked over a bridge to get to the island, and the public swimming pool was there. My cousin threw me into the deep end one year trying to teach me to swim. When the pool was closed down for good we had the local JC’s haunted house there that halloween. Its a beautiful lake. but looked alittle unkept last time I was there several years ago. My first grade teacher Mrs. Norris lived just a couple of blocks before the lake.

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