Wonderful article! I can relate quite easily as I am 3 weeks away from 85 with a Welsford Pathfinder 3/4 complete and wondering if I will be able to sail her.
Brooke flagged us down on the street all agleam and aglow that The Last Boat had been republished. Now at 90+, he's still climbing the formidable stairs up the hill to his and Wendy's home. Sharp and charming as ever.
Having had the pleasure to be on hand during FRED's design and some of his sailing, it was sweet sorrow to read again of his end.
Though it shines through Brooke's writing, it bears repeating that he was and is an inspiration on the water and off. An Old Salt and friend in the very best sense.
I absolutely loved the article Fred Elgie wrote, "The Last Boat". It was really described a dying parental personality trait in a world where more "Fred's" could have healed and aided its progress. My Dad was unfortunately all thumbs, yet he managed to engineer the first peroxide torpedo used in WW 2. He never bragged about his part in the war effort and was, in fact, ashamed of his part to kill his fellow man. He was, as Fred was, a tinkerer using his mind to think through solutions to problems facing him. He taught me to keep things simple which is so needed in this present world of complicated communication and remedies for enhancing AI advancement. I found much of my father inside me while raising my son, as I taught him to repair and replace only what was broken. It was a losing thought process, for the automobile industry opposed me by producing "sealed" parts for cars, such as fuel pumps, computerised software which left many a father speechless to reason a repair for a computer. Yet, today, I ask my son for advice how to fix a computer problem with his response similar as Fred had with his son, "Let's see what it was supposed to do and we will take it back from there [paraphrased]."
Communication between one generation with another is never lacking, yet the means through speech to enable the effort to move forward to a solution will always be in question. I am seventy six years old and have repeatedly told my daughter (as my excuse for why the world is as it is), "Honey, this is not the world I helped to create for you. We tried to find a means to feed the hungry, promote world peace and to end racial disparity [as a hippie of my day] yet fell far short of our goal because of the same forces moving against us at the present time."
This may not be an article Fred Elgie wrote specifically for the boating public, but it is an article written to highlight some differences which seem to have slipped away, only replaced by newer differences generation after generation will find to maneuver its way through the future they must reason through. Jb
At this stage of the game not many tales will bring a tear to my eyes but this one certainly did. Part of the reason is I've bid farewell to three craft over the years in similar fashion, with some angst tempered with fond memories. A good tale, thank you,
I read this with romantic sadness, thinking to myself, surely someone could have given that lovingly made boat a new life. (me… in south Louisiana? Well, maybe not. But surely somebody...
Wow, what a story! Loved it. Sad end Viking funeral & all, but a reminder to us all that time and tide wait for no man. Shocking decision but somehow fitting. God bless ya. 👍
Being 78 and having built a power cruiser from a Great Pelican with a few modifications, I particularly enjoyed this story. Thank you all for publishing it.
What a wonderful article! Although I am a young pup of only 75 orbits, I have thought, many times, that the boat I will soon launch may be my last. Just getting my wherry in and out of the water, and getting positioned on the sliding seat is feeling like challenge.
I've built several "perfect" vessels or vehicles over the years... times and circumstances change and the perfect becomes imperfect. A museum for one, a dumpster for another. But not this one! This one is the one! All my peculiarities rendered in wood and carbon fiber. Is the boat me? Am I the boat?
I can't believe that I was almost in tears reading this! A reminder for us all to embrace the moments while we can! And then be at peace with our fond memories! AllthebestRoy
A flat bottom might be best for an older sailor who can't handle a keelboat because there's no crane or ramp available. But flat bays with sand. I think I've built eight dinghies, ranging from 3.3 m to 5.x m. The last one was made of 18 mm thick paulownia, which is great. I think a flat-bottomed boat with a little comfort, just a little, could be the right last boat for mir on the Lake Ammersee, just under an hour away from Munich. Let's see what life brings, you get noticeably weaker with time, despite training. And falling in a boat is the last thing you need. My father made that mistake in his mid-70s, not good at all. - Thanks for the good story and all the best for the future.
Great story , and very close to home as I will be 86 years on June the 10th . I now sail a JW Houdini which I can still manage comfortably , but I am working on a great Pelican trying to get in good shape , but I must admit it’s getting harder to get underneath her to fix the bottom ! One of these too boats will probably be my last one ? Damm it so many cool boats , and so little time , but we will see ?
Some tale, Fred! Most enjoyable..and close to home! I am 84, working on an old Siren 17 here in Southern B.C.. Fished Alaska for 5 yrs out from Juneau..us Canucks could work within 12 miles of land in 1960s! Many good friends in SE Alaska! Good memories1 Thanks for the narrative!!
Some tale, Fred! Most enjoyable..and close to home! I am 84, working on an old Siren 17 here in Southern B.C.. Fished Alaska for 5 yrs out from Juneau..us Canucks could work within 12 miles of land in 1960s! Many good friends in SE Alaska! Good memories1 Thanks for the narrative!!
Wonderful article! I can relate quite easily as I am 3 weeks away from 85 with a Welsford Pathfinder 3/4 complete and wondering if I will be able to sail her.
Brooke flagged us down on the street all agleam and aglow that The Last Boat had been republished. Now at 90+, he's still climbing the formidable stairs up the hill to his and Wendy's home. Sharp and charming as ever.
Having had the pleasure to be on hand during FRED's design and some of his sailing, it was sweet sorrow to read again of his end.
Though it shines through Brooke's writing, it bears repeating that he was and is an inspiration on the water and off. An Old Salt and friend in the very best sense.
I absolutely loved the article Fred Elgie wrote, "The Last Boat". It was really described a dying parental personality trait in a world where more "Fred's" could have healed and aided its progress. My Dad was unfortunately all thumbs, yet he managed to engineer the first peroxide torpedo used in WW 2. He never bragged about his part in the war effort and was, in fact, ashamed of his part to kill his fellow man. He was, as Fred was, a tinkerer using his mind to think through solutions to problems facing him. He taught me to keep things simple which is so needed in this present world of complicated communication and remedies for enhancing AI advancement. I found much of my father inside me while raising my son, as I taught him to repair and replace only what was broken. It was a losing thought process, for the automobile industry opposed me by producing "sealed" parts for cars, such as fuel pumps, computerised software which left many a father speechless to reason a repair for a computer. Yet, today, I ask my son for advice how to fix a computer problem with his response similar as Fred had with his son, "Let's see what it was supposed to do and we will take it back from there [paraphrased]."
Communication between one generation with another is never lacking, yet the means through speech to enable the effort to move forward to a solution will always be in question. I am seventy six years old and have repeatedly told my daughter (as my excuse for why the world is as it is), "Honey, this is not the world I helped to create for you. We tried to find a means to feed the hungry, promote world peace and to end racial disparity [as a hippie of my day] yet fell far short of our goal because of the same forces moving against us at the present time."
This may not be an article Fred Elgie wrote specifically for the boating public, but it is an article written to highlight some differences which seem to have slipped away, only replaced by newer differences generation after generation will find to maneuver its way through the future they must reason through. Jb
At this stage of the game not many tales will bring a tear to my eyes but this one certainly did. Part of the reason is I've bid farewell to three craft over the years in similar fashion, with some angst tempered with fond memories. A good tale, thank you,
I read this with romantic sadness, thinking to myself, surely someone could have given that lovingly made boat a new life. (me… in south Louisiana? Well, maybe not. But surely somebody...
Wow, what a story! Loved it. Sad end Viking funeral & all, but a reminder to us all that time and tide wait for no man. Shocking decision but somehow fitting. God bless ya. 👍
Being 78 and having built a power cruiser from a Great Pelican with a few modifications, I particularly enjoyed this story. Thank you all for publishing it.
Oh, Fred Sr. May we all be that lucky.
What a wonderful article! Although I am a young pup of only 75 orbits, I have thought, many times, that the boat I will soon launch may be my last. Just getting my wherry in and out of the water, and getting positioned on the sliding seat is feeling like challenge.
I've built several "perfect" vessels or vehicles over the years... times and circumstances change and the perfect becomes imperfect. A museum for one, a dumpster for another. But not this one! This one is the one! All my peculiarities rendered in wood and carbon fiber. Is the boat me? Am I the boat?
I can't believe that I was almost in tears reading this! A reminder for us all to embrace the moments while we can! And then be at peace with our fond memories! AllthebestRoy
Superb story....our (not small) wooden ketch is on the hard but after major repairs will be home again. I enjoy your work, Fred.
We're all SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE. Thanks for your stories and surely my father was the same cloth as yours. J
A flat bottom might be best for an older sailor who can't handle a keelboat because there's no crane or ramp available. But flat bays with sand. I think I've built eight dinghies, ranging from 3.3 m to 5.x m. The last one was made of 18 mm thick paulownia, which is great. I think a flat-bottomed boat with a little comfort, just a little, could be the right last boat for mir on the Lake Ammersee, just under an hour away from Munich. Let's see what life brings, you get noticeably weaker with time, despite training. And falling in a boat is the last thing you need. My father made that mistake in his mid-70s, not good at all. - Thanks for the good story and all the best for the future.
Great story , and very close to home as I will be 86 years on June the 10th . I now sail a JW Houdini which I can still manage comfortably , but I am working on a great Pelican trying to get in good shape , but I must admit it’s getting harder to get underneath her to fix the bottom ! One of these too boats will probably be my last one ? Damm it so many cool boats , and so little time , but we will see ?
Some tale, Fred! Most enjoyable..and close to home! I am 84, working on an old Siren 17 here in Southern B.C.. Fished Alaska for 5 yrs out from Juneau..us Canucks could work within 12 miles of land in 1960s! Many good friends in SE Alaska! Good memories1 Thanks for the narrative!!
Some tale, Fred! Most enjoyable..and close to home! I am 84, working on an old Siren 17 here in Southern B.C.. Fished Alaska for 5 yrs out from Juneau..us Canucks could work within 12 miles of land in 1960s! Many good friends in SE Alaska! Good memories1 Thanks for the narrative!!