This issue isn’t pegged to any one theme, but in a number of stories this month, there are references to pride, and the deep pleasure that can be derived from a job well done.
In Fire & Metal, Senior Editor Gary Reich suits up for a day of work beside employees at Yamaha Marine’s Precision Propeller, where 60,000 wheels are made every year. The time he spent in the Indiana facility learning the finer points of the lost-wax casting process taught him that by the time a prop reaches the shipping dock, it’s been touched by many hands. “Each finished prop looks like a beautiful sculpture,” says Reich. “The visit gave me an overwhelming feeling that everyone in that factory cares, and that they know their work makes a lot of boaters very happy.”
In Penbo Reborn, Executive Editor Pim Van Hemmen had the chance to interview a real boat nut who took on the restoration of a 53-year-old Penbo wooden trawler. The boat was in rough shape when owner Mark Grady began to rebuild her, but the work didn’t faze this general contractor. For nine months, Grady spent his weekends and weeknights doing repairs and updates, giving over much of his free time to the project. “But this is what I do,” Grady told Van Hemmen. “To have this boat as an end product is really very satisfying.”
I’ve had the privilege of working with people who take great pride in the sport and bring to it a level of respect that’s admirable. Peter Frederiksen, who wrote this month’s Seamanship column on running inlets, is one of them. I met Pete early in my career in marine publishing. I didn’t know much about boats at that time. Pete was, and remains, a great teacher and mentor. His considerable knowledge on the subject is second only to his love and enthusiasm for boats, boating and the sea. It’s people like Pete—along with Mark Grady and the hard-working employees at Yamaha—who make time spent on the water the best time of all.
Jeanne Craig
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This article originally appeared in the December 2019 issue.
