Restoring The Ordinary.
Hornet – Step Hydroplane
Hornet Sportabout – Station wagon
While we all drool over cool extreme cars and boats, the truth is, most folks had rather ordinary lives, and yes boats and cars. Just like today, 99% of the stuff is future landfill and just is part of the texture of our time. It makes sense that while you were being motored around in a row boat, and saw a cool GarWood go by, in your brain, a trigger was set off. I WANT ONE! But your barriers took over and you spent your life in a cubical and driving the kids to school in a mini van. And when you got the chance for a boat, a big emotional spend, you got all rational. And own a generic plastic pile of ship.
Pile Of Ship!
You are not alone, oh far from it, just go out and look at your street of water way. Mini vans and pontoon boats. BUT, HOLD ON, there is a twist in this plot.
PLOT TWIST
Go find an ordinary boat to restore, the mini van of the day, financially it’s a dead end BTW, but the emotional reaction is insane. I recall restoring a Corvair in the late 70’s – NO ONE WAS DOING THAT, and yet, was cool as hell.
Thats me on the left and Scott on the right. Scott is the brains behind the tech part of Woody Boater, we have been pals for over 40 years. This photo was taken in 1980? Roman Red lacquer, I tweaked the original color Ember Red. The Roman was a tint cooler.
It evoked so much emotion, like restoring a Hornet Sportabout, on some level it’s cool. But has to be perfect and reflect the passion that made it in the first place. Vintage baby seats? Some Stucky’s Pecan Logs on the seat, maybe some 8 tracks playing Loverboy. HIT IT!
See? Some strange buried part of you likes that. Laughs, and connects. You love the passion. 99% of us will never be on the edge of extreme. But you can be passionate about the ordinary.
On the bleeding edge of cool
I guess my point is, to be part of the fun population of Woodyboaterville, anything is cool, as long as you are having fun and evokes some sort of reflection of that fun. HAPPY HEADER DAY! Hit refresh and a new old header will appear in a random way
Oh those pants would go great in a orange Covair.
We are with you on this one. Lately our Moonlite Bay Shows have featured 2 classic pontoons which we have customized to be our on-the-water food truck (blue one) and our Moontoon Saloon (orange one).
Hopefully the above attachment gets you to the original WB article. Another example of restoring the ordinary. The Spicklemire may not be a Hornet sportabout or a classic corvair but it is anything but ordinary.
WTF !! Hornet wagon, corvair and pontoon boats. Throw in Loverboy? BTW the yawner is a pretty cool user boat. At least you had one wooden boat in there. Is this ordinary ? It’s going to be a long winter!
Nothing at all wrong with restoring the ordinary.
Great joy comes from the mere task of bringing an item back from the brink of disaster only to see it again being used for the original purpose it was intended.
Even if you can’t do it all yourself, it’s the sheer commitment you take on and the mission to see the task to completion.
Then, you go for that first ride and you’re hooked.
Don’t wait and say “some day”. Get busy with something for today to enjoy tomorrow.
Times ‘a wastin’!