One Of The Most Romantic Boat Names Ever Named!
The triple in question. Photo shot in 1994
The other day we got an email from Fellow Woody Boater Shawn Brozovich, who thought we might be able to help find a boat he rode in once, 20 years ago. What made this a special story is in Shawn’s words below. His desire is to surprise his bride, with a special 20th anniversary ride. And yes, we got permission to write the story. Apparently his spouse like all of ours doesn’t read Woody Boater.
Take it away Shawn.
“I am a romantic at heart and of course there is really cool story…short version is Carrie and I were college sweethearts who…got separated by distance, time, jobs and relationships with others that had gone wrong. My job moved me to Texas after college and she moved to California for her Gemology degree. Over the years we kind of stayed in touch as we would talk once a year on our birthdays. This was before cell phones and was not easy reaching each other when we could talk.
Fast forward 11 years and I invite her on a vacation to NH. She had moved back to Ohio from Cape Cod and Ford had moved me back to Michigan…now she’s 4 hours away! December 23rd 1993, she called and asked I come down and help fix her locks as someone had broke into her garage. The rest is history, we started dating on the weekends, driving back and forth and….I proposed 8-24-94 as you can see by the date of the photos. Which by the way is engraved on the inside of our wedding rings along with the date we were married and “Love me Tomorrow like today”.
The engraving on our rings (which I had done prior to the boat ride) takes me to the proposal…while getting reacquainted, we discover that the song, “love me tomorrow” by Chicago whenever we would hear it play on the radio over the years, would remind us of each other. So while George was taking us around Lake Winnipesaukee, I asked Carrie “will you love me Tomorrow like today”, she said yes, then I asked “will you marry me the day after tomorrow”? She said WHAT? So I had to ask her again, it was worth repeating because she did say YES.
- George at the helm
Of course there’s George who I never met and I had to explain what I wanted to do over the phone from Michigan. His response was “well I’ve never had a request like this before, but if your brave enough to ask her , I’m willing to take you for a ride”! Needless to say, George agreed to take us for a spin on Lake Winnipesaukee. It was funny thinking back because he ripped around the lake at quite a pace and never looked back. When we returned he asked “if the boat did the trick” I said yes and he smiled! George said “good”…he told me he was nervous to look back because he did not know if she was going to say “YES”.
Like many couples, wedding days are something we all remember. For us everything from my proposal to our life today is very special. Regrettably I can’t get back with George to thank him and to let him know how thankful we are he was a part of our day. However, writing this an talking to you is a way maybe his family members will find out, I’m sure they already know how genuine of a person he was.
Meant to Be.
After Carrie moved in (Christmas Eve) and we got settled down in life, I made a model boat like George’s. 26″ Dumas scale model triple, with water cooled dual electric motors …most importantly the name, “Meant to Be” on the Transom with Lake Winnipesaukee below the name.
This model boat goes back and forth from up North to our back “boat deck” when I’m not running it
Shawn, Meet Again. “WORKBOAT ONE”
There is George .. by the way, one of the true god fathers of the hobby. He is greatly missed.. Anyway, Shawn, there is George pointing at the boat.Photo Coutesy of Richard Kourian of the New Hampshire Boat Museum
We found the boat! One call to Pat Curtin who knew George very well, he made a call, and we have a found boat. It’s got a very romantic name.. WORKBOAT ONE, that’s right, kinda brings a tear to your eye. Like a romance novel. All we need now is Fabio. The good news is that Richard Kourian the owner of Work Boat One is a fantastic guy, and the boat is about 20 feet from were she was when Shawn proposed. Right at the New Hampshire Boat Museum which is actualy building a new part of the museum for George. So this August Shawn you are all set up.
If you have any romantic or lost boat stories, we love these sort of stories, please let us know. You can reach us at matt@Woodyboater.com, or Texx @WoodyBoater.com
I can’t find my car keys that I set down last night, but you guys can find a boat someone got a ride in 20 years ago?
Amazing!
Great. Now I’m gonna be humming Chicago tunes all day.
Congrats on finding the boat, Shawn.
Chicago tunes? Could be worse. Just imagine having “Muskrat Love” stuck in your head all day. No comparison of muskrats with Shawn and Carrie intended.
Congratulations Shawn!
That is a fabulous story.
That’s a sweet story. Thanks for sharing it Shawn.
At first read, I wondered how a boat called Workboat One could have anything to do with marriage. At second read, I realized it has everything to do with marriage. And child rearing. And saving for college. And…
What a great way to start out my Tuesday! Thanks for sharing your story, Shawn!!! I love ROMANCE and this one gives us all hope 🙂
Great story Shawn. You got to meet one of the icons of the hobby…the late George Johnson, Wolfesboro, NH.
And here I thought “Quitchabitchin” was a romantic boat name…
George Johnson seemed to have quite an effect on people. 24 years ago my wife and I met him and he offered to take us for a spin around Back Bay in a Racing Runabout. To say it was an exciting ride might be an understatement. My daughter Lillie was born 9 months later!
Ha. Good one Jim. Reminds me of a joke I heard…
“Whats the difference between the second cockpit of a racing runabout and a light bulb?”
Even a Century Arabian owner can screw in a light bulb.
I will always remember meeting George at Mt. Dora years ago. This is a small close knit hobby and many of us have owned each other’s boats from time to time….it seemed to me that George owned ALL of the boats at one time or another those he didn’t outright own he brokered or set up the connection. He put together deals from the low to the high end.
John in Va.
Such a romantic story, brought tears to my eyes.
…And the proposal was nice too.
(Sorry my first love is finely varnished mahogany. It betrays you just like women, but the ride is smoother).
Alex put my first thought re: the name of the boat into words, so I’ll close this with the name of a song that speaks to the connection George was in the hobby and will take theother tunes mentioned right out of your head…
“It’s a Small World After All” … 🙂
Gee, thanks Dick.
It’s such a small world, my small world image was too small. Trying again.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s I made many trips to Georges place hauling engines and boats from Peter Henkels to Georges and back. Bought many boats from george, a true gentleman and knew he stuff, much more than most new commers to the hobby today.
sweet story.
Sounds like we all remember meeting George Johnson…affectionately known to many as the worlds largest UNauthorized Chris Craft dealer. For us it was on are first trip back to Lake Winepesaukee in the ’80s. We were told to get on the Mt. Washington and ride over to Wolfboro and George would meet us at the dock…and he did…He showed us three barns full of boats and as I became more involved with the Chris Craft Club George was always a willing and constant advisor…Like some have said, we all miss George.