Eric sent in the following pictures and a love story.

My first look

A shambles below

A thing of Great Beauty

In the water

Back on the hard again..

Canopache's nameplate

                                                                                                       August 5, 2007

Hi Ron

A short story and a few pics for your information.

OH MY GOD!  WHAT HAVE I DONE?  I fell in love and forgot to look at  her teeth!

Last summer, while on a materials run, I saw Her through the trees. I  looked and lusted. I called and was told she was available for $1,500.00.  I was told that the boat had gone through a divorce, was rescued by her Captain, transported to the Yard and abandoned there without a cover.  While in the hands of the Ex her cover rotted off.  With the drain plug still in place rainwater had risen to 18", mixing with oil and bilge goo along the way.  It saturated the cabinetry and rusted out the inboard engine, trashed the cushions, corroded the stove and generally make the interior an inhospitable place. She was  a real mess!

Against  all reason, I lusted some more.  (This is a   dangerous state of mind!)  I searched the net, downloaded the  original brochure from S&S, and found the article in Good Old Boat!  I found that the name "Canopache" is Wampanoag Indian (native to the  Cape and Islands) for "place of peace" and also their word for  Nantucket!   I was hooked!  Such a beautiful creature deserves loving care.

Reality sets in.  I can't do this.  I have nowhere to keep the  boat!   And she needs so much.  Everything-and I do mean everything - needs attention. The sheaves are all cracked, the tiller has rotted  off, lines are dirty and old, sails stained, standing rigging  questionable, brightwork not bright at all, needs stripping and paint has some leaks at the stanchions etc, etc, etc..... Thousands of  dollars and thousands of hours!!!!  I can't find the time to finish  redoing my shower let alone work on a boat.   I am in the middle of a  remodel of my  Summer Cottage here on Cape Cod. I would not have time  to address her needs for a couple of summers.  I lusted on....

A couple of tormented months go by and a friend offered a place with  electric and power  That did it!  Against all reason I called the  Boat yard.  I was told they just the day before they had given it to  a young man who worked there.  He had stepped the mast and the boat  was lying at mooring in East Orleans.  BUMMER. This just was not meant to be.  I decided that the info I had collected would better  serve the new owner than the circle file so I gave it to him along  with my email just in case he changed his mind.

The call came a week later.  It seems after a few parties on the boat  and a few discussions with his wife about the priorities of boats and babies [one child is the equivalent of one 42 footer]that he would  love to have me be the next to enjoy the rights of ownership. The deal was done for $1,000.00, and she was moved to her new hard  location in the woods, inventoried, and covered for the winter.

A couple of months go by and my "landlord" allows that his neighbors are restless!  I am looking for yet another place for the boat- or maybe try to sell/give it away? Serendipity would have no parting.  I found a barn to work in and a space next to it for the boat!.  She will be moved there after a  Captain/surveyor friend comes to give me the really hard truth of my folly!

My dreams still see Her with a new interior(with an open plan), a new diesel power-plant, and all bright and shiny!  This is going to be a long process but love shall conquer all!

Thanks Ron for your contribution to our dearest love!

Eric