A new project?

A year or more ago I sold a couple of boats to some people who were developing a livelihood project up the coast a few miles. Yesterday I received a visit from one of the men again; they particularly liked one of the boats I sold them, a 12-foot dinghy constructed of plywood and fibreglass in epoxy resin. He tells me the boat is good even in rough water, and that it can carry ten people! In a 12 foot boat I would have thought that is overloading, but then this is the Philippines, where western standards of safety are not followed.

He asked me if Iwould be prepared to make thirty-one more of these boats, and how much would I charge? And could an engine be installed?

Thirty-one boats is a tall order. Each boat would take me a couple of weeks to make, even with economies possible because of the numbers. I have no intention of employing more men, fibreglass and epoxy skills cannot be learned in a day.

Anyway, it's something to think about, and I shall have to canvass prices and calculate quantities on Monday. I had thought I had come to the end of my boat-building activities, but I must admit there is a hole in my life because of that.