MBQ - Spring 1996 Editorial

Cabin Boat Primer

There are a few very special books, which upon reading them, you must immediately abandon what you've been doing all these years and begin the adventure about which you have just read.

A few such books that come to mind are those that glimpse a way of life you have not viewed before. Rather than being about another aspect of what you already are involved in, these books reveal something entirely new and which you may not have expected.

Particular examples are: "Leaves of Grass" by Whitman; "Zorba the Greek" by Kazantzakis; "The Indian Teepee" by Laubin; "The Compleat Walker" by Fletcher; "Sailing Alone Around the World" by Slocum; "The Long Way" by Moitessier. The list goes on...

The following notions are excerpts from another dusty old book, but one which has much to say to we who would go down to the sea in boats.

It was written with Cabin Boating in mind. In other words, drifting. Primarily drifting down rivers, and most particularly along the Mississippi River system. It describes a way of life in such a way as to put you already on the path to making it your own.

Sure, prices have changed - possibly times a thousand, yet the spirit remains the same.

These writings are somewhat in the vein of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, but also the spirit of Laubin, Whitman, Kazantzakis, Fletcher, Slocum and Moitessier. There is much among the following brief words that could very nicely be applied to our 'modern day' boating pursuits...

Shall we listen:

The main thing is patience; the next observation; and last of all, skill.

There is no reason why life on a cabin-boat should be lived in rags and tatters. They do not lead to comfort.

The boat will cost from $25 up, and a fit one for two persons $50 or more, in all probability.

One should look further before paying more than $100 for an ordinary river house boat, unless it is new, in first class condition, of good wood, and far up the stream.

The true cabin boater is also a philosopher. Troubles come to mean something in the way of a cause for congratulation rather than dismay.

Reasonable care should be taken to ward off trouble.

Always find a good landing, as regards wind and water. Never tie to a wobbly stake; never let the wood pile nor the oil can get low.

In one sense of the word, shanty boating is simply finding new lands to travel and a new view-point from which to see the land.

To no-one does the mockingbird sing so beautifully, or the huge trees seem so majestic, or the geological formations appear so attractive as to the man in a cabin boat.

- Raymond Spears, 1913

Michael Kasten

Metal Boat Quarterly #6 - Spring 1996 Editorial - Updated 2003 & 2006

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