My little bro, Joe, wants to restore a boat that he found at the tip. He’s never been your typical kid, and he’s not your typical 18 year-old either. Upon finishing high school and getting his license last year, he’s proceeded to divide his life squarely between working in a fishing supply store and scavenging boat parts.
I’m not sure if I should tell our parents that he plans to start preparing this rusty old tin can for going out on the water. He’s asked me not to tell them until he’s managed to get it looking presentable. He reckons his friend’s cousin is going to help. This cousin, apparently, knows a lot about outboard motors, and can get any old hunk of junk working like new.
Given that I wouldn’t know where to start in looking for outboard motor repair services in the Melbourne region, I don’t really have a valid alternative to suggest. So I suppose I’ll have let Joe run with his plan. Clearly, he’s not planning to take no for an answer. Plus, it’s a great hobby – I’d much rather he be into this than endless clubbing or similar. So I want encourage him to go ahead with it, and to do a good job of it.
I mean, honestly, there can’t be many teenagers who know a pint of lager from an anchor winch installation. Melbourne parents of university-qualifying school leavers – could your kids identify a chain guard or a gearbox? Probably not. Joe will most likely end up studying engineering or something, and having this kind of thing as a hobby will probably put him miles ahead when it comes to the practical side of things.
He’s always been into maths as science, as well as making things manually. It’s a good combo, in my opinion. I like that he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty searching for disused boat parts at the tip, while being just as interested in the theory behind how they fit together to form a functioning machine.