MY COUNTRY FOR A SKIFF

Being afflicted with boat fever for most of my life and having owned and run everything from a 65- foot sportfish to a 17- foot Mako for a daily commute on the Neuse River in Oriental, North Carolina, I have about done it all. I can’t agree more with Mary South’s thoughts that “we don’t know what we want until we see it” [“Underway,” July, “Taking The Leap”]. I believe her selection of a West Pointer skiff will serve more good than anyone can prescribe.

Retriever ( above) is my oldest boat and was purchased with every penny I didn’t have 30 years ago. The 17 Aquasport Osprey has served my family in so many ways we have lost count. Today she is my 23-year-old son’s boat of choice. Only last year was she repowered with a newer Evinrude E- TEC 115. She now runs the Gulf here in Louisiana and Alabama.

As for the name Plover, we all agree it’s perfect!

David H. Mauney IV New Iberia, Louisiana

Small boats are good boats. It’s the difference between riding a bike on a country road versus I-95.

Around October 1966, Maine Boats & Harbors magazine had a skiff in West Point harbor on the cover. I wrote to the builder and asked if my father and I could visit and talk about having a boat built. The builder was Alton Wallace. Mrs. Wallace wrote back and said we could come in December. (November was deer-hunting season.)

I have quite a story about that visit — but the bottom line is my Alton Wallace boat was the finest skiff on Casco Bay. Cost to build her was $ 500. For an additional $ 50 we could change to Monel fastenings. To go first class was just a 10 percent add-on, so we sprang for it.

Since 2010, I have logged 9,920 miles aboard three 18-footers. Prior to 2010, none of my boats could keep track of mileage. The photo here is my current 18-foot boat. John P. Holmes Yarmouth, Maine