Dan’s Life Story I would like to tell you a Tale of a Young boy that was always in and on the water! Born and raised on the Fraser River Delta, a small Fishing and Farming community called Ladner in British Columbia, Canada. I am the youngest boy along with my two sisters, Jean and Mary Lyn. My first memories that I remember the most was in 1961 when my Dad and I went to pick up are 1st Boat called the Sprite 2, she was a 24’ Cedar planked Cabin Cruiser with a white haul and red cabin sides She started out with anV8 flat head engine, inboard v drive propulsion system that made her cruise at about 18 knots, She had a problem though for the Fraser River where she hit a lot of sticks and logs that damaged Her bottom, you see back then they used a product called Selastic it was a cloth that was put on to the haul to make it water proof and every time we hit something it would rip and water would slowly leak in, luckily there was a water pump that would come on automatically to pump the water out. This was the best time of my child hood for all five of us went out boating, fishing and hiking every weekend, going up to Pit Lake, Gulf Island and Desolation Sound for the Summer holidays I remember in the mid 60s we did a refit on the Sprite 2 My Dad and I took out the old V8, redid the transom to fit a 100 hp Mercury out board and redid the haul too, my Dad, Mom & I, put on several layers of mat, roving & Epoxy Resin that made Her a better & stronger haul for all that she hit any where we cruised on the water from there on, We changed the colors too, to a blue haul and red cabin sides. My Dad had big Dreams too, that we all work together on. The big Project! We started working on a large shed that was to be 20’ wide and 55 feet long in our back yard in Ladner BC, the year was 1966, this is where the biggest project of my Life began, I was only 9 years old, when we started on the Vessel called the Air Castle she is built to be unsinkable, made from a foam core, covered in fiberglass and Epoxy Resin. To start building this fifty foot Yacht, We started out making frames cut out of ply placing them up side down, starting with the bow and working down to the transom of the boat, You must remember when you start out on a project like this, everything is so amazingly new and a bit overwhelming for a child of only 9 years old. When all the frames were in place, we now had the means to start out on making the Haul. Starting out with one strip of foam 1/14 square at the bottom of the frame work, the next step was to cut strips of fiber glass, layup Epoxy Resin on to the foam blocks, continuing the foam strips around the bottom of the frame work once a night. You see that the Resin must harden over night so that we could put the next Strip of foam on the frame work; it took several years to complete the haul in foam alone. The next big job for my Dad was to sand all the foam & fiber glass to a smooth finish, Then my Mom, Dad and I started to lay up the 6 layers of fiberglass, mat and roving onto the foam core, night after night we worked on this haul, wondering when this project would ever end! In 1970 we finished off the Haul; it was now time to turn the Haul over. For me this was something to remember, I was now only 13 years old, We had an old 32 foot flat deck truck that we drove under are garage! The story will be continued ! I like the outdoors horseback riding, walking, hiking, boating, sailing, swimming, ballroom dancing, C/W dancing and teaching People how to do what you Love to do? I became CowBoyDan when I went to Calgary Alberta, where I changed My Foxtrot, into Two Stepping Country Style! In the mid 80’s, CowBoyDan Learned to ride Horses, One named Pirate; We Rode all over the 500 acre Cattle Ranch up in Smithers British Columbia. I have a Never Ending Story that continues as I learn more about Life it's self. Your friend Dan