Will and Jenny aren't the only ones who have benefited from this acquisition. My long-time friend and Will's dad, Jim Bauer, who inherited the V-bottom when his father passed, is all smiles these days, too. Why? Because he no longer has to pay a second boat-storage fee. When he strokes that monthly check to the storage facility, it's just for his Skeeter. And I'm betting you that, if he were a few years younger, Jim probably still would be turning cartwheels from signing over all the paperwork for that second boat to his son.
This photo shows how the 31-year-old boat looked when Will and Jenny began what, to date, has turned out to be a four-week restoration project. They started by getting rid of all the dirt and rust, removing outdated equipment, and, yes, even conquering a surprise or two along the way. One of those surprises turned out to have quite a sting--a yellow jacket, no less. It had set up residence in a well-hidden area but came buzzing to life when Will got a little too close for comfort while gutting all the old interior. It nailed him so quickly he didn't have a chance to defend himself.
At its absolute bare-bones stage, before Will and Jenny started putting anything back, the boat looked like this.
Despite all the work and nearly $1,200 they've already invested in this project to date, both assure me they aren't done yet. For example, Will especially is interested in upgrading the boat's fusebox, but his No. 1 priority is getting the 1979 9.5/15-hp Evinrude up to snuff. Toward that end, he has ordered a new carburetor kit that he assures me will get installed as soon as it reaches him. At the same time, he's going to replace the current battery with one that has enough oomph to crank the outboard, since it indeed does have an electric-start feature.
After all, that pull-start routine is about to put Will at parade rest. He even told me that he was going to use his day off Monday just to recuperate from all the pulling he had to do Friday and Sunday. They originally had planned to go fishing again Monday.
Both Will and Jenny also want to install a Bimini top on their V-bottom. Can't say as I blame 'em, given how hot it gets around here sometimes, especially this time of year.
And last but by no means least, the 1979 boat trailer still needs a fair amount of TLC. They've already done some work on the tongue area, but both nod in agreement that more needs to be done to the rest of the trailer before they feel totally comfortable with it.
This "to do" list, however, isn't stopping the couple from enjoying their new "toy" on the water in its current configuration. To put it as simply as I know how, they've been "having a ball" ever since they took the boat on their maiden voyage in it week before last.
Will and Jenny are catching some kind of fish on every trip. A week ago Saturday, when I met them for the first time, they had a largemouth bass, a crappie, and a yellow perch in their bucket. On Sunday, they were telling me about a big bowfin Will had gotten hold of that day. But what they had in their bucket wasn't that bowfin. It was four more nice crappie, and I immediately "smelled" the influence of Will's dad. The giveaway was when they told me they had been up around the West Neck Bridge Sunday. I can't tell you how many times over the years I've known Jim to circle those bridge pilings with a flyrod in his hand, pulling one slab after another into the boat.
Will and Jenny both readily admit that Jim has shared some of his favorite haunts and tricks with them, but they also told me they are developing some on their own. For instance, they told me they're going to sample the fishing in some of the local lakes with "JennyB." They also plan to spend some time on Lake Gaston--again like a certain guy with a handlebar mustache I happen to know. In fact, Will and Jenny told me they want to try and retire on a piece of lakeside property there one day.
These two, whom I've a couple of times already fondly characterized as "peas in a pod," definitely have some plans for the future. For openers, they quietly got married May 13th this year--so quietly, as a matter of fact, that Jim didn't even find out about it until a week or two later. They showed him their wedding bands for the first time the day they met him at his storage facility to have their first look at the boat they now own.
Jim had known for a spell that a wedding was in the works--he just didn't know any of the particulars. I'm guessing, though, that he figured it would be something formal. Will and Jenny, however, as they explained to me, had their reasons for exchanging marriage vows in a simple, low-key ceremony. They're saving their money and Will's leave for a special honeymoon.
Remember I earlier said they both love outdoor activities? Well, these two adventurers plan a backpacking honeymoon in Europe. They told me it could happen as early as this fall--at least, that's their current thinking. They both have backpacking experience, so why not do something like this? Makes perfect sense to me.
This marriage was a long time in the making. As Jenny explained to me Sunday, she was 19 and attending school when she first met Will in Savannah, GA. He, meanwhile, was 23 and working as a graphic artist, following a four-year tour of duty in the U.S. Army.
Jenny told me that she and Will dated off and on for a few years before a separation occurred as the result of a motorcycle crash that claimed the life of Will's brother. His parents really wanted him to be closer (they had lost one son and didn't want to lose another), so he picked up and moved back here. Over the ensuing years, the two looked for each other--unfortunately, to no avail. Then, however, technology caught up with them, and Jenny found Will again in 2012. She sent him her phone number, and he called at 10:30 p.m., July 3. Nearly six hours later--about 4 a.m. July 4th--their conversation finally ended. To this day, Jenny refers to that as "the best 4th of July ever."
From explosives specialist, to graphic artist, to master gardener, to machine equipment operator--that describes the work-history path of Will Bauer. In his current post as a machine equipment operator with the City of Virginia Beach, he's one of the guys with the dubious honor of running those spreader trucks that sand and salt the roads during the wintertime around here. And he was quick to tell me Sunday that there's a certain amount of danger involved with that detail, especially when drivers ignore all the warnings to stay off the roadways so people like him can do the job they're paid to do.
He described an incident not so long ago in which he was moving down this icy road at about 5 mph, laying the sand-and-salt mixture, when what should appear from the other direction but a car with no way to pass safely. Will said he got as close to the edge of the pavement as possible--actually too close, because as luck would have it, the pavement gave way. His spreader truck subsequently wound up on its side in the ditch, with both wheels on the driver's side in the air. His only path of escape was the driver's side door, which, as he explained, felt like it weighed a ton, given the position of the truck.
Nevertheless, he managed to get out, and the cop who had been following him at the time called in the incident. Tow vehicles arrived on the scene, righted the truck, and Will drove it back to the shop for workers to readjust and tighten down the spreader. It already was past his quitting time, though, so he just headed home.
When I asked Jenny about what kind of job she has, she explained that she's unemployed at the moment. In the past, however, she has held some excellent jobs in photography and layout. Like any experienced photographer, she always has a camera with her--as was the case Sunday when she showed me a nice outdoor model with a super lens. She has been using it to capture photos of as many different kinds of birds as she can find anytime Will and her are outdoors. And if my guess is right, that'll be most of the time, especially now that these two have the "JennyB."
I wish this couple nothing but the very best. To borrow the words from an old Eddy Arnold tune that I've always liked, "May your troubles all be small ones, and your fortunes ten times ten."
(Following is an automated slideshow of photos taken by Will and Jenny Bauer of the whole "JennyB" restoration project. All but the first and last photos used in the text of this story are from the same series. The last photo in the text was taken by Jim Bauer, and yours truly contributed the first one.)
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