I would like to introduce you to  Prudence, our little Compac 16.  Prudence is the result of my innocent perusal of Craigslist last October.  I like to look at boats and this little beauty caught my eye as I scrolled down the gallery of photos .  The ad was 24 days old when I saw it but it was mid-October, not a time when most people get boat fever.  Mine runs 365 days a year so I took the chance and shot an email to the seller.  I simply said, “Is this boat still available?”  I got and equally simple reply, “Yes, it is.”

I talked it over with Julia and she agreed that it was a nice looking boat and it would be great to have something to trailer around.  Once it was paid for, it would be relatively cheap to own.  We discussed all the places we could tuck into with a little keel boat that only draws 18 inches.  It really would open up a lot of Great Lakes destinations previously off limits for Persistence which draws 4-1/2 feet.  It sleeps 2, has an ample cockpit and, as our friend Terrence put it, “She looks shippy”.  Her graceful cruiser bow hearkens back to many classic designs and somewhat resembles Reverie’s spoon bow.  Prudence looked good and had a reasonable asking price so, I was off for the first look at her.

 It was a blustery October day when I first drove out and met Jack.  The first thing I noticed when I pulled into his driveway was the several campers (one being an old Airstream) and the plethora of boats sitting here and there.  I liked this guy before I even met him.  He turned out to be an older guy in his late 60’s or early 70’s.  I’m not good with ages as we all show our years differently.  We talked boats, campers, life in general and then, he showed me the boat.  She was dirty and had not been in the water for several years.  I gave her a quick look over and asked Jack if he minded if I paid him off bit by bit over the Winter.  He said, “Aw, I don’t need the money.  Sure”  I think he knew just how much I wanted this little boat.

The next step was to report back to Julia with my findings and arrange for the both of us to go out and have a look.  A few days later, the Great Lakes weather had changed and we had a warm up accompanied by a serious thunderstorm system pushing yet another cold front through.  This all occurred on our way out to look at the boat.  When we arrived, there was  a magnificent double rainbow framing Prudence!  Jack was there with his wife and we all laughed about it being a sign that we were to get the boat.  Maybe so.  We shook hands and that was that.

I’m not a fan of many pocket cruiser designs.  There are ones with grotesque cabins that look like they fell from a waterspout. Some have little or no working room to sail.  Others have garish tumblehome or way too much sheer for my liking.  Many have insufficient construction making them little more than day sailors with bunks. Then, there are those that possess all of these undesirable characteristics.  I’ve found the old saying to be true that, “a boat sails like she looks”. There’s no way I would go for some  little mess no matter how good a deal it was.  Yes, there are a lot of ugly babies out there and parents who think their children are geniuses so please bear with me, gentle reader, and know that Prudence is above criticism.

She wasn’t named Prudence when we looked at her.  She had no name at all.  This could not stand as we were to be heading off to new adventures aboard this vessel. I don’t have names for other things in my life except for my old Coleman stove, Trusty and it’s triple burner, Trey (sometimes referred to as Trip).   This little Compac-16  needed a name and Prudence seemed to fit.  Prudence is a key element of a mariner’s skills and our Prudence is a key element of this stage in our lives.

Merriam-Webster’s definition of Prudence:

While it works well for me on the water, I do need to be reminded, from time to time, that prudence is a valuable asset in every day life as well.

Winter held a lot of twists and turns and, somehow, we wound up with a 31 foot wooden sloop named Reverie and the little Compac 16 sat at Jack’s awaiting our return.  It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I was able to return with more cash.  We sat and talked for over an hour and I left with the little Johnson 4.5 horse motor she came with so as to have it up and running by the time we pick her up in the next few weeks.  While we still have our hands full with the restoration of Reverie, we now have a little boat to get out on Lake Michigan and wherever else we choose to go.  It takes the edge off of the restoration work by reminding us both what it’s all about.