Drift Boat Saga

It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.
I have been looking for a drift boat for fly fishing for quite a while now. I have been tempted to buy a new one, the fiberglass Hydes and Clackacrafts are tempting. But I really wanted a wood boat because that is what boats are supposed to be made out of. Our Viking brothers made their vessels of wood and sailed across the freakin Altantic Ocean so I think it can handle the rivers of North Idaho and Western Montana ( I hope) So I have looked and even checked out a few on Ebay. I went to Seattle one morning to buy a drift boat and backed out because it's name was painted on the side and it was the Dry Rot and the name fit. I was back home by lunch time. This journey led me to this fine specimen. I saw an ad in a local paper that said that a drift boat was for sale in Libby Montana. I sent a email and they sent sent me some pictures, I was intrigued and made a low ball offer that was accepted and so I took off one beautiful May morning for Libby to pick up my boat. The drive from Coeur d'Alene to Libby is one of the most enjoyable drives you can take, about two and a half hours of wildlife, mountains, rivers, waterfalls and pristine country. I stopped at the Forest Service office in Libby because that is where both of the owners worked. He was the head biologist for the entire Flathead National Forest Service and she also worked there. Nice people in their late fifites early sixties maybe. We went to their home on the Kootenai River to see the boat. As soon as they pulled the cover off I said I would take it. I handed over the cash and he grumbled about beating them up on the price, I ignored him as I was hooking the trailer up to my truck. She cried a little as I drove off, she had sanded and refinished the boat herself the previous winter and had done a nice job. (Montana women ain't that purty but they are right handy) It is now in my garage waiting for the rivers to calm down from the spring blowout. So now I have a drift boat and rivers to run and fish to catch. Come on up and I'll take you out.