Tiny - The Boat in the Basement

There are those who think that the boat in the basement is a myth. I built “Tiny” in the basement in 1964. Dad laughed at me -- he asked how I would get it out of the house. He was not at all in favor of the idea of knocking out a few concrete blocks and taking it through the wall.

The sail for “Tiny” was sewn by Dad’s cousin, Julia, who was visiting from Europe that year. I have no idea why she offered to sew the sail for me; we kids made fun of her constantly, because she was always painting still-lifes of fruit.

When the time came, I simply turned “Tiny” on end, and walked her up the basement steps. At 6’ long, 3’ wide, and 1’ deep, it was no problem.



“Tiny” made her maiden voyage on Winebergs’ pond. The biggest problem was a lack of room. The sail would fill, the boat would get under way, and suddenly the opposite bank would be there.

While I was trying to master the art of sailing, our neighbor, Tom Gondor, was trying to get in a final swim for the year. It was cold, but he was skinny-dipping anyway. He tried to tip “Tiny” over, and I clubbed him with a paddle I had on board. He immediately started yelling that I had damaged his kidneys. He didn’t bother the boat any more, though.

I never sailed “Tiny” again. She went into hibernation that Fall in the woods about 100 yards WSW of the pond. The picture was taken about March of 1965. I’ve never been back to see what happened to “Tiny”.