COOPER

COOPER

E-Mail from George

Hiya Judd,
It's hard to find words for gratitude, so I'll just say that I really appreciate the time and effort you have put in to The Sweet Forever. She will always be a family boat. I'm just now beginning to take her on. So far, she seems to be in pretty good shape. I pulled out the spark plugs and squirted some PB Blaster into the cylinders and got the engine turned over by hand. Looks like the engine might be salvageable. Anyway, I thanked Judy and will be keeping her posted on the progress. I love that boat!!! The trailer scares me. Con mucho amor, tu Padre favorito...

Bartender

I recently trailored the 27'6" boat "The Sweet Forever" to Charleston, SC. My father George Barth will be restoring it. The boat was built by my grandfather Leroy Bates in 1964. On Sunday October 10,2009 Cole Bates and I took the boat up to get new tires on the trailor and it was the first time I had ever seen it on the road. It looked surprizingly stable :)

Helms 24 Bimini Top and Frame

I had a chance recently to work on a Helms 24. The same class of boat I learned to sail on. I was asked to build a Bimini Top to offer a bit of shade in the cockpit. The layout of the cockpit, the duel backstay's and the height of the boom all had to be accounted for. Bending the frame and patterning around the stays was a challenge. I used nylon webbing straps with snap hooks forward to the lifelines and aft to the pulpit. Carolina Canvas Works - Lake Murray S.C.

Cooper's Canvas Company

Cooper Canis Major is my best friend and company mascot. My black lab retriever goes everywhere with me. He watching me sew, stares at me and seems to know exactly when its time for me to take a break and rub his back. :) He may just enjoy the low rumble of my sewing machine motor. I need labels to sew into my canvas products. I think I should replace the SC state outline in my existing logo with a picture of Cooper's head. I wonder if my customers would enjoy having my puppy's face on there boat?
I was laying on my couch the other day watching tennis and something caught my eye. I looked down and saw a toad hopping across my living room floor. Cooper was laying on his side and couldn't care less, he saw it, picked his head up and just stared. :) He was looking pretty tired when I grabbed my phone and took this picture. Funny!! Cheers, Judd