"History with Heart" isn't a regular antique and classic boat site. It is rather a site about the people and memories surrounding antique and classic boats. There are even a few stories about cars, and other stories that have nothing to do with boats or cars, but everything to do with people. When you get right down to it, it's the people, and their memories, that really count.
Read "Why Old Stuff is Important", an interview with Dr. Luis Martin.
We've been involved in old boats since we bought our Cowell outboard in 1969, so you'll find some memories of our own on this site. But beyond our lifetimes lie volumes of other stories, other memories, just as relevant and meaningful as our own. These stories are related to the very boats or objects we can see, touch (and some cases sail!) today. The boats can't speak for themselves. But if they could, they'd tell the stories recorded on this site.
Our work with Yellow Jacket and Willis Boats, both Texas-built wooden power boats, is being done in conjunction with the Wooden Boat Association of North Texas, so you'll see links to their site. Likewise, the Austin Bantam Society shares some of its recorded history here.
We were once advised by an accomplished antique car collector, "We are not really owners of these cars. We are caretakers." Many of the boats we talk about on this site, especially the CRODs, have outlived their original caretakers. But their memories, and the memories of their successors, are safeguarded here.
Enjoy the history. And the heart.