EP# 14 - Slowing Down Aboard the David B

In this episode of Beyond the Boat, Leroy talks with Christine and Jeffrey Smith of the David B, a nearly century-old wooden vessel carrying guests through Southeast Alaska.Their story begins with a boat they believe may have chosen them: a weathered vessel with an original Washington Iron Works engine, hidden craftsmanship, and enough promise to inspire years of restoration. Today, the David B is more than a charter boat. She is a home, a workplace, a companion, and the center of a community that includes crew, returning guests, mechanics, shipwrights, and people whose lives have been changed by time aboard.Christine and Jeffrey share what passengers often do not see: the winter maintenance, the constant responsibility, the long season, the food planning, the weather decisions, and the quiet pressure of caring for both people and vessel. They also describe what the boat gives back: adventure, companionship, connection, and the rare chance to slow down in a wild landscape.This conversation explores wooden boat stewardship, old engines, wood-fired cooking, Alaska’s living landscape, and the way a boat can become part of the family.Learn more at:https://northwestnavigation.com/Beyond the Boat is an independent, listener-supported project. Support sustains the listening, but it doesn’t steer the stories.  You can help keep the show alive, as a one time Supporter, as a continuous Member, or Steward, at:www.buymeacoffee.com/beyondtheboatNote: "Stewards" are "Members" who will be periodically mentioned outside episode stories.Support is voluntary, there are no paywalls, and the stories are always free to listen to.Have feedback or know someone who should be on the show?Reach me at:   [email protected] thanks to Todd Power of Chuck Hovey Yachts for ongoing support of Beyond the Boat, and to Peter McGraw and Charlie Seberg for generous one-time contributions helping sustain the project.