Amanda's Boat

"Amanda's Boat" is a story of five people whose lives coalesce over the course of a year because of the whim of a determined little girl. Set in Maine against the backdrop of the building of a boat, it follows the development of a profound relationship through the four seasons of New England with humor, intrigue, life lessons, and day-to-day vignettes of a way of life that is fast disappearing.

"Amanda's Boat" tells of a magical year in the lives of five ordinary people who are drawn together under the most implausible circumstances. Eleven-year-old Amanda is spending a placid summer with her godparents, Jim and Jan, when she is unintentionally inspired by Jim's passion for woodworking and boating to actually construct a boat. Jim explains all the reasons why it's impossible and dismisses the whole notion as a childish fantasy. But he fails to appreciate the creative wiles of a determined little girl. Young Amanda learns of a retired boatbuilder and hopes that will convince Jim to reconsider, but again he enumerates the daunting difficulties inherent in any project of such magnitude. But there is a problem— Jim also wants to build a boat. Very badly. Jim finally relents and goes to meet Angus, the boatbuilder, and his wife, Hilda, but with disappointing results—he is summarily turned down. Our story then develops a series of unusual twists as Angus changes his mind, with no explanation, and acquiesces to Jim's request. The project proceeds, but only as a backdrop to the story, which takes the reader through New England's four seasons, the lessons learned from a lifetime of working at such a specialized craft as boatbuilding, small town customs and habits, native foods, and a way of life that is fast disappearing. The two families quickly develop a closeness that changes their lives forever. But even as this deeply meaningful friendship progresses, Jim begins to sense an emptiness in the older couple's lives. What begins as a few mysterious inconsistencies gradually is reinforced by gathering evidence of a profound darkness in their past. Jim attempts to ignore his gut feelings, but as events unfold, he becomes enmeshed in a powerful emotional roller coaster. Amanda's Boat is a heartwarming tale of love, integrity, redemption, and the almost cosmic effect we can have on other people's lives, often without even realizing it. The story is written from Jim's viewpoint in the first person. And inspired by the author's own experiences as a lifelong woodworker, boater, and sometimes Maine resident. Amanda's Boat is part fiction, part memoir. The author's original intent was to write a children's book, but it soon evolved into an uplifting story that would appeal to both children and adults.

Don McGarva has made his way through life in a variety of ways. Born in Miami, Florida, he was introduced to Maine at the age of four when his grandfather built a motel there in 1948. He spent the next fifteen summers there developing a love of construction and the hospitality business. Don graduated from Florida State, did a year of graduate work in Oswego, New York, and taught school for a year in the same area. He moved back to Miami and spent the next ten years working in construction, learning to fly, and boating and skin diving in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys. But Maine was always on his mind. In 1980 he moved there and built a motel in the town of Ogunquit. After running the motel for ten years, he and his wife, Jan, moved back to Florida, purchased a large wood boat, and began doing extended dive charter trips to the Bahamas. Then came a five-year stint owning a B&B near the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia. 'Amanda's Boat' is a direct outgrowth of his experiences. The McGarva's and their dogs now divide their time between Maine and Florida, where they run a mobile pet grooming service.