Today’s feature is going to be a little different. We’re going to get around to talking about some pretty cool DIY bass boat projects. But first, I want to share a little with you about a man. It’ll all tie together because this man was a real do-it-yourselfer. I’m not talking about the HGTV, spiked haired-type running around amped up on Mountain Dew.
No, this guy was DIY before DIY was cool.
He became a Marine early in life and stayed a fighter until the end. A guy who did it himself, at times because it was cheaper to, at times out of a bit of pride perhaps but always because it just meant more to him to do it that way.
So if you have a DIY spirit in you, this would have been your kind of guy. To me, he was like another grandad, the best friend of my father for four decades. My dad’s tournament partner, until I came of age, then the biggest fan both my dad and I could have ever had from that point forward. A man who loved to fish, loved his family and loved to do things himself.
Neal Webster passed on January 28, 2022 and he was 83 years old. We laid Neal to rest a few days after that with my dad sharing stories that day about their times on the water, learning how to fish and learning what it meant to be a man.
Neal’s wife and family gave me his boat; a material gift for which I’m extremely grateful since I haven’t had a boat of my own for about two years now, but moreover a sentimental one for which I could never express my full gratitude. I want to pause here and make sure they know I am very grateful for it though, to let them know it will be used and used well. And as I know the family would agree and Mrs. Dot has said herself several times now, “Neal wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
I know Neal knew Jesus and is in Heaven with Him now. I know I’ll join them there one day, by the Grace of God, which brings incomprehensible peace during hard times like these. But I don’t know exactly how all of it works once we get there. I like to think Neal knows somehow, that his Triton is still out on the water, being used to catch fish and that all his hard work and DIY projects are still paying dividends.
I like to think he’s smiling down on me, each time I’m out on the water, still one of my biggest fans, ready to offer up a tip or two no doubt each time I go five minutes without a bite. I have a pretty good idea what the common thread of each of those tips would be—according to Neal, there were only two colors of soft plastics.
Green pumpkin and everything else.
But for now, let’s talk more about his boat. I figure a great way to honor this man would be to show off some of his handiwork and perhaps give you guys a few DIY project ideas to consider trying out around your boat yourself. I know he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
