Forum: Lost Stories

Boating along the world...

GuardianKnight 🚫

Hi folks,

I was remembering an old story I read where the mc is a Merchant Marine, and ex-regular Marine, He's serving on a vessel and either a lotto or something occurs to cause him to first buy a togboat of his own which he refits and builds up to have a business of its own and the crew end up being a few women he has a relationship with, after a time they grow apart and he sells them that vessel and he gets himself another. Develops some sort of missile defense system and starts to transport fissionables around the world with various other romantic entanglements and crew etc.

I've searched a bit and haven't seen anything like it around but I do recall it. It's a LONG tale so should be hard to miss.

This one ring any bells?

Thanks

Replies: Capt. Zapp

Capt. Zapp 🚫

@GuardianKnight

I think you may be thinking of Winds by h20wader which is no longer available on SOL.

Replies: LonelyDad Vincent Berg

LonelyDad 🚫

@Capt. Zapp

Winds and its successors were antebellum and Civil War based time frames.

Replies: Capt. Zapp

Capt. Zapp 🚫

@LonelyDad

Winds and its successors were antebellum and Civil War based time frames.

Doh! I missed the 'missile defense system' and 'fissionables' in the OP.

The rest does seem to fit 'Winds'. Could the OP have two stories mixed together?

Vincent Berg 🚫

@Capt. Zapp

I think you may be thinking of Winds by h20wader which is no longer available on SOL.

Unless he substantially revised it, I don't recall Winds having either any tugboats or fissionable material in it, as it takes place in the nineteenth century. What it does have is the MC taking over a Chinese vessel and using it to travel to South Africa.

Replies: Capt. Zapp

Capt. Zapp 🚫

@Vincent Berg

Unless he substantially revised it,...

It's been a while since I read it and for some reason I thought he had a fleet that started when he acquired a tugboat. Kinda like Forrest Gump and his shrimp boats.

As for the fissionable material, I completely missed that (and the missiles) in the OP.

i4pepsi2 🚫

Changing Directions
by Howard Faxon

Replies: GuardianKnight

GuardianKnight 🚫

@i4pepsi2

This is about half of the story I was thinking of the inventor/missile thing. But I still remember one of the whole transport around the world bit.

It's hell getting old when your photographic memory runs out of film and you start mixing stories I tell ya. Thanks for finding this one for me @i4pepsi2 I appreciate it.

PeckingChicken 🚫
Updated:

I don't think so. Winds doesn't have much to do with ships. But while Changing Directions has some mad scientist inventor making naval weapons for his little 65 footer, it doesn't really resemble the description above, either.

Ahab 🚫

The closest I can find is 'Shifting Gears' by Howard Faxon, although it doesn't entirely match and he has several other similar stories.

Replies: GuardianKnight

GuardianKnight 🚫

@Ahab

I went and read Shifting Gears and while it's a similar vein its not the one I was looking for but given how Howard Faxon writes I will go through more of his tales and see if another is the one I am thinking of. I know part of it was from Changing Directions but the other remains a mystery so far.

Thanks for pointing this one out to me as I didn't recall it but enjoyed the read none the less.

NC-Retired 🚫

Maybe these 3?

https://storiesonline.net/universe/945/the-tugboat-man

Replies: GuardianKnight

GuardianKnight 🚫

@NC-Retired

I can say I have never read the Tugboat Man Series but I may give it a shot.

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Forum: Lost Stories

Boating along the world...

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