ABOUT ME
HELLO,
My name is Gary Morton. Now, I don't expect you to stand and applaud when you learn this as you might when Johnny Cash, the country singer, introduces himself. After all, I'm not famous. Nor will I probably ever be. However, I thought that you would want to know something about the person you are considering asking for help in designing your sternwheeler. So here goes.
I was born at an early age in Parkersburg, West Virginia. No, you probably don't want the whole story so I'll cut to the chase and give you just the pertinent stuff.
I received a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Ohio University before the United States landed men on the moon. After designing special machinery for almost ten years for the DuPont company, I started my own business which was centered around my forth and fifth loves....furniture making and clock repair. My first three loves are my wife of over thirty-seven years....Marilyn and my two sons....Shane and Rhett. It was loves two and three that started me down the path to Sternwheel boating.
On a sunny September Sunday in 1981, the family and I was out for a drive and passed through a neighboring town of Marietta, Ohio. We noticed a large crowd of people lining the riverbanks and watching some rather unusual boats involved in what appeared to be a race. We stopped and they were....racing that is. The crowd really seemed to be enjoying themselves and we certainly did. Like everyone else, we got caught up in trying to pick winners for every race. Well, to make a long story shorter, I got an idea. My sons and I would build one of these boats. This would give us a project to work on together where they could learn and develop some skills along with a good work ethic, we would develop comradery and we could all enjoy the benefits of our labor on completion of the project. However, after learning that the owners of all those boats belonged to an organization called the "American Sternwheel Association" and after joining the association, I soon found that I had a formidable task before me.
First, I learned there were no plans or technical information available for these boats to assist in our endeavor. Second, in talking to those who had built their boats, I found a large difference in opinions as to how things should be done. Not to be daunted, I persevered.
I fell back to my engineering training and experience. I learned long ago that the solution to any problem is relatively easy to achieve if the problem is well and completely defined. This meant research, research and more research. After more than a year of talking to builders, going to regattas and looking at boats, visiting museums and reading the "Principles Of Naval Engineering" several times, I designed my first vessel. The boat was called "GAMBLER". Marilyn and I still run it today. I feel that the goals of the project were met because both boys are now embarked on successful naval careers.
Over the years, I have continued my research, tested ideas, refined numbers and developed computer programs to assist in Sternwheel vessel design. I am now in the process of writing a book to assist those of you who wish to build your own boat. However, it will be a while before the book is finished and, of course, then I have to find someone to publish it. For now, you will have to rely on direct communication via cyber space, Ma Bell or snail mail for me to help solve your design and construction problems.
The bottom line of all of this narrative (assuming you stayed awake through it) is that after designing a dozen vessels, building five of them and operating one for over twenty years, I feel that I have the background and experience to help you with your project. I hope that you agree.
