In the summer of '81 my grandfather SJ "Buddy" Hopkins, who was a lifelong employee of the Illinois Central RR, made this boat with a little help from me, for us to go fishing in the various small lakes and ponds near the Mississippi River in Vicksburg. My grandfather always enjoyed building boats, gun cabinets, furniture, and so on. He even made the trailer( no lights or license!!!!),paddles, and a matching tackle box(which I helped make). My grandfather sold the boat shortly before passing away in 1990, but I still have the tackle box and paddles, along with lots of railroad stuff and my first insulator.