Hand-Made Row Boat: A 5-Minute Freewrite
"At last, it's almost completed!" Collins said proudly as he looked at the row boat that he had made with his own two hands. "What do you think, Fred? Isn't it a beauty?" he asked the man who was also eyeing the almost completed row boat.
"Well, it looks okay, but do you think it's seaworthy?" Fred asked with skepticism in his voice.
Fred's skepticism was due to the fact that, although the boat looked sturdy, it was made using inferior wood.
"You're such a worrywart," Collins scoffed at Fred, unhappy that his friend was doubting his boat-making skill.
Fred shook his head but didn't back off. "We're going to use the row boat at sea, but we used inferior wood to make it, so of course I'll worry," he argued.
"I also want to use good wood, but our budget is limited, so we can only make do with what we can afford," Collins explained. He then added "Also, with my boat-making skill, even inferior wood would turn into an unsinkable boat!"
Shaking his head, Fred wondered where his friend was getting his confidence from. No matter how good Fred thinks his skill is, he can't magically change inferior materials into superior ones. Moreover, his boat-making skill was just average. Heck, if Fred didn't offer his help, he highly doubted the project would go anywhere.
Although highly skeptical of the row boat's seaworthiness, it didn't stop Fred from helping until the boat was fully completed. Not long after, the day of the row boat's maiden voyage finally arrived.
"This is it, Fred; we're making history!" Collin's proudly declared
"We're just going to sail our row boat, Collins. There's nothing special about it to be recorded in history," Fred countered.
"What a spoilsport you are, Fred. Whatever, let's go!" Collins said he was somewhat displeased but decided not to pay attention to his friend's attempt to hamper his spirit.
The duo then boarded the row boat and started rowing out to sea. Ten minutes into their boat ride, Fred finally noticed that Collins was not wearing his life vest.
"Hey, Collins, what happened to your life vest?" Fred asked.
"Oh, that thing? I sort of forgot to bring it to me," Collins explained sheepishly.
"You're crazy! You can't even swim; what would you do if the boat capsized?" Fred yelled in panic.
"Relax, nothing will happen to the --" Before Collins could even complete his sentence, a hole suddenly appeared where he was seated and plunged him into the water.
"Collins!"
Fred panicked, seeing what happened to his friend, and quickly dove into the water. Not long after, he surfaced while assisting Collins, who then started coughing hard once out of the water.
Fred then assisted Collins into the boat. Although there was a huge hole in the boat, it didn't sink, which is helpful as they can use it to stay afloat. Moreover, as they were not that far away from the shore, they would only need to paddle for about ten minutes to get back to the shore.
Once back on land, Fred asked Collins if he had anything to say to him.
"...Sorry. I shouldn't have forgotten my life vest. Also, thank you for saving me," Collins apologized, then thanked Fred for saving his life.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that you know what you did wrong. Though you forgot to apologize for using inferior wood for the boat," Fred chastised.
"Yeah, that too," Collins said while scratching the back of his head.
Fred rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever. Let's go back home; we need to change our clothes before we catch a cold."
And with that, the duo returned home. Although the maiden voyage of their new row boat was a failure, at least they're safe. Moreover, they have a story that they could share with friends over some bottles of beer.