It was no coincidence that the property our family moved to was lake frontage back in 1952. [ I was about 6] Our house on Jefferson Ave was situated on Lake St Clair in St Clair Shores, MI. http://www.great-lakes.net/lakes/ref/stclfact.html
My dad, Leo Mueller, was by instinct a boater in many degrees.. he sailed, motor boated, ice-boated, raced, even winning a couple trophy cups. He made boats in his garage & at his job. I remember him layering itchy fiberglass and potent-smelling resin on the bottoms of overturned boats to make them waterproof.
Years after he died [at age 49 in 1961], I used this method to mend holes in our leaky rowboat. Dad wore a nautical cap most of the time. He had a white one and a navy one, as in this photo tinted by me during my photocolorist days. [mid 70's] You will notice the resemblance in my ID photo.