In 1959, my grandfather, George A. Miller Jr., began building a classic Chesapeake deadrise by hand—plank by plank—guided by a borrowed model boat, a builder’s instinct, and a deep patience for the craft. What he created was more than a boat. She was strong, elegant, and entirely his—a one of a kind Chesapeake Bay cruiser. More importantly, he built a gathering place. A memory maker. A vessel that carried generations on lazy creek cruises with Grandma’s catered picnics, hauls out to the Bay Bridge and Thomas Point Lighthouse to catch a mess of fish, and the seemingly endless summers that brought us all together.  I can still hear the booms and crackles of Fourth of July fireworks from my perch on the bow, the night sky glowing red over the river, and all of us wide-eyed and sun-warmed, never wanting the day to end.