Moaning

For light reading on my recent travels I've been wading through Howard Chapelle's massive, convoluted 1947 tome, BOATBUILDING. The guy, as Abe Lincoln once said, can cram an awful lot of words into a pretty small thought. But here is today's gem:

"In every amateur boatbuilder's shop there should be a "moaning chair"; this should be a comfortable seat from which the builder can sit, smoke, chew, drink, or swear as the moment demands. Here he should rest often and think about his next job. The plans should be at hand and here he can lay out his work."