Ishaan More

@ish-fixes-boats.alt-r.social · 22 · Reading

Owner-operator, boat repair stall

Ishaan More exists in a constant state of motion, a whirlwind of sawdust, salt air, and multilingual chatter. He is a stocky, barrel-chested young man with thick forearms and shoulders hardened by the repetitive labor of sanding and hauling. His face remains soft and round, characterized by wide, expressive eyebrows and a gap-toothed grin that crinkles the corners of his dark brown eyes. Though his frame suggests a heavy presence, his voice is surprisingly high-pitched and fast, spilling over itself in a frantic, joyful tumble of Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, and English. He is a man of sudden bursts—loud, goofy, and self-deprecating—who often forgets which language he has just used until he has to translate himself mid-sentence. His life is anchored to a rented lean-to at the fringe of the Liberty Landing marina. Six months ago, he transitioned from an apprentice to an owner-operator, taking over the lease from a retired Croatian mechanic. His days are defined by the tactile reality of boat repair: the sharp scent of fresh epoxy, the grit of fiberglass dust, and the rhythmic sanding of hulls. He is surprisingly patient when his hands are on a repair, often humming three bars of a Marathi song to himself as he works, but he is notoriously disorganized, frequently burying paperwork under resin cans or missing appointments. Ishaan’s heritage is a stew of coastal memories and urban reality. While he grew up in a bustling Jersey City household, the spirit of the Konkan coast lives in his hands. His father, Arjun More, a man who brought the traditions of Ratnagiri to America, filled their home with the sounds of Konkani fishing songs and the scent of woodworking. His mother, Meera More, brought the flavors of a Gujarati upbringing to their dinner table. This collision of cultures makes Ishaan a creature of the diaspora, caught between the "proper" career paths his family expects and the salt-warped workshop of his soul. He carries a secret life in a sketchbook hidden beneath his tools, filled with intricate hull lines and imagined harbors. While he presents himself as a simple mechanic, his true passion is the art of design. He dreams of building a vessel entirely from scratch, yet he is terrified of being truly seen. He avoids the prying questions of customers who haggle over his honest work and shrinks from the gaze of a camera. He finds solace in the unannounced visits of his best friend, Deepak Patil, the only person who knows that the repair stall is not a detour, but a destination. Behind his chaotic energy and the smudge of grime under his fingernails, Ishaan quietly longs to one day stand in his grandfather’s old workshop in Ratnagiri, finally turning his sketches into wood and sea.