Boat Yard Blues

Folks, Sunday morning, the Chicago Marathon, but my trip is only 14 or 15 miles. My wife dropped us at the harbor, left my car at the yard. Boat is ready, do the usual check; all okay, fire up the A4, bring the lines aboard and we're off. A beautiful fall day in Chicago, flat water, and sun, we should be sailing. Six miles to the Calumet River, we get there in an hour, now we're on the river, an industrial river with steel walls, barges, tows, sea going vessels, but today it's quiet. On to the lock. Arrive at the O'Brien lock and it's open, with the green light on. I should buy a lottery ticket! Lock through and it's only 40 minutes now to the yard. I actually slowed down, this is the last time I'll be on my boat, in the water, this year, even though it's now a powerboat. Arrive Rentners, tie up, it's now theirs. I walk away as they are cleaning the bottom, David Dobbs, CAL29 411

I feel your pain, brother. From: david dobbs <tm… [at] yahoo.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 1:49 AM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Boat Yard Blues Folks, Sunday morning, the Chicago Marathon, but my trip is only 14 or 15 miles. My wife dropped us at the harbor, left my car at the yard. Boat is ready, do the usual check; all okay, fire up the A4, bring the lines aboard and we're off. A beautiful fall day in Chicago, flat water, and sun, we should be sailing. Six miles to the Calumet River, we get there in an hour, now we're on the river, an industrial river with steel walls, barges, tows, sea going vessels, but today it's quiet. On to the lock. Arrive at the O'Brien lock and it's open, with the green light on. I should buy a lottery ticket! Lock through and it's only 40 minutes now to the yard. I actually slowed down, this is the last time I'll be on my boat, in the water, this year, even though it's now a powerboat. Arrive Rentners, tie up, it's now theirs. I walk away as they are cleaning the bottom, David Dobbs, CAL29 411

On 10/11/2011 1:49 AM, david dobbs wrote: > > Folks, > Sunday morning, the Chicago Marathon, but my trip is only 14 or 15 > miles. My wife dropped us at the harbor, left my car at the yard. > Boat is ready, do the usual check; all okay, fire up the A4, bring the > lines aboard and we're off. A beautiful fall day in Chicago, flat > water, and sun, we should be sailing. Six miles to the Calumet River, > we get there in an hour, now we're on the river, an industrial river > with steel walls, barges, tows, sea going vessels, but today it's > quiet. On to the lock. Arrive at the O'Brien lock and it's open, > with the green light on. I should buy a lottery ticket! Lock through > and it's only 40 minutes now to the yard. I actually slowed down, > this is the last time I'll be on my boat, in the water, this year, > even though it's now a powerboat. Arrive Rentners, tie up, it's now > theirs. I walk away as they are cleaning the bottom, > David Dobbs, CAL29 411 > Here's a way to look at it, David. One advantage of living in a fresh water/cold seasonal weather environment is that we have opportunities to pause and reflect. The mere fact that you powered your boat to the haul-out means that you made it through another season safely. The mast didn't fall down, the water didn't gush in, the skipper survived to look back. Better still, you probably had lots of those moments that remind you of why the time and expense of owning a boat are all worthwhile. Last night I was out at the storage site cleaning up my boat a bit. I've been attending to varnish projects that nagged at me all summer long. Last night was 3rd coat, which translates into "good enough." Then I wiped down most of the hull with vinegar, removing the calcium buildup that reaches a foot or so above the boottop stripe. Ol' #1220, /Martha C/, looks pretty good after that, and even better when compared with her neighbor in storage, an Albin Vega of approximately equal vintage. The AV hasn't had the bottom painted or the topsides washed (not to mention polished) for maybe a decade now. The boat looks awful but they keep launching and sailing. Sure makes my boat look like somebody cares. Late last week I was working on the boat when a hot-air balloon landed in the lot next to where my boat sits. It added some entertainment to the work session. Last night the baseball stadium had some fireworks. Chris Campbell > >