Sunday, April 01, 2007

Kanaloa Launched

Saturday started out great - Mom and Dad were up early, getting dressed and putting stuff together. I saw boat stuff and I was so excited, this could only mean one thing - our boat is back in the water!!!

But like all good things - this happy image of having the wind in my fur, and my feet on the deck was pull out from under me like a rug.

Here is my mom telling me the bad news - you will notice I am begging her to say it isn't so. She says it isn't safe for furry people to go to the boat when the ramp and docks aren't in place. I am very bummed - so, bummed out I am letting Mom take over the post. Don't let her cute appearance fool you....













Mo..,, errr I mean Liza here. Yes it is true, the ramp and docks weren't in yet at Winter island so it wasn't safe enough for Dory to go with us this launch day. So Chris and I headed out and got her launched and Dory had to wait at home. I know she was mad - she literally sulked getting into her crate, but it was a matter of safety first.

Here is a pictorial of what it looks like to launch a boat in Salem, Massachusetts!












The boat is towed to the launch ramp by the mechanic. The boat stays at his boat yard in the winter and when it gets close to spring time they take off the shrink wrap (our boat looks like a big marshmallow all winter), tune up the engine, put the canvas back on and put bottom paint on (the bottom paint keeps away barnacles and sea growth when it is on the water).











The truck backs the boat into the water and then the boat rolls slowly off the trailer. Dad, I mean, Chris is in the cap and supervising the process.












As you can see the ramp is winched up and there are no floating docks in yet. When the docks are in and the ramp is down it is safe for Dory to go out with us. We are keeping our fingers crossed that is soon.













As I scan Salem Harbor I don't see any other boats yet. Chris takes pride (and is a little competitive) in being the first boat launched for the season. In June this place is filled with moored boats. Mooring means hooked up to a ball or block that is attached to a chain and weight at the bottom of the harbor. This is basically our boat's parking spot from March through November.













Finally, we got for a short ride to make sure everything is working. It looks beautiful, but it is very cold today so we head in early. We were home before Dory finished her morning nap as a matter of fact!!!












Here is the Kanaola - all set for another season of fun and adventure!!!

3 comments:

Molly the Airedale said...

Wow! This looks like fun! Hopefully Dory can go next time!

Love ya lots,
Maggie

Anonymous said...

I guess it's good they were thinking about your safety, but you're a lab! You can swim to the boat from the shore! Although if it was too cold that day you probably wouldn't have had much fun shivering all day. Hopefully you'll get to go soon.
Kaos

Peanut said...

Ah poor dory. To bad you didn't get to go.