HURDLES!

Well, we finally got the boat bottom painted and back in the water...Ken moved the boat to the main dock and tied up there for a couple weeks instead of our slip...This time of year the countries of Canada and USA lower the water level in the Fall to reduce the flooding for the following Spring and to make sure the Montreal port has enough water to do their shipping,etc, so it's always an issue with us getting our boat to the haulout so it can get pulled, cleaned and put in the cradle for the winter..We draw about 4 1/2 ft...so we have been known to get almost to the haulout when the boat just stops with a thud...we are hung up and can't get there...we have been pulled by tractors,trucks,boats and people - then finally getting to the haulout..I usually hold my breath during this time...So that hurdle is done. Now the next hurdle is building a brace to hold the mast on the boat...Ken started building that today. We then have to install it on the boat and get the mast on top of it..tie it down really good so it doesn't come off during our journey to Albany/Troy area where we will then step the mast(50 ft) and away we go.

We missed the last 2 weekends of hauling things off and putting things on that we will need because the boat was being painted. With the problems painting, they put the boat in a barn until they could finish it, and the stinkin birds poo'd all over it and I just cleaned it before all this started. Dang!

The last big hurdle is crossing Lake Ontario... we will need no wind or very little wind with the mast strapped on the top. Once we get to Oswego,(about 8 hrs) we start locking through to Oneida Lake...We will start in about 10-days if all goes well...It really is all coming together..and we are gettin excited...