Today was finally launch day for little Looking Glass. I was down in Dayton teaching an afternoon private lesson and must have bugged the guys there enough about getting the boat in the water and out of the marshy wetlands it had been living in since last October.
Dayton Yacht Harbor has an interesting contraption for moving boats around. Many marinas around the globe use Travel lifts as the primary mover. Generally they have four wheels and can move around on there own. Here in Montana we do it slightly different. There is the hoist, there is four wheels, but there is not an engine. The power is provided by an old fire truck that is rigged to pull the hoist around the muddy fields. Then it gets even more entertaining when it has to drive down a hill to the lake with the boat swinging in front of it and pull out onto two wooden piers that create the launching area.
Well...everything went just fine. No calls were made to the insurance company this time. LG was lowered into Flathead Lake around 4:30 this afternoon and in fine summertime weather. I think the boat shivered a little bit when her keel felt the frigid post winter waters of the lake. There might still be an iceberg floating around the middle, I wouldn't doubt it. After the straps were removed and the hoist pulled away, and after doing a quick check that all my time and hard work would stay at the appropriate level on the lake, I took the task of cleaning of the several weeks of muddy footprints and greasy handprints that littered the deck. I also played around with the new oars from NRS to see if they fit. Yep..check...roger...The true test of whether that was a good purchase or not will likely come this weekend.
So the yacht is all tied up fore, aft, and a spring to keep her happy. This weekend I'll head back down there and get the engine fired up again and continue cleaning. The Trestle to Trestle race from Dayton to Somers is this weekend, so I'll spend Saturday on the boat then sail back with the fleet on Sunday. Pray for downwind...I might have a chance then.