THIS YEARS LAUNCH WAS NO FUN

The weather was rainy and windy and all round lousy.  So we managed to tie up to the launch ramp dock and secured her for the night.  We weren't going anywhere.  The Harbour Master and his wife, Gord and Ellie Gowie invited us for dinner which gave us a break from the Wind, Rain, Cold and Noise.  When we got back to the boat I felt a lot better, but it didn't last.   

It was a horrible night all around.  The nose of the Thunderbird was not in deep enough water, so during the night with the wind and rain, she started hitting bottom every once in a while, which made the dog go nuts.  She was terrified of those sounds and kept climbing up on our bed, trembling and whimpering.  Then she would here another sound and jump down, then back up.  She was having panic attacks.  The noises weren't exactly allowing us to sleep either.  We hardly got any sleep at all. 

 

Well, this morning the sun is out, but the wind is still very strong.  The lake is still quite active and it will take a while for it to settle down.  So, we will sit it out here in Gimli for the restof today.  We have moved the boat back into a little deeper water and that should make it a little quieter tonight, and I hope that calms Sea-Enna's nerves down. 

 

The winds and waves are supposed to die off overnight.  When that occurs, we will make our journey to the beach. 

 

THIS WAS THE WORST LAUNCH WEATHER WE HAVE EVER HAD. 


 

THE EXCITEMENT OF LAUNCH DAY

There is nothing quite like the excitement of launch day.  We start anticipating it at the beginning of April when we arrive home from Texas. 

We plan projects that we need to do, then add in projects that we also want to do and that is how we arrive at our to do lists.  Quite often the want to dos get left undone, when the have to dos use up the time between the start of our work and our launch date.  That is how my upholstery projects ended up taking over 10 years. 

The decisions about what to do and how to spend the time we have left in the hangar, get made as we go along, and with each decision the anticipation of our launch grows.  And as the day approaches, and the excitement builds, we check the weather to see what kind of seas we are going to encounter on the day.  That too adds to the anticipation. 

Each year the big day finally arrives and they slip the trailer under the Thunderbird, remove all the barrels and blocks and ready or not off she goes. 

 

There she is coming down Center Street in Gimli. 

 

 

 

And eased into the harbour. 

 

 

The first few times I saw this, it made me so nervous.  I know these guys are professionals and they have done all this many, many times, but seeing it happen really put me on edge. 

 

That is, until Dan and I bought a 2200 square foot split level house and had it moved down Henderson Highway onto our river property.  Now that was nerve racking. But, that was a whole other adventure we had.   After that, the boat launch never bothered me again. 

 

 

 

THE EXCITEMENT IS NOW JUST THRILLING

 

 

 

 

BOUNDARY CREEK MARINA

Our home port is called "Boundary Creek  Marina".  This Marina is owned and operated by "Lake Agassiz Marine" , which also owns and operates the hangars where we store our boats in the winter.   

 

The bottom
and top left corners of the attached photo is the lake .  The marina consists of what we call the outer harbour, the inner harbour and the back harbour.  The grey toned area is where the creek runs from the back harbour through the marina and out into the lake. 









We have two areas in this park like marina, where we gather and socialize.  One is just up on the grass in front of where we dock, there, we have a couple of picnic tables with umbrellas.   This area is well down the creek in what we call the inner harbour, so it is well sheltered from the lake breezes, on a windy day.

On the other hand if it is a hot, hot day 

we are more inclined to go up to the Gazebo.  This Gazebo is closer to what we call the outer harbour, next to the mouth of the creek and closer to the lake.  And it is on a large knoll which allows you to get a nice breeze off of the lake.  If it's a hot muggy day we usually all take our boats out, unless it's too rough, then you'll see a lot of people at the Gazebo.  Both of these harbour areas are full of large power boats and cruisers.  And last but certainly not least, there is the area furthest up the creek, that is known as the back harbour.  This area is the most sheltered area in the marina and holds the widest variety of boats.  From large and small cruisers, to large and small power boats, sail boats, runabouts and Sea-doos.   

The other wonderful thing that is so enjoyable about Boundary Creek Marina is the wild life.  And the general pulse of nature that you become so aware of once you spend some time there.  We have Grey Herons, White Pelicans, huge Carp, Bass, Pickerel, you name it.  Occasionally we will see a beaver or two and the odd muskrat. 

 

This is a wonderful place to live, in the summer time and a wonderful port to cruise out of.  With lots of wonderful friends to socialize with. 

 

 

 

THIS IS WHERE WE ARE HEADING ON FRIDAY

 

 

 

DIY: BOAT REFIT

In the year 2000 we purchased the "Thunderbird", our old 46 foot steel hulled diesel trawler.  When we bought her we were looking for a retirement project and knew she was in serious need of a total refit.  Leaking roofs, out dated interior, a questionable motor, that we knew could be fixed and an iffy transmission that we were really concerned about.  But, I have always loved this boat, so I convinced Dan that we should go ahead. 

Over the last 10 years we have worked hard on this refit.  Each year, we worked on her until the ratio of work, to fun, tips to the point, that it is time to stop working on her and put her in the water and enjoy some boating.   Here we are in 2013 and our major work on "Thunderbird" is over.  We have no more "have to dos" and we are finally down to a few "want to dos" plus yearly maintenance stuff. 

Over the next while I will go back over my ships log and relate some of the trials and tribulations of our many refit projects.   As I did with the recent description of my upholstery projects. 

Each one of these Blogs will be prefixed with a DIY.  As all of this certainly was the ultimate DIY project.                  

PREPPING OUR DOCK FOR OUR ARRIVAL

The weekend before we launch we always drive down to Boundary Creek Marina with a number of items that we need for the summer.  We have a small pair of boarding steps that sit on the dock to assist us in getting aboard the Thunderbird. 

 
To prepare our dock for our arrival Dan also has to install our large permanent bumpers.  That way we don't have to hang fenders out when we go in and out of our home port for a short cruise, we only use the hanging fenders when we go into a strange harbour. 

Today our harbour looks pretty deserted.  By now there are usually quite a few boats around, but as I said in a previous post everyone is "iced in",  in Gimli Harbour.  I'm sure that "Fleet" will all be here by the time we get here next Friday.  I think we lucked out on the timing of our Splash down this year.   

SO THE DOCK IS AS READY FOR OUR ARRIVAL, AS THE BOAT IS







DIY: OUR TO DO LISTS ARE FINISHED

This weekend was the end of the spring work session.  The final touches of paint have been applied, the mast repairs are completed and it has been repainted and stowed on the roof to be erected once we are in the harbour. 

Dan has also completed all his mechanical adjustments.  All those things he kept telling me about oil this and grease that, it seems they are all finished. 

The last item on that list was to check the packing on the drive shaft.  He even has custom built wrenches to do that job.  Check!





We will return on Thursday and prep the boat with lines and fenders and sleep on board to await the launch on Friday morning. 

WE ARE READY FOR A SUMMER  OF BOATING

 

 

 

THE BOATS ARE ACCUMULATING

The boats are starting to accumulate in Gimli Harbour.  Some are the Gimli regulars, but a lot of them, are boats from Boundary Creek Marina, who were launched in the last couple of weeks and are still waiting for the lake to clear of ice.   

The lake is clear for the most part, but we have been having pretty consistent easterly winds, keeping what little ice there is socked in all around the harbour. 


 

Some of it even invaded the harbour this weekend.  There isn't much of it but it's blocking the harbour entrance.  Everyone  is just waiting for it to clear away.  As soon as that happens there will  be an Armada of boats heading south down the lake to the beach.  I'm sure it will be all cleared out by the time we launch next Friday. 

 

 

LAUNCH ANTICIPATION IS BUILDING FOR US