When we left Virginia in 2003 we took our little Boston Whaler out of the water, drove it to Colorado in the moving truck, and its been sitting in the garage ever since. It had gone through some significant restorations since 2003 - everything in the boat was taken out, engine, console, railings, fittings, lights, rub rail were all removed from the hall. Removing the bottom paint was a real chore requiring use of an angle grinder. Once it was cleaned and sanded down I re-coated the inside and outside of the boat with new gellcoat. Then I rebuilt all of the wood inside the boat. Finally it was time to get the engine back on and put the who thing back together. Today after 9 years we finally launched it!
The reservoir just down the street from our house opened up for the season only about a week ago, right after ice out. Elizabeth has been helping me over the last 2 years put the finishing touches on it so it was only fitting that she get to come along on the initial shake down cruise. Andrew on the other hand really didn't want to go in the boat at all. He was certain that the engine was going to be too loud and he generally doesn't like to ride anything that moves so he got off to a bit of a rough start.
After our successful 5 minute shakedown cruise Elizabeth and I headed back to the boat ramp to pick up Andrew and Mommy. We went for a ride across the lake and found a nice little cove to anchor in where the kids could play on the beach.
The boat ran great and we all had a real good time in our little boat. I'm really looking forward to taking it up to the mountains this year and exploring some of the lakes up there and doing some fishing.
On the way back to the boat ramp Elizabeth helped to drive and did a great job. Andrew also seemed to be enjoying himself as well this time around. I'm looking forward to our next adventure on the water!
