She's in!

After a year and a half of sitting on the hard Hullabaloo is back in the water where she belongs.  We barely managed to make it to the marina in time to catch her in the slings, which may be a good thing since seeing her hanging in midair was a bit nerve racking. 

 



Afloat!  And thanks to our diesel mechanic Andy she started right up.

 Andy drove the boat just around the corner to where her rigging and mast would be put up.  Also just around the corner was a large barge that was dredging out the marina.  Due to record low water levels in the Great Lakes many places are having to dredge to make it deep enough for boats to be able to use marinas.  Not only were they pretty close to our boat but Ron made the mistake of telling me that the barge is being steered by the shovel on the excavator  and the hydraulic poles that are sticking up.  At first I was a little lot nervous but clearly this was not the operator's first day on the job, quite impressive maneuvering!


The dredging barge



Like a kid in a candy store



Using the crane to get the mast up



Mast in...looking more and more like a sailboat



Rigging up...almost done

 Due to the marina being extremely busy our rigging crew was down to one.  So naturally Mr. Hands-on jumps right in and starts helping.  Not only did it make the rigging go faster but Ron learned a lot too.  And I don't think our rigger was too upset to have the help either!


Ron volunteered to help out, definitely in his element here



Putting the genoa on the furler



Coming in to the dock after our sea trial with Jeff

 The staff at Irish Boat Shop were FABULOUS, seriously, I don't think I've ever met a more energetic bunch of people!! Every single employee was friendly, happy and genuinely shared in our excitement about getting Hullabaloo in the water. Our diesel mechanic Andy went above and beyond to show Ron the systems aboard, our rigger not only let us watch his every move but also let Ron help out, gave us great advice and answered every question we could possibly think of.  And from the first inquiry email we sent about Hullabaloo, our broker Jeff was there to answer questions (of which we had a LOT!) and guide us through the process of buying this GREAT boat.  After reading about a lot of not-so-pleasant experiences of buying a boat, we couldn't be more thankful to have had the experience we did.  So to all the staff at Irish...THANKS from the bottom of our (very happy) hearts!!


Heading out for our first sail...just the 3 of us

 We had such a great first sail! It started out with 10kts of wind and got up to 18kts so we were able to move along at a pretty good clip and Ron was able to play nonstop.  I'm not sure the last time I've seen him so excited, he was running (not literally) all over; up on deck, trimming sails, looking at how to make some changes Jeff recommended, down in the cockpit playing with the autopilot...sheesh, I was exhausted just watching.


You never quite get used to the Caribbean-clear water here in Charlevoix



Giddy as a school girl



SO much deck space!

 She's nice and cozy at the municipal marina where she'll stay for the next five days (not that we're counting) until we come back up with a couple friends and make the 180ish mile treck to Muskegon.  Let sailing season begin!


Back at the marina where she'll wait for us to take her home