Dinghy Performance and more...

Yesterday, we launched the dink from a very small beach area at the park.  It has oars that are secured into oar locks on each side of the boat.  Erin had to go to the bathroom and the car needed to be moved, so it was decided that I was take the little inflatable for a spin by myself.

I hopped in and promptly spun around in a circle without going anywhere.  Erin was quite worried about my capabilities, but left me to experiment for a few minutes by myself.

It took me a few minutes, but I got the hang of it and while the car was being moved, I rowed over to the dock.  Erin found me and climbed into the other end of the boat and we started rowing out to our boat.  Read more…

The boat was not quite as bad as either Erin or I remembered, but it definitely needs a lot to make it "pretty".  We mainly hung out and explored the boat all day.  There are an enormous number of nooks and crannies where stuff can be stored.  We tore each one open and inspected everything.

I won't go over each item we found, but trust me when I say that there was quite a bit of random stuff.  A lot of the stuff was related to the electrical system.   The boat is apparently wired for both battery power and shore (AC) power.  So, that means that there are double the normal amount of wires, some light sockets with regular light bulbs, and some with small DC lights.

Also, I decided I would try to get the motor started so I could charge up the batteries.  Unfortunately, my cards didn't turn out the way I wanted them to and I couldn't figure it out.

Leaving the boat, the dinghy performed well again and I was able to row us back to the dock with minimal splashing and effort.  The way back was against the wind and against the current, but it presented us with no issue.  All in all, quite a fun day and a nice introduction to our boat.