one for the foster family book of memories

Looking back, Saturday we had a great family adventure. If you would have asked me how things were going Saturday morning, I'm not so sure I would've had the same thoughts. Let me elaborate:


Steve woke up at 5:30 (I wasn't too far behind him) to wrap things up so we could take the boat up to Millerton Lake for our first outing in the water. We thought going fishing would be a perfect way to get the kids' feet wet with the boating experience.


We woke up the kids, had them eat a quick breakfast, and we were on our way in the "big red truck". We were all very excited!


When we got to the lake, we put the boat in the water very awkwardly. Not that we didn't know how to back the trailer down the ramp, but we didn't move very efficiently. I couldn't do all that much to help, because Tyler did not like to sit in his life jacket.

As I was standing up holding Tyler, Steve was working on the hook to the trailer; I guess it had been a while since the boat had been taken off the trailer because the hook had seized. Luckily Steve had some work tools in the truck and was able to open it up. He hopped into the truck and parked it while we were tied to the dock.


As he was gone, I noticed there was a little bit of water on the floor of the boat and near the engine. I knew it was ok for there to be water in the little space around the engine, and figured that the water on the floor had just sloshed over in all the excitement. Until Steve got back. By the time he got back, their was more water, but I thought that I must be imagining things. Then Steve got in the boat and things that were in the back of the boat began floating. FLOATING. I brought this little piece of information to Steve's attention, and he hoped out and ran back to get the truck/trailer. Dumb me, I stayed in the boat with all three kids.


Unfortunately, we were just as inefficient at getting the boat back on the trailer as we were getting it off the trailer. I swear I thought we were going to sink that boat in three feet of water. The light bulb finally went on over my head, and I had Steve help get the kids and I out of the boat so I could help him get the boat out of the water. That was scary for me because I had to back up the trailer for the first time ( I had no idea what I was doing and couldn't see the trailer to know what I was doing). Steve was patient and told me which way to turn the wheel, then finally he got the boat up and on.


The whole time I'm thinking not so nice thoughts about the guy we got the boat from. "He knew there was a leak" and "what was he thinking? Doesn't he know we have kids?" and "I can't believe someone would pass off such a piece of junk". As we parked and got out to assess the damage Steve discovered that he overlooked one little detail: the plug. Who knew boats had a plug? Not me! I mentally took back all the bad things I thought about the previous owner. Sorry guy.





After the boat had drained itself of half of Millerton, we laughed at ourselves and relaxed a little. We even decided that we would give it another try.


The second launch went smoother and faster. We got the engine going and pulled away. Off we went! It was working! There was just one little problem: there was this terrible high-pitched buzzing that was so loud you could hear it over the engine. It was very annoying. We picked a spot to fish, killed the engine, and began to do our thing. We began to drift into the swimming area, so Steve fired the boat back up and we made a little headway, but then seemed to just be floating, not moving. But the engine was still making all the normal sounds. We were confused. We fished some more, trying to make the most of our time on the water and keep the girls cool. Not that that was even an issue. They had no idea our engine wasn't working properly.


To wrap up this novel, Steve had to break out the oar and try to paddle us back, which was a complete joke (poor guy).
He was stroking away for about an hour and a half (and multiple tries to get the boat moving again) when he decided to lift the engine out of the water to see if that would make it any easier for him to paddle. As he does this, he sees that we have no propeller. Somehow the whole thing just fell off! We just looked at each other and I wondered how on earth we were ever going to make it back.
Finally a couple on a jet ski came to our rescue and towed us back to the dock. We were so happy to actually be moving that it didn't matter we were all getting soaked by the rooster tail of the jet ski. The boat got soaked again too, but we didn't care. We were already plotting to get rid of the darned thing.


Needless to say, our whole family made it home, as did the boat. As soon as we got the boat out of the water Steve and I were cracking jokes and were happy to be on our way home. I knew instantly this was an adventure that we would never forget. I'm sure the girls will have a much different memory of it than Steve and I will, but that is a good thing. After all that, they loved it! They've never been on a boat before; how would they know an initial draining and paddling for a couple hours wasn't normal procedure?


As of today, we're kicking around the idea of buying a new propeller and giving it another shot. Are we crazy or what? On the other hand, Steve would like to park in the garage again... I'll update when we unload it or head out for another adventure. It is fun to be able to look back on this. I wonder how many other events we'll have the same feelings about.