Boat (n&v) 1. a small vessel propelled on water by an engine, oar or sail.
2. (in general use) a ship of any size.
3. an elongated boat-shaped jug used for holding sauce etc.
A boat owners definition is...A hole in the water in which to pour money!!
Well at the last count we had 10 such holes!! That does not include the various 'boats' out of the water which, in my opinion, are not salvageable!!
We have boats propelled by oar and sail and engine so I guess we have it covered!
Our vessels vary in size. The smallest being an 8' kayak and the largest, the Tasu is 29'.
Of course there are reasons for having so many vessels. We do not have cars or other forms of transport. Boats are it! They get us from place to place and are part of our livelihood.
There are three people in this family so we have at least three boats each to choose from. Of course we all want the same boat at the same time!!
All the boats have a specific function. The 'big boat' (Tasu) is used for trips to Port Hardy, Robins charter patrol job where it is his home for the summer and for towing if we need to move either the house or logs around.
The work skiff is the general, everyday work horse. It is full of ropes, pike poles, chain saws and general equipment. Oh yes, and holes too. You have to keep moving or your feet get wet. Thats why it has to be pulled up on the logs when not in use.
Robin and I also have matching patrol skiffs! ( I know it's very romantic). These we use in the summer months when we are doing fisheries work. They both have 50hp engines and are centre consols.
The canoes (3) we use when walking creeks and sometimes for evening paddles around the bay. Charlotte has a small kayak and an 8' sailing/row boat.
Along with all these vessels we also have a windsurfer and an older skiff which we put an electric motor on. Mum and Dad had fun taking evening boat trips round the bay in this. It is almost silent so great for wildlife watching as they can't hear you coming.
Boating can be a fun pastime which we all enjoy. It can be dangerous and very costly. All the maintenance we do our selves unless a large job such as haul out is required, then we have to make a trip to Port Hardy for the nearest boat yard. Robin spends much of his winter months keeping up to date on the repairs etc so that when he is away we only have oil changes etc to do.
I have, however, got quite good at diagnosing problems and quite a dab hand at changing carbs!!
Keep boating till next time.
Hey Sarah sounds like you need a 9 boat garage. I also do the oil changes on our boat, Mike says I'm smaller and can reach things easier and I'm so much neater. Come to think of it he says this alot when it comes to some job he doesn't really want to do!
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