Splash!

You may remember from a previous blog entree, way back in November, the 1/2 sunken, rowing dinghy that Jeff procurred and then pulled out of the water. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the dinghy in its derelict, couldn't-even-give-it-away-state. But believe me, it was atrocious with its stinky, black sludge swishing around on the inside and the gooey mounds of unfettered growth on the bottom. It was missing a corner and most of it's paint and in desperate need of repair.

Well, it has finally hit the water again...resurrected from the dead... after months in the garage and hours and hours of Jeff's time. With it's Hatteras white interior, burgundy hull, black bottom paint, stainless steel oarlocks and lifting eyes, new transom plate, and new aluminum oars the small boat has gone through a vast transformation and has turned out to be quite striking. It's still missing it's sleek black rub rail because it's just been too cold to get the material adequately warm to be pliable enough to form to the hull contours and stretch over the bow. Jeff decided to go ahead and launch it without the rail and pull it out once the weather warms a bit.

With the dinghy splashed and tied to the docks, we stood admiring the shiny, new paint job and assessing the waterline from across the canal. Within minutes another dinghy carelessly crashed into the tiny red boat hard enough to make us both cringe. No damage but still...life is hard for a dinghy! So, on second thought, we may opt for the not-quite-as-pretty padded side rail and keep the damages done by others to a minimum.

For now, she's [all boats are women, right?] safely tied behind the sailboat.

Jeff says his rowing skills are a little rusty at the moment, but he's looking forward to the wind settling down a bit and taking the little red row boat out for a spin.

We haven't given it a name yet...any suggestions?

See a slideshow of the work in progress~

Or try here...& then click on "slideshow" [upper left] for a bigger, better view.