Boating/Golf......ASAP...

[Cooler]

Weather getting better, but slow. We can now see grass in our yards, and some standing water on the marinas top ice. I'm thinking 5 weeks may be aggressive, but doable. Besides, I am in the front row of the storage building, so that will get the ball rolling. The USCGC Mackinaw was breaking ice in the bay last week, which is another good sign. The crew noted ice thickness at 3 feet. Water level is going to be high for spring. Lot's of sun in the forecast, with 3 days in 50's this week, but cooler by the lake. Next Monday will be April 1 Rick - are you still splashing in on April 7? er

[RGrew176]

My goal is to drop into the water sometime between April 3rd and 17th. Got to beat last year when I did not drop until June 29th.

[Sadey]

I’m waffling between April 6th or the 13th. Just have to install the new horn and hailer speaker then I’m good to go. Of course ther weather is always the issue. Luckily it’s a short journey from Winthrop harbor to Racine.

[RGrew176]

I was actually contemplating taking off the shrinkwrap this coming weekend. The weather forecast is predicting rain all weekend and with the boat nice and dry under the wrap I will hold off removal. I would like a couple of dry days to prep the boat for launch.

[km1125]

If I could get out there before the rain, I'd like to soap it down and scrub the hull a bit!!

[bud37]

Well yesterday we were in the boat, must have been 75F under the tarp, started the charger install among other things.......out of the hundreds and hundreds of assorted electrical connectors/terminals I have , for some magical reason the charger requires none of the ones I have, had to buy the proper ones......amazing...

Still the ice on the bay is too thick for the ice breaker yet, still lots of snow around the boats but at least now the sun is warm. Nice and dry in the boat though. Actually the golf sign says three weeks....hmmmmm.

As a side note it is currently -1C and snowing, talk about a reversal.......

[Cooler]

News is a little better here. 90% of the snow is gone. Temps have been up & down, mostly up. Starting Tues, temps to be in 50's and then 60's the next week. Coast Guard is breaking ice in the bay starting Monday. I believe the Mackinaw is still in the area so she will break almost anything. Although Rick will get in, in April, I should be launching early May. Marina does not turn power on till 5-15 anyway. Overall, things look way better than they did a couple of weeks ago. CBTL is almost ready except for a little more buffing/polishing and bottom paint touch up. The Admiral wants to take a drive up to Door County today, so I will be walking a marina or 2. March went by pretty quick! er

[bud37]

Just a little update, it seems the American breaker had to quit as well.....the ice is over 3 ft thick north of Hope Island.....cant punch thru.....

Solid snow now, oh well it looks so pretty !!!!....yesterday we were tanning in the yard.......

[Cooler]

Bud37 - you need to get the USCGC Mackinaw in there for that ice. She is a big, heavy vessel and has no problem with 3 ft. Crew members say she can do much better, but did not report what her maximum punch could be. Her home port is Cheboygan, MI, and she will be working in the bay of Green Bay most of upcoming week, tracking for commercial traffic. The American breaker you probably had was the Mobile Bay. Spring will come, the ice will melt or sink. Then we can all get nervous for our launches and potential surprises! er

[RGrew176]

I was planning to take down my shrinkwrap this weekend. Mother nature had other plans. It has rained most of the day and in fact it is snowing now. Glad I decided to wait. The weather forecast for the next few days is cold weather. Then it is supposed to warm up and hopefully the next few nights will be the last that fall below freezing until fall. I will hope to uncover and drop in the water next week shooting for the 10th.

I found out from our marina manager that we are not allowed to keep the heat on in our boats if we are not aboard. Fortunately I do have 2 sources of heat. I have the reverse cycle system and the water discharge out the side of the hull is a dead giveaway that the system is running. I also have 2 electric wall mounted units aboard. One in the salon and one in the aft cabin. If I do launch I will set the heaters to the lowest setting just in case. I keep a fan aboard to circulate the interior air all the time when I am not there so I could keep it just warm enough so nothing could freeze up in case another cold spell should hit.

Launch date is definitely in sight.