Back on Land

No, this isn't an April Fools' joke. Luv'n Life IV is on land at Tidewater Yacht Service for routine maintenance -- just imagine how hard it would be to paint the bottom while she was still in the water.

Whenever we've had a boat pulled in the past, we've brought it to the boat yard, gone to work the next day, and returned to a boat up on land. I've often wondered about the process and I have to give a huge thanks to the Tidewater staff for being so nice about me taking tons of pictures yesterday morning.

The first step is getting the boat out of the slip and into the lift using this little boat:

They just tied off to the bow and towed our boat through the marina:

And into the lift:

Once she was in the lift and out of the water, they scraped off barnacles and power-washed the bottom. We had her pulled twice last summer (July and August) so this was nothing new. Unlike those two short hauls, we couldn't just stay in the lift the whole time. This is where it gets interesting.

They take the lift with the boat to an available space in the yard:

Adjust the straps until the boat is level back-to-front and side-to-side:

Build up small wooden towers under the center line:

Play reverse-Jenga with more pieces of wood until they are all level before lowering the boat the final inch or so:

Add support poles:

Is everything level?

Loosen the straps on the lift:

Undo them at the center:

And drive off:

Ta-da! After 2 1/2 hours from start to finish, she's up on land for a couple days. I personally am in awe of the process.

Wondering where we are living? We didn't have to pack up anything as we are still living on the boat. We have access to power:

And slightly-harder-to-navigate-than-usual front steps:

We even have wildlife:

The view isn't as pretty as usual:

But we do have interesting neighbors:

Pending weather, we'll be back in the water within a couple of days.