Acquiring Karelia

Our sailboat Karelia
  • This is what the boat looked like when I first saw it. It was pretty sad. The yard crew had tossed onto the deck several long extension cords that had been used to power space heaters. The former owners lived aboard, year-around, with the boat on jack stands. The boat had not been in the water for a few years.
  • The sails had been stored under tarps on the fore-deck where dirt and dust collected. All hatches were opened to vent the foul-smelling air below decks. The mast guards were the first items to be cleared from the deck to meet trailer load-height limits.
  • Looking aft, the cockpit is the gathering place for items to be taken off the boat. The binnacle was laid down, still attached by the wiring and the steering cables.
  • Karelia (ne. Aquarious) had been lowered into the Chicago river to enable the marina crew to un-step the mast. I was not around when they did this and was most anxious about the though-hull fittings and valves being sound and closed. Fortunately they were.
  • The crane in the yard has the boat lifted in preparation for the trailer to be backed under it.
  • Here the boat is being lowered onto the special boat-moving trailer.
  • This is the 53 foot mast being loaded alongside the hull. Jack stands built into the trailer support and stabilize the boat.
  • Here the mast is loaded all snuggied alongside the 42 ft. hull as the rig pulls out of the marina yard.
  • Here the boat on the trailer is pulled out onto the street. The trailer rides with four inches of ground clearance and scraped the stringers on the crown of the street as the driver made a wide right turn out of the yard.
  • I stopped traffic at the entrance ramp to I-94 to allow the wide swing necessary to get around the corner and then followed the boat for a mile or two. The driver said that he would be rolling along at around 65. He went up I-94 to Milwaukee and then west to Eau Claire where he took WI 53 to Barker's Island in Superior. I sped home via I-90 and I-94 and spent the night. I left for Superior early in the morning but the boat beat me there.
  • Here the boat has been unloaded at Barker's island and is waiting to be put away on jack stands where it will stay for a couple of years while being restored. This is the last slide of "Acquiring Karelia". Click here to go back to the Karelia home page to see photos of the restoration.