Elizabeth's Dinghy

3:30 AM the alarm goes off. Wow that's early for a Saturday. What are we doing I ask myself? Then I remember...We've got a dinghy to buy.

Somewhere along the way we decided that buying a used dinghy would be a good place to save some money while outfitting the boat. Basically rationalizing that if you were going to buy something used, a dinghy would be a better choice than say, a liferaft of EPIRB. Just our thinking, I'm sure others have done it differently.

The search for a decent used dinghy on Craigslit has been long and frustrating. They are too big, or little, too expensive, way too old, the good ones get sold quickly or are in the Bay area while we are stuck in Reno with winter storms making Donner pass a mess. Ellie has spearheaded this operation for a few months and has diligently checked Craigslist every day hoping to find the right boat at the right price that we can get to before it gets sold; and this was it. So here we are at 3:30 AM packing the truck and making sure the thermos is full of coffee.

4:00A we are fueled up and on the road to Brannen Is in the California Delta, to meet a guy at 8:00A to look at his dinghy. I might add, the emails and discussions about dinghies always lead to a smile. ie, Ellie replies to guy: "I'm excited to see your dinghy". Or E to me: "I hope his dinghy is as advertised" Anyway, we make it to Perry's Boat Harbor and find the dinghy just as advertised and Ken, the guy selling it to be honest and great to deal with.  Like most of the marinas we have experienced in the Delta, Perry's is super relaxed and pleasant; with big grassy areas below the levees and no big parking lots full of cars.  I can see how a person would enjoy Delta boating.We take it for a test drive in chilly morning breeze and all seems well.  Ellie is all smiles as this dinghy is a lot more sturdy and stable than our previous one.  That makes her happy, so that makes me happy.  With the slightest prodding Ken knocks $100 off the price and we shake hands.  He even scrubs the bottom off for us as we disassemble the boat.  The boat gets deflated a little to fit in the truck and we head towards Alameda.  It's always great when these type of dealings go well and everyone walks away feeling good.

9:00A we leave Perry's and head thru the interesting world of the California Delta, where the water is always higher than the ground around it.  Sort of like New Orleans, I guess that explains why there aren't a whole lot of permanent structures built around here.  Farm land, sheep and birds for a bit, thru the tunnel under the Oakland hills and hello big city!  10:15A finds us at Grand Marina in Alameda, unloading a months worth of boat stuff in a steady drizzle.  Dinghy, bikes, generator, anchor, and 6 bags of misc stuff disappear into the boat.  12:00 we say goodbye to Autumn Wind and head for Reno. 

4:15 P and 567 miles later we are back home, tired but happy that we finally found the right dinghy for us.  One more box checked off and Ellie's happy with her dinghy.