Wednesday, January 21, 2009

a tow vehicle (or lack thereof)

In my continuing efforts to be as independent a chick sailor as possible (and maybe even eventually achieve the more highly-evolved state of interdependence as extolled by a diverse group that includes Karl Marx, Mahatma Ghandi, and - hero of execudroids everywhere - Dr. Stephen Covey) I'm feeling less than comfy about not owning a vehicle capable of towing Central Air. The Catalina 18 is estimated to weigh a little more than 2,000 lbs, including boat and trailer. When I add in all the typical sailing equipment plus all the extraneous stuff I keep on my boat in order to provide the proper 'yotting' experience for my guests and crew (paper plates and napkins with a jaunty sailing motif, a pear scented candle with anti-skid shelf liner material meticulously cut to the same size as the candle bottom and attached with double-faced tape to keep the candle from skidding across the cabin top and into the lake, etc, etc)... I figure that I've got at least 2,500 lbs to tow around.

According to the owner's manual, my beloved 1999 Honda CR-V (which I've driven 180k miles so far) is capable of towing 2,000 lbs. I imagine that I could tow Central Air for a short distance if the terrain was perfectly flat, but I've never worked up the nerve to try this. I know for sure that if I tried to retrieve Central Air with my CR-V, Central Air would emerge the clear winner of the tug-of-war that would take place at the bottom of the ramp. The CR-V is not equipped with the 'positive buoyancy' feature that Central Air has, so that would most certainly be an unfortunate and wet lesson to learn.

I have a few months before Splash Day '09 to make a decision on this subject. I'll give some thought to what my options are for this year, with a default plan of 'continue to leech off friends with trucks.'

3 comments:

Unknown said...

What's splash day 09?

Christy ~ Central Air said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting, oldbeamer.

"Splash Day" is what the members of my sailing club -- Alum Creek Sailing Association -- traditionally call 'launch day.' Our sailing season starts April 1st here in Central Ohio.

The O'Sheas said...

Toyota Tundra. We got one for the same purpose. Well, that and towing our vacation home on wheels.

It's working out.

:)