Dutch'sfirstmate
New member
Hello Brats! Well this is my first post on here, so just want to introduce myself a little bit. I'm Heather, Harald's (ORDutch75) wife. I know you've all heard quite a lot from my hubby about our new 23 Venture...and have been anxiously awaiting details. So I told Harald yesterday the I get to post about our maiden voyage! 
On Friday we picked her up from SeaSport... man, those guys are TOP NOTCH. I know it's a holiday weekend and I so appreciate that they still put in full time hours to make sure we had the boat ready to go for the long weekend. Ryan is such a professional, I just have to say that. All the guys at that shop are amazing and I thank them so much! We took her down to the Willamette for a quick little test and then we trailered her up back home for the night.
The following morning, Saturday, we go ready to go for a day trip. We wanted to make our way out to Astoria and back (that was probably pretty ambitious for the first time out), but we figured we'd just take our time and give Harald the chance to really break that beautiful engine in. I just have to say, THIS BOAT IS AMAZING! I've never had such an easy and stress-free launch. We launched her at Chinook Landing, which was the busiest I've ever seen any boat launch in my life. To be honest, I was a little worried with all the traffic, dogs, kids... but we were well-prepared and told ourselves that no matter what, we weren't rushing ourselves and we were just going to take it easy. Luckily we have our friend Steve visiting this weekend, so we also had an extra hand. Harald backed her down the ramp, the Jeep handled great, we swept her off the trailer and soon we were off. If this had been the Sea-Ray, it would've been a lot harder to maneuver between the docks and douche-boats.
We spent the day just cruising around the Columbia, then down through the willamette channel (Sauvie Island) and then back around. We didn't quite make it to Astoria, but we docked up at a public dock at St. Helens for a quick lunch break. We saw another C-dory there, the C-Esta, not sure if they're on this forum. But it was cool seeing another one out there on the water! Every Tom Dick and Harry decided to boat this weekend. I think it was the above 90 degree heat in Portland...being on the water is the only reprieve. Even on the water it was a bit hot.
Eventually we made our way back to Chinook Landing just as it was getting dark. Thankfully it was a smooth loading with no issues. Have I said how great this boat is yet?? What a beautiful day to be on the water and what a beautiful boat! We're so excited to take her out on some weekend trips and really break it in. Harald left this morning with Steve to do the Lower Olympic Peninsula and South Sound and they plan on sleeping over. I decided to stay home and let them have some boy's fun. 8) I'm sure he'll post some pics when he gets back.
I've posted pics of our maiden voyage in my profile... if I can figure out how to do that.
Cheers!
On Friday we picked her up from SeaSport... man, those guys are TOP NOTCH. I know it's a holiday weekend and I so appreciate that they still put in full time hours to make sure we had the boat ready to go for the long weekend. Ryan is such a professional, I just have to say that. All the guys at that shop are amazing and I thank them so much! We took her down to the Willamette for a quick little test and then we trailered her up back home for the night.
The following morning, Saturday, we go ready to go for a day trip. We wanted to make our way out to Astoria and back (that was probably pretty ambitious for the first time out), but we figured we'd just take our time and give Harald the chance to really break that beautiful engine in. I just have to say, THIS BOAT IS AMAZING! I've never had such an easy and stress-free launch. We launched her at Chinook Landing, which was the busiest I've ever seen any boat launch in my life. To be honest, I was a little worried with all the traffic, dogs, kids... but we were well-prepared and told ourselves that no matter what, we weren't rushing ourselves and we were just going to take it easy. Luckily we have our friend Steve visiting this weekend, so we also had an extra hand. Harald backed her down the ramp, the Jeep handled great, we swept her off the trailer and soon we were off. If this had been the Sea-Ray, it would've been a lot harder to maneuver between the docks and douche-boats.
We spent the day just cruising around the Columbia, then down through the willamette channel (Sauvie Island) and then back around. We didn't quite make it to Astoria, but we docked up at a public dock at St. Helens for a quick lunch break. We saw another C-dory there, the C-Esta, not sure if they're on this forum. But it was cool seeing another one out there on the water! Every Tom Dick and Harry decided to boat this weekend. I think it was the above 90 degree heat in Portland...being on the water is the only reprieve. Even on the water it was a bit hot.
Eventually we made our way back to Chinook Landing just as it was getting dark. Thankfully it was a smooth loading with no issues. Have I said how great this boat is yet?? What a beautiful day to be on the water and what a beautiful boat! We're so excited to take her out on some weekend trips and really break it in. Harald left this morning with Steve to do the Lower Olympic Peninsula and South Sound and they plan on sleeping over. I decided to stay home and let them have some boy's fun. 8) I'm sure he'll post some pics when he gets back.
I've posted pics of our maiden voyage in my profile... if I can figure out how to do that.
Cheers!
. The boat ran flawlessly. There are a couple items that need attention but they are very minor. Our trip to the south sound was wonderful. I will post some pics in the morning, just washed the boat down and desalinated her. Ready for some sleep!