Today was the day to load up the "Rosa" and send her north to Kansas City.
Actually, tomorrow was supposed to be the day for that but the folks who I hired to transport her asked me this morning if we could move it up by a day.
I made a call to my manager in Texas, and he said it was possible. I have to hand it to him, he was in the middle of another project and had "all his ducks in a row" for the load to take place on Wednesday, but he made it happen anyway.
For some time our Irving, Texas operation was in the capable hands of Chris Harrison, but this year Chris will return to school in pursuit of a Master's Degree. One of our star gondoliers in Newport Beach stepped up to take over the operation a few months ago. Matthew Schenk moved out to Irving and has been routinely amazing us with his drive and dedication there.
My sincere thanks go out to Matt and his "can-do" attitude.
So this afternoon the Rosa was hauled out on her trailer, strapped down, and then the whole thing was loaded onto a large flat-bed known as Landoll trailer for transport to and from Kansas City.
Loading the gondola-on-trailer onto the long deck of the Landoll.Normally we like to haul the boat on her trailer like normal folk, but with a tight schedule and a long distance to travel this time, we chose the Landoll route.
Strapped down and ready to roll.Tomorrow Elisa and I are back on a plane to Kansas City, where we'll prepare for the expedition, attend a media luncheon, scrape the bottom of the gondola till she's smooth, visit with some friends and then it's off down the "Muddy Mo" on Friday morning.
1 comment:
Interesting photos! A few questions spring to mind:
Is there a particular reason for choosing Rosa for this expedition? She is quite long in the water, probably more difficult to handle with a single oar compared to a "banana" boat? Is there a speed advantage with the longer waterline?
Maybe I do not know USA very well, but I think the federal speed limit is lower for trucks, so it will take longer to haul the gondola on that 18-wheeler compared to a pick-up?
(As a european I must envy the purple monster truck, however. Such a hauling job would cost more than the gondola's value here, due to high fuel taxes.)
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