" JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT comREMOVETHIS wrote in message
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"Don White" wrote in message
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JimH wrote:
My wife was with me working on the boat on Thursday at our new marina.
This is our first year at this marina (we trailer the boat last year).

Taking a break from working on the boat she walked over to our new dock
to assess how easy it will be for her to step down to the dock from land
(these are drive up docks with a 6 inch step down from land to the
dock). She asked if I could assemble and install a support pole with a
handle for her, close to where you fist step down onto the dock. As
most of you know she wears a leg brace due to a debilitating and slowly
degrading muscular condition in her leg and is therefore not very
stable. I asked her to check with the office next time she drove up
there to make sure it was OK, which she did. Their response was "no
problem".

Upon arriving at the boat yesterday I found that the marina had welded a
support pole with grab handle at our dock directly onto the seawall
abutting our dock. I certainly could not have done better.

I drove to the office and thanked the owner. I found out that the
employee who did the work has a brother (also working at the marina) who
wears the same type of brace as my wife due to a permanent muscle injury
while playing basketball.

Nice folks. I think we will like it here. ;-)


Don't recall ever reading in the past what her injury was.
Glad to see she can still enjoy boating.


We sold our 32 footer as she was not able to help me bring the boat in
when the winds were moderate to high. (She would stand on the swim
platform while I sterned in, but could no longer do so).

She has had this neurological problem for the past 4 or so years, with it
getting a little worse every year; She has seen neurologists at the
University Hospital System and continues now to see a specialist at the
Cleveland Clinic, without any diagnosis to date as to the cause of her
condition. She has gone through tests after tests and underwent some sort
of injections to help stimulate the muscles and help them grow back.
Nothing helped.

When she started falling in her classroom (she was an elementary school
teacher, 2nd grade to be exact) it was obvious it was time for her to
retire. We sold the boat that same year (at the end of the 2003 boating
season).

We lasted 1 1/2 years without a boat (after owning boats for over 25
years) and got the itch to get back into it.....but on a much smaller
scale. We ran across this 20 foot runabout late last summer and it met
all our needs. We purchased it and trailered it through the remainder of
the season.... deciding to dock it this year to make life easier. ;-)

Thus the reason for selling the big boat and buying a smaller
boat......one that I can easily dock on mine own, regardless of the wind.


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