It’s been said that the two happiest days in a boat owner’s life are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell the boat. From a seasonal perspective, those two days are the one in the spring when you first launch the boat and the one in late fall when you pull it and send it into dry dock.

This fall it took me two attempts to try to pull Open II Debate, my little Boston Whaler Montauk 150, to conclude my 2025 saltwater season.

The first attempt was scheduled for a few weeks ago, the same day a nor’easter came roaring up the coast. The prudent thing to do was delay any attempt to navigate the windswept, whitecapped bay waters enroute to the public ramp, so I rescheduled the pullout for Saturday afternoon of November 8, which turned out to be a gorgeous day weatherwise.

What surprised

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