The anticipation of the Big Chute experience was deserved. The whole concept of putting Three Sons in a rail car held in with only straps from the bottom seemed illogical and crazy. Now that we’ve done is (successfully) we can say that the experience matched the expectations minus any drama or damage.
The train car typically holds one boat our size and hangs the rear of the boat off the back of the car. Smaller boat and jetskis are loaded in the front where they basically lay on the bottom of the car. We learned that the straps holding our boat really just keep the boat upright, while the boat sits directly on the wooden floor of the car. So we’re not really swinging in a cradle as we thought, rather the keel of the boat is firmly on the car and the straps keep us from swaying left and right (mostly!). Once the boat drives in and is strapped, the car moves up the hill until the boat is out of the water. There’s a short pause for the operators to verify that the boat is stable and then the car slowly moves it way up the hill, over a road with its own railroad crossing signals, and back down. This car and system is relatively new as it was placed in service in 2003. This new design incorporates the straps and a very novel rail system where the front wheels are on one set of rails and the back wheels are on another. This feature keeps the car nearly horizontal even as it descends the steep hill into the water. Nonetheless, the ride is very rickety and just plain eerie as we stand on the boat completely powerless to see how this will work out.
When it’s all done, it’s amazing to realize what we just did in such a short time. The same feeling as a roller coaster; you’re glad it’s over but have a crazy urge to do it again.
