The Boat:
She is a 2004 Larson Cabrio 330. At 32′ in length (well, 35′ with the second swim platform and dinghy mounted), 11’6″ beam, an Inboard/Outboard configuration with twin 5.7 L Volvo Penta engines and duo-prop outdrives, she tops out at…well, certainly faster than we usually run!!!
We selected her as our ‘Loop’ boat because (1) We like her size. She has plenty of room for us to move around in, and an aft berth for guests. Plus, since we want to traverse the Erie Canal; her height fits that requirement (2) We wanted to have a boat that would fit both our home lake (Lake Norris, in Tennessee) and travel well in the various waters found along the loop (3) She has the systems on board we deemed necessary to anchor out comfortably.
Her Name:
Denis was born in Ireland, so naming our girl to honor his heritage was a no brainer. Figuring out a name…not so easy!
According to Irish mythology, Tir na nOg is the land of eternal youth. Somewhat fitting both our personalities, the name wasn’t too hard to agree on! As a note, the heroine of the Tir na nOg story is ‘Niamh’. For those of you aware of Irish pronunciations, we felt certain no one would be able to read that name. Therefore, we anglicized it and named our Portland Pudgy Dinghy ‘Neeve’.
Here’s a link if you are interested in the story: https://explore.blarney.com/tir-na-nog-the-story-of-niamh-and-oisin/