Back in the Water

I might have commented on these events on Tuesday, but our Internet connection was out for a couple of days. The boat went back into the water on Tuesday.

Hmmm, come to think of it, I should stop referring to her as "the boat." She needs a name. The previous owner called her "Happy Pause," which has obvious problems. That's the name still on her, however. I'm thinking of Cat's Paw, which seems to keep to a theme and would allow me to leave the cat outline on the stern, just changing the words.

Launching her did not go entirely smoothly. I got them to agree to put me second in line on Tuesday, which they said would be about 9 or 9:30 am. I got away a little late in the morning, but still got to the marina before 9. As I drove past the launch area, I glanced over and said, "That looks like mine!" I parked near the now-empty trailer and walked back to the launch. I was a little disappointed, only because I like to watch the process. By the time I got there, she was already in the water, and they were starting to work at stepping the mast. The specialized equipment they have for doing all this quickly and safely is interesting. Once the mast was up and the stays and shrouds connected, they moved her back to the nearby fuel dock.

Now it was my turn. I started preparing fenders and dock lines. I connected the engine battery and tried the engine. It started a couple of times but kept stalling. Finally, it refused to start up at all. I got a mechanic to wonder over. Naturally, it started right up for him. I left it running to warm up.

Unfortunately, when I started moving away from the dock, it stalled again. To make a somewhat long story shorter, we finally moved the boat around to my new slip (B-22) with me steering and the mechanic working the throttle and choke to keep the engine running. Even so, it stalled 20 feet short of the dock. We brought her in safely, though. They said they would take another look at it this week, but I haven't heard from them, so I don't know that they remembered.

What a pain. I'm pretty sure I can't afford getting a new inboard engine (with installation, I would think it would run $6k to $7.5k. But not having a reliable engine (right now just at slow speeds, such as going into my slip) is scary. I'm thinking of asking the marina to install an outboard bracket on the stern (ugly but functional). I could get a new German electric outboard that uses two 12-volt batteries and puts out the thrust of a 6 hp combustion engine, plenty enough for emergencies. About a 100 mile range on a charge, too.

I hope to get up the marina this weekend. Probably wouldn't get out on the lake then anyway, even with a good engine, though. I need to bend on the sails, work on the electrical system, check the plumbing, and do a hundred little things. Maybe sometime after that? Really nervous about trusting the engine to bring me back in....