SPLASH

We are now official members of Sea Tow...............to be continued.

Yesterday we were able to get 2 coats of bottom paint on the whole boat.  We were set to "splash" at 1:00pm the next day and still had a lot of work to do.   I was working on taking off the old boat name while the boys cleaned the bottom we were about to paint.  After that we taped and painted the first coat.  Then a second, and third in the high wear areas.  The end of the day was approaching and we decided to squeeze in resealing the leaky window.  All in all a busy, productive day.

First thing this morning Preston and Dan washed and polished the boat while I was wrapping up the loose ends getting ready to be put in the water.  Before we knew if 1:00 was here.  Next thing we knew we were anxiously waiting for the engines to start while the crew waited to unlatch.  The starboard engine started right up, but the port was being stubborn.  I should add right about now that today the wind is blowing 9-12 knots upriver.  Dan throttled the port and it sputtered to a start.  After a minute we started backing off the lift.  We got completely out and the port engine quit.  Leaving us with one engine in reverse backing  into 11 knot winds.  In other words we were full throttle in reverse but being blown forward into the shallow reef.  Preston started pumping the primer and was able to get the port  engine running again.  By this point we were about 10 feet from the post marking the shallows.  We started making a little ground and then both engines quit and wouldn't start.  Here we are being blown into land with no secondary plan.  The starboard engine started again and Dan threw it in reverse.  It is only powerful enough to keep us in the same place.  I am now at the navigation station, radio in hand, getting ready to call the marina to ask for some assistance.  The dock master was watching us get launched and knew we were on our way over to the dock.  I looked out the window and saw a yellow boat with the name Sea Tow on the sides.  I ran out to the deck and waved him over.  10 seconds later we were hooked up and being towed to our place on the dock.  I should also add that he just happened to be coming in port, because he too has an engine out.  Only his are 125hp outboards.  So here we are 4 times the length and 3 times the width of this little yellow boat saving our day.

Docking by tow boat.  Easiest way to do it by far.  All we had to do was get some bumpers and bow lines on the starboard side.  Bumpers? Whats that?  Bow lines? What are those?  Just kidding.  We had lines out ready to be tied, our bumpers too.  Only as we were being swung around our bow was headed straight for one of the posts and as the dock master said, "Your bow is going to hit," Preston came out of nowhere with an extra bumper and threw in between the anchor and the dock as we were hitting.  Both Tom, the tow guy, and the dock master were impressed with the quick moving and thinking on Prestons part.

Of course we passed on purchasing the member card at West Marine that would have given us a free tow, and instead we choose to buy the membership as the tow boat was hooking up to us.  Now we are covered on towing all the way to the Bahamas and back.  We are truly grateful that Tom was pulling in just as we were splashing out.

Long day to say the least.  Tomorrow we will be testing our fuel to ensure there is no water in the tank.  We believe this is the problem, because the tank has only been half full for 6 months and Florida is the condensation capital.  Will keep you all posted.

Ohhh yeah we are now officially "Jalapeño"