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We went in with only one hitch. I forgot the dinghy drain plug for the Druid. We had to do a little improve with the "wrong" plug and accept a little leakage until we got to the mooring and Cynthia retrieved the proper pug along with the cats. We got free dock space for a hour or so to set up the dodger, fill the water tanks and hose the boat off. Total bill including the boom truck for raising the mast was $327.50. Cheap! The quote was $390. We had a fun ride up the River from Meeting House Pond. The sun came thru, when we rounded Namequoit Point into Little Pleasant Bay. By the time we punched thru the Narrows into Pleasant Bay the fog had completely burned off. Cynthia did her usual excellent job feeding everyone. Peter helped me rig the boat and drink beer after lunch on the mooring. Cynthia and I spent the next three nights aboard with the cats. Everything worked! No complaints. Let the games begin! Info on the Trailer Hauler The hauler unit is like a trailer. It has a wheeled forked tong with hydraulic arm-pads that come aft. Timbers are placed under the keel across the tong. Then the tong lifts the boat on the timbers, supported by the pads and comes forward into itself. These haulers are manufactured by a local jack stand company just across the cannel and are the standard over the road hauler in our area. They are pretty neat to watch in action. The whole trick is backing the fork in-between the jack stands and the keel without knocking the boat over. Once is position it is all done by push button. |
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At the top is a photo
of Briganta towing the loyal Druid into Chatham
Harbor from the foggy Atlantic. Note the raised goose-neck and
therefore, the boom. The boom no longer passes thru my hair! Also, note the new Profurl jib roller and
cove stripe. The fog had just lifted in the harbor but was still
plenty thick outside.
The old Perkins Four 91 has 626 hours on it now. This is pretty amazing for a 1978 diesel. Now that the break-in work (thanks Joe) and "tweaking" (new prop shaft, new engine mounts, etc.) has been done and the new fuel tank has been installed (thank you -myself), she is humming like never before. "Sweet" is the only word that comes to mind. After two years of screwing around in tight places (thanks Joe and myself) and more money than I would like to admit gone behind the transom, we have a virtually brand new antique diesel. In 2001, we consumed an average of 0.65 gallons per hour, while throwing soot everywhere. In 2003, we consumed 0.40 gallons per hour with a little soot coming out the exhaust. This year we are consuming 0.33 gallons per hour with no noticeable soot anywhere! How sweet it is to burn clean fuel and have nothing left coming out the exhaust. Our 2001 mileage was 8 miles per gallon. In 2003 we did 12 miles per gallon. This year we should be doing 14-15 miles per gallon or better. We shall see. Things are going right. Now, I need to wire brush and paint her. Well, maybe this Fall...
Peace, Ken |