10/10/2023 0 Comments Boatus dock itPlus who doesn't have something of a soft spot for hard-working single moms? Ed suffered no such issues. I'm Irish, so superstition is a given, and I didn't want to risk bad karma with our already limping engine. We had a duck aboard, and judging from the elaborate nest she'd created for herself, she had no intention of going anywhere fast. I dropped the canvas in fright, then lifted it again, slowly. Inches from my nose, my widening eyes met another's. Diving under the canvas on the back deck, I made an unsettling discovery. Just as it was time to cast off the lines, I went hunting for the stowable chart table we used on the bridge. We spent an hour or two undoing canvases, loading weekend supplies, and getting portable electronics reinstalled. We planned to anchor out that Saturday night and cook under the stars in gorgeous spring temperatures. After spending the previous weeks scraping and bottom painting, commissioning the engine, splashing the boat, filling the tanks, and settling her into her summer slip, it was finally time for the first foray of the season. So there was a lot riding on this first weekend. This season, after large wads of cash had been imparted to diesel mechanics, we were nervous the problem hadn't quite been resolved. Our previous summer's boating season had been cut short by major problems with the port engine, which had taken to billowing black clouds of smoke whenever we turned it on. It was to be our shakedown cruise of the season - you know, that one you look forward to and plan all winter? Some years ago, on a fine Saturday morning in May, we drove down to our boat with the intention of spending the weekend cruising the Chesapeake Bay.
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