No Pump Out, No Pump In

23 - 31 October 2017

We dropped into a routine of visiting the grocery store and West Marine every day, and catching up on our laundry. We were starting to prepare for a meeting I had in Wichita the week before Thanksgiving, and given that trip and the holiday timing, planning on not returning to the boat until after the 1st of the year. We confirmed medical and eye appointments for while we were back in Mesa between the holidays.

One of the things on our list that was becoming more urgent was to pump out the holding tank. We really needed to empty it, and we didn't want to leave it full for the entire time we were gone. We checked the fluids and the batteries and cranked over the engine. We let loose the lines, Heather put the engine in gear, revved up the engine, and - nothing. We had no propulsion and were drifting away from the dock. I jumped onto to the dock with a line and pulled the boat back alongside.

Another thing that was on our list was to have the bottom of the boat cleaned. We are a mile or two downstream of the city's water treatment plant and the water is full of ... , let's say nutrients. When it was hot and the water was warmer things grew in the water at a phenomenal pace. While it was now cooler and things had slowed down, we hadn't had the bottom cleaned since just before we left Marathon. Since we couldn't drive the boat at all the prop must be covered in growth, ruining the aerodynamic shape of the blades, and perhaps jamming the mechanism that allowed the pitch of the blades to change. Another item for our startup checklist - before releasing the lines put the engine in gear and give a little tug against the lines. That and don't wait so long between bottom cleanings. As the bottom paint slogan goes, if you think having a dirty bottom slows you down, imagine what it does to your boat!

We scheduled a bottom scrub for later in the week and decided to go to Atlanta to visit the aquarium. I had only been once years before and Heather had never been. This having a car available at any time was obviously going to our heads.

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