4/30/10

I'm happy to report that Scooter seems well and is underway again. We were escorted out of Tooley Creek by Capt Ron in the TowBoatUS little red boat and sent on our way early this morning. 8 hours of running, some of them at high RPM, showed that Gerald's prop work is nothing short of fantastic. No vibrations or stutter at all. Technically, it seems the pitch may have come down a bit; that would result in a little less forward movement per turn of the prop, or, a higher RPM, thus more fuel burned, for a given speed. For now, I'm content that the boat is doing so well. Only down side we found was that the rudder stuffing boxes are letting in a fair amount of water. One we were able to tighten down, the other may not be so simple. My guess is that the heating on the one rudder may have cooked some of the packing. The other side remains a mystery for now; it feels like it has run out of packing material. Time will tell. In the meantime, we'll press on & keep an eye on the bilges.

Currently, we are at anchor in the Little Alligator River, listening to the wind howl as it supposedly gets ready to diminish. Tomorrow we will cross the Albemarle Sound headed for Elizabeth City, NC and the Dismal Swamp canal. Right now, we are wondering if the NOAA folks have gotten the forecast even close. Scooter is rocking & rolling, the wind is moaning through what rigging we have, and sleep is looking a little doubtful.

We'll check in again with a progress report tomorrow. Have a great weekend