First Splash - Oct 4, 2009
It was an exciting event. Rosa and I borrowed our neighbour, Bruce (Red Current, R21) to help us through the task of launching for the first time. It was a beautiful day for it as is clear from the photos. We arrived at Ward's Marina (a ways up the Nicomekl River) at low tide and did not have enough depth to float the boat off the trailer. Our next stop was Crescent Beach Marina where there is a more adequate ramp. At both places, strangers came by to admire the boat and ask questions about it. One must be prepared for the resulting delays which are the norm when launching or retrieving this unique looking boat.
The ride to White Rock Pier was sweet. The boat ran well and it was very exciting to be the new owners of this fine craft. We docked at White Rock Pier and were visited by family and friends. We served lunch and had a drink to celebrate the Port Nut. My sister decorated a bottle of port wine with a walnut. Lots of laughs were had. Then it was time to leave.
We started up and reversed away from the pier. I engaged the bow thruster to more quickly aim us away as another boat was waiting to dock. Some guy on the dock loudly guffaws: "Oh brother, a bow thruster on a 21 footer!"
Then, trouble. I engaged forward gear but could not advance the throttle. Within a minute we were in the chop and bouncing toward home, but there was no way of increasing the throttle. Eventually, Bruce found that he could advance the throttle forward slightly by compressing a spring on the linkage and we so got a few hundred more RPMs. We made it home OK but a bit disheartened to have a malfunction already.
Factory guidance and troubleshooting ultimately revealed that the throttle cable was routed next to the exhaust manifold and the heat had distorted it to the point of it seizing within the housing. It was a repair that I handled myself.