Today’s trip would be a short one of about 21 miles. We didn’t rush getting going and consequently we were the last of 4 boats to depart. No worries as we know the way. Lol Today's trip was uneventful except for one thing. Yesterday morning when we left the anchorage we noticed a vibration on the boat. The vibration varied in severity as the engine varied it’s RPM’s. This of course meant that we had picked up some debris in the river and it had coiled itself around the prop or the prop shaft. No matter what we did, no matter what maneuver we tried we couldn’t shake it. With the urging of Bob on Spirit Dancer we tried going at a high rate of speed in reverse in order to try and unwind whatever it was. But nothing would work. Note: Before we left Goderich I had installed what is called a shaft cutter on the prop shaft. This is a very sharp ring of serrated knives mounted on the shaft and is meant to cut any lines that might become entangled on the shaft. I had done this in preparation for the crab pots of Florida and the Chesapeake in mind. But clearly there were no crab pots here. It had to be debris. Maybe an old net or something, whatever it was it would have to be removed. There was a time when I would have dropped the anchor and donned a diver’s mask and jumped in to clear the shaft myself. But as I can’t hold my breath very long anymore and the water was too muddy to see, we would have to hire a diver to do it in Grafton. But wait! I had said a prayer yesterday and as the good lord decided not to answer it I was resigned to hiring the diver today. Did I say wait? We eased away from the dock picking up speed and presto. No more vibrations at any RPM. My prayers were answered and whatever was entangled around the shaft had somehow fallen off through the night. A miracle you say. God answered in his own time and he is just trying to teach me patience I guess. I can be a slow learner God but eventually I do get it please keep trying. Thank you.
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| NOT SURE IF THESE ARE HUNTING CAMPS OR HOMES |
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| SMUDGE SNUGGLED AGAINST THE COLD |
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| HUGE HOUSE ON A HILL |
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| THESE TWO BOATS STAYED WITH US LAST NIGHT IN HARDIN IL. |
We arrived at Grafton Marina which is a fairly big marina with most of the slips under cover. We have never experienced this type of mooring before and it was kind of cool. I just hoped that they have worked out a plan to manage the birds. Any boater can attest to bird poop and gel coat do not mix. After we are safely moored and registered at the office our thoughts turn to lunch. Terri spies a huge banner right across the street that reads, FREE WINE TASTING and you guessed it, we ventured no further. While the food was only average the wine was good Terri said and all is well with the world.
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| ANOTHER CANADIAN FLAG. WE DON'T SEE MANY OF THESE ANY MORE |
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| SHE'S A DUMMY |
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| I THINK OF AL WHEN I SEE THIS TRUCK |
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| I THINK OF BRAD WHEN I SEE THIS TRACTOR |
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| SOMEBODY CHECKING OUT OUR BOAT |
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| OUR WELCOME NOTICE |
After a short afternoon of checking out the sights and searching for the promised action we finally gave up. It seems the weather had chased everybody and the cold wind and rain managed to cancel a lot of the functions that were planned for the 175 anniversary of the founding of Grafton. No worries as we retreated back to our boat and of course out came the computers. Terri is doing real work and I am back at this blog. A nice dinner of pork chops and veggies rounded out the evening and again after an episode of something prerecorded I was off to bed. Terri watched some kind of British Period Piece from the BBC that she had on DVD and everyone was happy.
Good night!
Mark
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