SOMERSET, MA

Memorial Day parade, Barrington, RI

Started the project of getting the prop fixed. I spent the morning calling around to boatyards, prop shops and the insurance company trying to get things coordinated. We developed a strategy, but first, we had to get out of the slip with the rock at the entrance. We waited until 1:30 PM, when the tide came in and there was enough water under us not to hit the rock on the way out. I was able to run both engines, but kept the RPMs low because of the damaged prop. This meant our maximum speed was about 6.5 knots. Kind of like being back in our old trawler!

Our "courtesy car" in Barrington (Stephen's Jag)

We went over to the Bristol Marine yard in Bristol, RI and picked up a mooring in a pretty rocky harbor. We took the shore boat into the boatyard and talked with the manager. They have an issue with the tides at that yard and can only use their Travelift (the device which lifts boats out of the water) at certain tidal levels and, once we got there, weren’t sure they could pull us out for a day or so. He suggested we go to their Somerset, MA yard, about 12 miles away. We jumped back on the boat and headed upriver to Somerset. We pulled up to their dock about 6:30 PM, tied up, and now we wait until morning. They don’t look too busy, so,

Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA

hopefully, we can get a “short haul,” where they pull the boat out, leave it in the lift slings, take off the prop then put it back into the water. We will, likely, get a rental car and take the prop to a specialized shop for repair. The repair could take several days, and since it is a short week after the holiday, there’s a good chance we won’t get it back until early next week. When we do get it back, the yard will do another “short haul,” put the prop back on and drop us back in the water. If it does take this long, we will take a short road trip with the rental car to see some of the nearby sights. Good thing we’re flexible…