A day in the marsh

David bought a 12 foot inflatable zodiac with a 90HP, 4 stroke Johnson outboard at a yard sale. He is the king of yard sales, knows the value of stuff, buys and sells, but he kept second guessing himself on this boat. We worked on it for a few hours and then he worked on it for another week. And the day finally came to take it out for a trial run.

We fueled it up, packed the survival kit and the beer and put into the marsh at mid-island. The engine started right at the turn of the key and soon we were flying through the creeks and rivers. Before we knew it we were 25 miles up the coast to Darien.

The boat handled pretty well at first and we experimented with air pressure in the pontoons. Throughout the day, steerage got stiffer and stiffer and it took longer and longer to plane out. By the time we got back, it was clear that something was going on. David discovered a hole in the hard under hull and drained off a barrel of water, 400 or 500 extra pounds.. Hmmm.

But, still and all, it was a great day to be out in the marsh. even in a leaky boat...