Mark Twain Lake, Early Spring!

Got up early today to load the boat. We weren't sure if the trip was going to continue or not with all the severe storms on Friday. They blew over and Though chilly, today looked great. Here's Angie laughing at some of my antics.


I still haven't gotten the depth finder fully hooked up but got the wires fished into the boat! We loaded up and were out of the house by noon, heading up towards Mark Twain Lake. We stopped at Kingdom City to top off Galactica's fuel and pick up Subway sandwiches.

Angie and I decided on trying a particular public ramp near the state park which we never used with our runabout. We usually put in at the free ramp at the silo near Indian Creek campground; however, we wanted a ramp with docks this time. This turned out to be a wise decision.

Mark Twain Lake is a lake that we all like. It's a relatively new 18,000 acre lake which is about 40 miles long and built at Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)boyhood home.

This is the first time Angie was getting to ride in Galactica and the first time we're using it since my introductory sail in it back in November when I picked her up from the Marina.

Being a clutz, I cut my hand twice while setting things up... there is a no-see-em sharp spot at the companionway. Angie has decided the two first aid kits are not enough--she'll have to replentish the one on the truck.

We rigged her up and put her into the water. While Angie was tending the docklines, I started the Evinrude Etec 60. It fired right up!!! Angie tossed in the line and I put the throttle into a light reverse to bring the aft end close to the dock.

Nothing. The motor stumbled and revved. Some bubbles appeared. nothing. I put it in forward...nothing. I checked the water stream to ensure the water pump was functioning. Lifted the motor some to see if the prop turned. Trottle up in reverse but nothing. It looked as though the prop spun slightly but not in sync with the RPM. It was like I had a Sheared Pin.


We decided that we needed to fix the motor. I intend to sail 80% of the time but don't want to be out without a motor. I pulled the trailer back to the ramp and we loaded her on.

After de-rigging her, I had drowned my pain in a very good bottle of Dos Equis! :) Angie got valuable time inside the cabin rearranging things and setting up house. I pulled the prop off but the shaft spins freely in neutral; however there are some unsettling clicking sounds as I turned it. I noticed that when it was running, it vibrated a lot more than when I used it the first time. Very Odd. Very dissappointing to say the least.

We bought a new boat because I always have had beat up old equipment and wanted reliability for a change. Time to see if the new motor is under warranty and get it fixed. So much for our first gunkholing mission at Mark Twain Lake.