Dream Daisy launched
May 2014
Well its boating Jim, but not as we know it.
Today I swapped a steel hull for one made of fibreglass in the 1970's, and not a diesel engine in sight.
A bit like Noah!
This was a remarkable day as it was one in which Suzie, my daughter and her husband Jack launched their first boat. Can you remember the excitement of getting your very first boat? They both love the water and having tasted its pleasures on the broads they have bought a little boat of their own.
Will it float?
First it was towed back from Cambridge and spent a week or two outside their house where much fettling and fiddling took place. And then came the time when it needed to be moved to Beeston Marina where it will spend the summer months on the Trent. Fortunately, I still have a towbar on the Mondeo from our pre-boating trailer tenting days so Dad's taxi became Dad's tractor and the craft was towed to water.
Down she goes
Paperwork completed a shed load of cash was saved by slipping the boat ourselves, which was achieved without incident of accident. But events took a slightly surreal twist as the newly vacated slipway was used to stage a landing of a detachment of US Army personnel.
And so Dream Daisy sits, bobbing and pitching on a pontoon in Beeston awaiting its first outing. The main two stroke motor has been coaxed into life for a few seconds so it should work whilst the back up, a 1957 British Seagull, has yet to prove its mettle. All nail biting stuff which comes with e-bay purchases!
Bow hauled to its mooring
With the river running high, the wind gusting to storm force and the boat an unknown quantity we decided that to get it afloat was enough for one day.
And my verdict: Wouldn't have missed it for anything!
Good luck Capt Jack and First Mate Suzie. Lots of fun awaits I am sure.
5 comments:
Your post brought back fond memories of our first boat purchase..... It certainly won't be their last.
Andy
Festina Lente
Looks rather like the MicroPlus 16 that I owned back in the 1970's. A wonderful little boat that took me to places that I'd never have seen with a narrowboat in the time available (e.g. Lancaster, Mon & Brec, Llangollen). But... If I'd been smart I would have kept my resolution to never own another 2-stroke motor!
Giles - thats exactly what it is. What was your fuel consumption like with a 2 stroke?
Perhaps we will bump into them (not literally I hope) before too long. We shall keep an eye out for them.
I can still remember the day almost six years ago that we picked up Naughty-Cal. A mix of sheer delight and sheer terror as we took her out for the first time.
Good luck to them both and heres to many happy days afloat.
I remember the fuel consumption as being better than expected - 2-3 hours per gallon, which was a surprise compared to the consumption of an OMC 5.5HP as used on many boats at the time (although the engine certainly didn't have to work hard). But it was the plugs that became a real nuisance! The motor was a Crescent 14 (Volvo Penta) - probably 10HP in today's numbers; too big for the canal and too small for open water. The plugs constantly fouled, and improved only a little when I fitted the hottest-running ones available. One nice thing was the hot water supply coming from the cooling outlet - just the ticket to wash your hands after cleaning and replacing the plugs!
I think that a Honda 10HP would have made life much nicer, but it was still a wonderful boat.
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