Another Thruster Buster!

PM's Perspective -- Rhode Island to Connecticut

Our time in Rhode Island included two nights at a mooring at Clark's Boatyard in Jamestown, then two nights at a slip in Wickford, followed by four more nights at a Clark's Boatyard.  This gave us the opportunity to check on Phoebe and Erik's sailboat Swiftwater at Clark's and to reprovision thanks to Tony Stapleton's willingness to drive us around to Dave's Market and the wine store in Wickford. The Wickford marina was delightful with a hot tub and very welcoming residents.  While there, we were invited to join in the memorial celebration of the lives of Richard and Barbara Miller, long term residents of the marina who passed away recently.  The celebration included a delicious feast prepared by a four-star chef.  We were regaled with stories about Dick and Barbara as told by the other residents and the Miller's daughter.  They were people who obviously loved life and lived to the fullest.  Good role models for us all.

Mooring at Clark's gave us the opportunity to explore Jamestown, located on an island in Narragansett Bay.  We biked out to the Beavertail Lighthouse, originally built in 1749, and learned bout the ravages of the Storm of 1938 that caused the death of several children when the causeway was washed out just as the school bus was crossing.   Only two persons, the bus driver and one of the lighthouse keeper's children, survived the ordeal.  The buildings on the site, now a state park, house the lighthouse museum, gift shop and small aquarium which focuses on local underwater species.  During our visit, the waterfront was dotted with fishermen hoping to catch the big one.

We circumnavigated the island also by bike and came across the Windmill, a wood-framed mill constructed in 1787 at the height of land that operated until 1896.  The mechanical workings of the mill are an engineering marvel. The mill itself has three levels, the top level of which is referred to as the bonnet which is domed and rotates to move the sails of the mill into the wind.  The mid level includes the hopper into which the grain was poured, and the bottom level contained two grinding stones each of which contained grooves.  We learned that the reason there are so few wood-framed windmills remaining is that if the wind became too strong while the mill was operating, the grinding stones became extremely hot and started a fire.  This is just another reason to be grateful for the harnessing of electricity!

Time to move on, and weather forecasts predicted rainy and windy conditions.  Tony boarded Monday night for an early departure on Tuesday, August 12.  After a wonderful evening of engaging conversation and watching the full moon rising, we headed to our berths with visions of an early departure.  After an early breakfast on the fly bridge we released the mooring and headed to Stonington, a mere 32 nm away, by 7:00 AM.  During departure Bob felt a thunk-clink when he used the bow thruster, not a good sign!

The five-hour trip to Stonington was a pleasant passage with northwest winds and some mild chop.  While picking up our mooring at Dobson's Boatyard, the bow thruster wasn't quite right and making an uncharacteristic noise.  What could be wrong this time?  We took the launch to shore to have lunch and explore Stonington a bit more.  We visited the public library, bought a few used books, and obtained some information about the town which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Stonington which took place August 9-12, 1814 when the British bombarded the town during the War of 1812 which obviously lasted more than one year.  Happy to report that the British were repulsed and the town suffered only the loss of one life -- that of an elderly woman who was terminally ill anyway.

After Tony departed, we delayed dealing with the bow thruster issue partly due to weather -- it rained all the next day -- and partly due to disbelief that we were having bow thruster issues once again.  I was thinking here goes another expensive haul out.  Bob was thinking he would snorkel and at least try to get an idea of what was wrong.  Bob retrieved his snorkel gear from the storage area at the stern of the boat accessed behind the headboard in our state room.  As he slipped into the water from the swim platform he said, "Wish me luck."  He swam along the port side of the boat to the bow and within moments popped up and said, "I found the problem."  The prop was missing two of its five blades, hence the odd noise.

Now the problem was figuring out how we fix it.  Fortunately Bob had the foresight to order two propellers last time so we had a replacement prop.  Bob decided he could replace the prop while snorkeling versus using scuba equipment.  Neither of us remembered what size nut held the prop in place so we collected a range of rachet driver sizes to make sure we bracketed the actual size.  Other tools were assembled.  Our bow deck looked like the operation room in a hospital with all the tools laid out.  Bob snorkeled down to do the work. I was on the bow passing him tools in a sandwich baggie tied to a line. I was sure something was going to fall into the water and sink into the ooze at the bottom of the harbor but all went remarkably well.  Bob returned to the swim platform and got on the boat.  Now the moment of truth.  We turned on the bow thruster.  It still made a funny noise, a different funny noise, but not quite right.  Bob then climbed into the bow and made some adjustments to the interior mechanisms.  That did the trick!  The bow thruster was working as intended once again.  Hopefully this is the last entry about the bow thruster.