Vinegar Valley

New day, and bad just got to worse. Last night the decision was made to lift Jeff’s C-Play out of the water this morning with the marina’s boat forklift. This would allow Jeff to flush the lower gear case of the water from the hole and install fresh gear oil, and would also allow him to inspect the bottom of the hull for any possible damage from whatever it was that holed the lower unit. Several attempts were made to lift C-Play with the forks placed perpendicular to the boat under the hull. Eventually a very loud cracking sound was heard. I suggested that we put the boat stern first to the forklift, and the forks be extended to fit just outside the outboards under the main pontoons. (The Tomcat is a catamaran style boat.) This worked well, and the boat was picked up out of the water. Inspecting the bottom of the hull, we found a pretty serious crack, about 2 feet long. The marina owner is giving Jeff a ride back to Harrison Bay State Park, about 90 miles, to get his truck and trailer to come back and load the boat. Unfortunately, sadly, this trip is over for Jeff. He did make it to the mouth of the Tennessee River, but would have much preferred to end where we started! Sea Spray and C-Traveler will remain here at Whispering Cove Marina one more night and continue downstream tomorrow to catch up with Mystery Girl and Sunbeam.Read more