I finally got the boat in the water today. I was really happy with how everything worked. I had added a lot of things to the boat and it is always interesting to find out what works and what does not. Minor problems were leaving a nut loose on a ground cable and not tightening the fittings on the water pressure gauges tight enough. The ground being loose made one engine a bit tough to crank. I sure thought I had tightened them enough, but the brass ferrules really need to tight. I had a mist of salt spray in the console. Not good, but we spotted it right away.
The boat performed better than I had ever hoped. Ventures can be stern heavy, so there was a lingering doubt about how well it would come out of the hole loaded with tanks and dive gear. There was no problem at all. I also swapped the Intertias on and ran it to get a feel for it, but did not do a documented test yet. That will happen soon. I did sunburn my feet to oblivion. Too much time spent getting the boat over here I guess.
But I was very pleased with the day and it is lobster for dinner tonight......
Here's a shot of the boat at the dock with my son aboard as I was preparing to change props. I'm the one with the fur. I never wear a Speedo, because I'd look like a Chewbaka flosing:
