Summerset Damn!!!

Well what can I say.

She runs like a dream. Camping was great other than a bit of rain.

I took Herc down to the dam with me with his boat just in case I needed to be towed back due to a breakdown. But all was well. There was only a few minor hick ups but I will get to that later.

There was a problem with the electric trim, but turns out I already knew about this before hand and with a little lifting, it was easily by-passed. The seals on the hydraulics for the electric trim were stuffed and this meant the engine had to be lifted manually. No biggy though.

The only drawback was the first day we took her out. There was Herc and I pushing her in at the end of the ramp, and Herc suggested as the boat floated out, for me to jump in and he will push me out so I can start her mid drift.

So there I was, standing in the boat, on her maiden voyage, floating backwards into the dam, turning the key to fire her up. As she was a bit cold, it was taking a bit to start. There was no urgency though as there was nothing in the dam for me to bump into. So I continued to turn the key and listen to the engine try and turn over.

Problem was, I started to feel a bit of water lapping on the back of my ankles. Now, I am no seasoned fisherman, but I can assume that the water is meant to be outside of the boat. I turned around and saw that the boat was half filling up with water.

I then turned to Herc who was still standing on the ramp watching me float away and he knew by the look on my face I was in trouble. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Now, 7 years in the Army and 3 kids under my belt have rewarded me with patience and great ability to act calmly under pressure. Great lengths have gone into training my mind to remain calm and act swiftly and precisely in times such as these. Nothing short of a nuclear bomb going off would sway me from my steadfast leadership qualities and Military General likeness in times of need.

Well, my calm and Presidential response to Herc was “Um, Mate. There seems to be water in the boat.”

The next 6 words to come form Herc’s mouth will go down in history as “the weapon that took down Major Bermingham” and destroyed years and years of training and possibly hundreds of thousands of tax payers dollars.

“Have you put the bungs in?” was the controlled yell all the way from the boat ramp.

Well, my head snapped back and my eyes flew across to the small holes in the rear of the boat where the bungs go. Unfortunately, in this case, my bungs had not in fact been put in and water was flowing into the boat like a river.

Procedure was out the window, calmness was no longer a physical trait and became just a word, I then became a mere shadow of my former self. I heard a small child scream in the distance and it wasn’t until a few seconds later that I had realised it was I who was screaming. I then turned the key on and off with my right hand and with my left hand I pulled the choke in and out faster than a 10 year old pumping up his tyre on his bike. My right leg tried to stretch back to somehow get a toe (or two) to block the flow of water, but this was done in vain due to the holes being a good 2 meters away.

“Don’t flood the engine you idiot!!” was Herc’s well thought out words of encouragement. I don’t remember my response, not due to any form of post traumatic stress, but mainly because the sounds coming from my mouth were a cross between a person having an asthma attack and a bulldog trying to make love to a bowl of porridge.

After what seemed like a long time the engine finally turned over and I was able to put her in gear and come back to the ramp. We loaded the boat back on the trailer and waited for the water to pour back out the bung holes before launching her again.

Other than this small hitch, it was a great Maiden Voyage.

(Post Memo) since this traumatic experience I have left the bungs out 2 more times. I am thinking of therapy or a possible lobotomy. Just getting quotes at this stage.

(Insert smiley Here)