Testing my "new" inflatable dinghy outboard motor

It has been a long time since I added anything to The Sailors Place Blog. That’s not because there has not been anything to say – just laziness and procrastination. Actually I was somewhat shocked when I realized that I have not added anything new since January.

A few weeks ago I traveled to the Bay specifically to set up my inflatable dinghy and test my "new" (it’s a year 2000) Johnson 6 HP outboard motor. I purchased it in March to replace a 1972 Johnson that gave up the ghost about a year and a half ago. It would not start and needed parts that could not be found due to its age. The 6 HP outboard worked great and I gave it a good workout.

I decided to motor to Marina Bay Harbor and have lunch at a delicatessen there called Amini’s. They have really good sandwiches! At sailboat speed (5 knots) it takes about 20 minutes to get there. The inflatable can easily go twice that speed so the trip was not as long as I am used to. The picture here shows the "Salute" Restaurant (red tile roof) and Amini's is in the smaller gray building on the right (as you look at picture).

Just outside of the Marina I noticed a Catalina 27 stuck in the mud – it tried to cut the corner on the way into the Marina and that does not work as it is extremely shallow outside of the channel. I motored over and offered to help. We decided the best thing to try, first, was to have me take an anchor out and see if the boat could be winched off. We did that and it worked perfectly.

I, also helped him get the anchor raised and back in the boat as the Skipper was with his wife and a very small baby and about a 4 year old boy. His wife had her hands full taking care of the kids so another pair of hands to get the anchor back in the boat was needed. After that, both of us motored back into Marina Bay and I got my lunch. The rest of the day was uneventful. Based on the experience I had getting the Viking Lady grounded last summer in the Alameda Estuary behind Coast Guard Island for 7 hours, I was really pleased that we got the Catalina 27 free as easy as we did.