As anticipated and hoped Saturday came with no rain, so the planned maiden voyage took place.
I loaded Maggie and the puppy in the car and Mrs RJR and our youngest came along too
We met my dad (Duckie on here) at the Lake with his camera. he also provided the champaign for the launch !
Having established she wasn't about to sink to the bottom I cautiously cast off.
With a gentle motor hum from deep in the hull Maggie came to life and began to power herself away from the landing stage
Then with an increase of power she was off to join the ducks and geese across the lake
Handling was excellent thanks to the Becker rudder and she could muster a good turn of speed
Mrs RJR taking the helm, I would have brushed my hair if I had known I was going to be in the pictures
Although the lakes cafe proved more of an attraction for my two ladies
While testing her out we had a minor hiccup, after about 10 minutes she came to a halt about 15' from the landing stage and wouldn't respond. Initial thoughts were a loose universal to motor shaft connection as we could hear motor noise. Duckie gallantly rowed out in the clubs rescue boat and towed Maggie back in. Turns out my engineering was not called into question.. The prop had dragged some polythene bag into the kortz nozzle and left her with no propulsion. After untangling the obstruction she was back in the water and running fine again.
To all that have followed this thread Thankyou. To Duckie who bought me the kit as a wedding anniversary present THANK YOU. Maggie is not complete, she still has several details to add but she is now a working part of my little fleet. A video will follow very shortly with more updates of the detailing will follow in the coming weeks
John