Mike was having some problems with the boat -- it had spewed hydraulic fluid into the water and the thrusters had stopped working, so he decided it was time to take it downriver from Occoquan to Hampton's Landing Marina where there was a crane big enough to lift it out of the water.  He asked Bill to go along to help with mooring lines and such, and Bill was delighted.  A morning on the water!

But first you have to maneuver under a railroad trestle and there's not much room to spare on either side.

We're gonna crash!

Don't worry.  Captain Mike knows what he's doing.

See?  Not a scratch on that bridge.

Now Captain Mike is trying to figure out how he's going to back this thing into the slip where the big crane is waiting.  It's easy with thrusters, but without them....well....

Can't be done. We're gonna have to go in head first.

And so we do.

It's a tight fit, but we're gonna make it.

Almost there.

Nope, doesn't work.  The boat's bridge would hit the crane if we turn it this way.

Gotta push it out and turn it around.

With the bow tied to the dock, the engines slowly swing the boat around.

Slowly but surely.

A tight fit, but it'll work.

This Flash movie shows how it worked.

Enough movie; back to the crane hauling her out of the water.

Upsy-daisy.

Ew.  Hey Mike, I think we've found the problem with the thruster.  It's gone.  Just two little lonesome hydraulic lines left dangling.

Now we're rolling onto dry land.

If we could just get this thing turned around.

Back and forth we go, with the boat swinging gently in the harnesses.

See how the wheels turn?

Guiding her into place.

Here she comes.

What?  We're gonna put her in a handicap space?  Yep.

Now our intepid Hampton's Landing team has to put blocks of wood under the keel to hold her up.

Putting the blocks in place.

Getting it all right.

Yuk.  This is the aluminum starboard propeller with the missing thruster.

This is the stainless steel port propeller.  See how the thruster is supposed to look?  Well, maybe it's not supposed to look quite that corroded, but at least it hasn't gone missing.

Wooden blocks holding it all up.  There are sets of blocks like this all along the keel. 

Captain Mike and Terry inspect the corrosion.

Braces like this keep it all balanced.

The Hampton's Landing crew do a fine job with the crane.

Here's another video.

At rest at last.

She's going to be the topic of quite a bit of conversation sitting right there on the main road.  While she was being jockeyed into position, Bill tried to help by directing traffic, but some of the cars just wouldn't go by -- they only wanted to stop and admire.  They'd even roll down their windows and ask Bill, "Is she for rent?"

Captain Mike is pleased.  Bill wonders if the Captain's bank account is ready for this.