A Tale of Two Brackets

A while back, a friend gave me an incomplete Forespar Motormate.  This is a small crane/hoist for lifting the outboard engine off and on the dinghy.  It lacked a base, so I cobbled up something temporary so I could use it.  But the crane was crooked and interfered with the bimini.

My friend and parttime crew, Bill, who is a mechanical designer, saw my kludge and said "I can design a bracket to mount that base and get it fabricated."  Well, he did, but it took the fab shop a while to get to it, and it wasn't ready before we left.  A few days after we left, the bracket arrived (actually, they made two).

Two Brackets

Bill said he needed to make a trip to Southern Maryland anyway, so he would drive them down while we were laid over at Salt Ponds!

So, Saturday afternoon Bill and his wife Lisa showed up. It was still raining a little but cleared shortly.  Bill and I quickly set to work while Joan and Lisa chatted.  In no time, we had the bracket mounted on the transom and the crane setup on top of it.  Everything fit like a glove.  The crane is now nice and straight, and lowered a few inches so it doesn't hit the bimini.

Crane is Straight and Clear

Closeup

For dinner, we went out to a little local hole-in-the-wall Carribbean resturant called the "Stingee Midjit". I had the Jerk Chicken and it was fabulous.

Dinner at The Stingee Midjit

A stop at Baskin Robbins afterwards capped things off nicely.  You can't buy happiness, but you can buy Ice Cream, which is pretty much the same thing.

Life is good.