August 10, 2000 -- Dinghy Woes

Today was a busy day for us. We had a list of places to go and things to do. Just as we were about to leave, we received the message that our dinghy was ready. So, we diverted to Inflatable Experts to get the dinghy. We checked out the work they did and it looked pretty good. They moved the float switch and the bilge pump to make them both serviceable and removed the through bolts that had been a problem. However, they also wanted to charge us a pickup and delivery fee. Mike discussed this with the manager. It looked rather a bit like a rabid bear mauling a defenseless deer. The manager acquiesced and reversed the fee. The repair was covered totally under warranty. On our way to splash the dinghy, we stopped by Bay Shore Marine to pick up the new circuit breaker for Tink, then on to the public boat ramp. The splash went perfectly, though the bilge was full and needed to be pumped. The bilge pump worked and so did the float switch. Mike was ravenous by this time, so we took the dinghy to the dinghy dock and found breakfast. We then headed to the Harbor Master's office to get our mail. It wasn't there. Then, instead of going to a grocery store, we stopped by the Market House to see if they had anything we could buy. They did, so we didn't have to head to a grocery store. Having accomplished everything we could, we headed back to the boat and installed the new breaker for tink. In the afternoon, I went in to get our mail and fuel up the dinghy. I pumped the bilge when I left, when I stopped to talk to Bob and Mona on Mutual Fun and again at the fuel dock. There was definitely a problem with our dinghy! I picked up our mail and headed back to the boat. We called Inflatable Experts, mostly to complain, but also to make them aware that our dinghy now had a hole in it from the old screws because of what they did! Immediately, we hauled the dinghy on deck. Two of the screws that were originally used had punctured the fiberglass hull of the dinghy! We performed a temporary repair with life caulk since we couldn't find the underwater epoxy and the Marine Tex would take 24 hours to cure. Around 7:30 PM, Tom, a friend of ours, arrived to visit for the weekend