I bought a 46' cruiser from an estate. The boat had been on the hard for almost 20 years. My biggest concern was getting the engines running, which is why the boat name Drift Away. If they didn't run, we'd have to simply drift away...

I worked on the engines over the summer. Not much to do, really. I changed the oil and filter, added coolant, and they fired right up.

We're on a private dock now. I rented a slip in Stamford CT for the winter which is protected and has 50 amp shore power service, which we need. Last Sunday was the big day to move the boat to the marina, Drift Away's first trip.

We packed the boat up, started the engines, cast of the dock lines and I gently shifted into forward to pull away from the dock. As the current pushed us away from the dock, I noticed that I had no control. Forward with the starboard engine, reverse with the port and I should turn in a circle. Nope. Nuthin. Pam checked the back of the boat and said there was turbulence back there, but there was no thrust at all. I could only get 1500 RPMs out of the engines in gear. Out of gear, I had as many RPMs as I wanted.

Pondering our situation, sitting on a 50,000 pound boat with the tide pushing us towards a very low bridge, I saw a fishing boat approaching. Pam turned on her considerable feminine charms and flagged him down and he towed us back to the dock. Now we're pointed in the right direction anyway.

My guess is that the props are totally clogged with seaweed, sea grass, and barnacles. Being on the river, I've seen seaweed catch on stuff and within a short time, there's a whole bale on there.

I called a diver, and once everything is clean, we try again.