Plan was to do a little boat work, which went well. The rest of the plan was to actually LAUNCH THE BOAT for the first time in 2022. That too went well.
The plan was to use the electric motor to get to the very end of Blackhole Creek and then let the north-easterly breeze assist the motor on the way back. Motor upwind with what the crappy battery was able to provide, but don't worry because the boat has enough windage and is light enough to "sail without sails" back to the dock at PSA.
Frankly my confidence interval on this battery was near zero, and that seems to have been an accurate assessment of it's charge - near zero. I knew I had not given it an adequate session on the charger and that was further emphaiszed by the fact that the needle on the charger never went above 3, when it usually sits at 6 for awhile.
Face it the thing is toast. But it did get me all the way back into the far reaches of the creek. I anchored and took a few casts. Thankfully, no fish were interested in my lure. So after 30 minutes or so, I decided to switch on the Wx on the VHF and settle in for lunch.
Wait, what? Small craft warnings? SE 10-15? WHEN DID THAT POP UP?
So much for lunch. The breeze had already swung around to the south and was building. I decided to weigh anchor (it's a tiny lunch-hook style danforth) and head back to the dock. That's when the fight started. I got about 4 fifths of the way but the motor was losing it quickly...and I mean quickly. I was lucky to make it to the club boat ramp, but I still had to make it all the way around the T-pier, where a bunch of boats are rafted up over the winter. And of course that's where the most breeze was.
Plan B. Shove off from the boat ramp, paddle as far out as possible and grab an available bow pulpit and work the boat by hand around all the rafted up sailboats until you get to the end, then push off hard and pray that you make it to the proper dock.
Well, an i550 is not exactly a Whitehall Pulling Boat. First it doesn't track and second, windage wins over inertia any time -- I would say in winds above 6 kn. But we made it. I was sweating like it was 90 degrees instead of 50. And the stupid battery decided that, since we were now headed downwind, it would chip in enough ergs to let us crab sideways to the south in order to make my dock.
Lessons? Hell yes.
-If you know your battery is crap, don't chance it.
-If you have a weather radio, listen to it. Surprises suck.
-And even if you are just a few city blocks from your dock, you can still screw things up royally.
