So, the large hole in the center of the Belle’s cabin floor has a fiberglass cover. It was originally a balsa wood core panel, typical of the boat’s topsides and cutting edge at the time. At some point, probably to make it easier to remove, someone drilled a hole or two in it. This is…
One of the biggest factors is why Belle was so inexpensive was the lack of a trailer. For small and old boats, the trailers and engines are typically worth far more than the boat. In fact, we sourced our trailer from a man who capitalizes on just that. Keith Moulton of KM Boat Salvage in…
Since Belle did not come with a trailer, much of why she was so inexpensive, we had to source a trailer to put under her to make her useful to us. Buying a custom trailer was going to be in the $3000 range, 10X what we paid for Belle. Adapting a used trailer was going…
We took Belle out, just the two of us, for our anniversary in Portland harbor in August. We discovered shortly after leaving the pier that Not So Big Johnson wasn’t drawing fuel from the tank very well. It stalled just passed the rocks, thank goodness. A squeeze of the bulb, choke and a pull of…
We intended to go on a coastal passage from Portland to Booth Bay. Things did not go as planned.
