A very unusual fueling dock at Hoonah provided the most amusing fueling experience one could ever expect to happen. Fueling up a boat is one of those maintenance necessities that must be completed but never would it be said to be a fun time in boating. Diesel fuel by its very properties does not have a pleasant odor and you hope that it does not end up on your hands or clothing.
There can be a wait, like we experienced today, of a couple of boats in front of you. As we watched the boat before us complete his fueling operation we see a bucket being lowered the approximate 50 feet from the top to the bottom. That’s when we realized that the attendant was at the top and we would be at the bottom. We pulled up readied for fueling and he lowered the very long hose. To fuel both tanks, Andrea merely opens the windows on the boat and passes the hose through the cabin. The sight of this brought howls of laughter and we continued to chuckle as the hose went back up to the top and the bucket for payment came back down. Beside the bucket we noticed an old barnacle encrusted ladder going up the 50 feet distance to the top. The thought of climbing that ladder to run in for a candy bar, a bag of chips or a drink, something you would easily consider doing when stopping to gas up, brought more chuckles from the 4 Gals on a Boat.
Today we needed to pump 190 gallons of fuel into the tanks. (For a fun math problem the price of the diesel fuel was $3.39 a gallon) The Shocking holds 450 gallons of fuel. (another fun math problem).
Send money to the attention of the USCG designated MARSEC Fuel Facility, they are holding us ransom until we can pay!!
No comments:
Post a Comment