The rainy weekend was followed by a rainy Monday. Reminds me of a Karen Carpenter song…..but no, I didn’t cry.

In the afternoon Monday, we rented a U-Haul trailer, then, off to the Navy base where the engine and genset for Mahdee were stored in a cage at the auto-hobby shop. We figured there’d be plenty of burly young Navy and Marine guys around in case we really needed help hefting the 1300 lb Cummins engine or the 500 lb Onan genset into the trailer. Fortunately, David and I were up to the task of getting it in the trailer alone because all those young fellows working on polishing their wheels carefully averted their eyes from our sweaty pursuits. The temporary wooden ramp that we were using groaned under the load and David ended up blocking the back of the trailer with more wood blocks to hold it steady as we shoved and pushed the Cummins into the trailer.

After a couple running starts and fiddling with the blocks, we got the 1300 lb engine into the trailer, whew! Leaning against the trailer with thighs still shaking from the unexpected workout, I mentally prepared myself for the “smaller” 500 lb load of the genset and thought back with melancholy about the “helpful” people we used to have around us when working on our cars in various base auto-hobby shops around the world. Those days are gone, I guess. David and I managed to get it all in the trailer and safely to the boatyard where Mahdee is.

Now, to get the engine and genset started and make sure they will work before hiring a crane to install it in Mahdee. Both engine and genset were brand-new when the previous owner purchased them, but since he didn’t install them in the boat and they’ve been stored a few years, we’ll have to make sure everything is a-ok beforehand.

Below is a picture of David with the engine and genset in the trailer.