I brought Katie Marie home this weekend. It was a wild trip, I'll write it all up in a day or so. Suffice to say I motored 122 miles in 34.25 hours total time (point to point), and was stopped/not moving for about 8 hours of that. The 6hp Merc 4 stroke worked like a champ, fuel usage was about .25 gallons per hour, the whole trip only took 7 gallons of fuel. The boat handled like a dream, even in 3-4+ foot short-period swells coming upriver under the lash of sustained winds at 25 with gusts to 35. Here's a little eye-candy that tells part of the tale.

This shot I took Monday morning shows the salt buildup from bashing into the Cape Fear River so much on Sunday. The glass to the right has been splashed with freshwater, the left one is still salt-encrusted. I was glad for the tall cabin trunk on Sunday - sort of like a built-in dodger.



And here's Katie Marie tied up here in her new slip. Finally.