Slow Boat

"I'm quite sure that, with just a few modifications, this copter would fit perfectly on the deck of SlowBoat."

We're still in Charleston. The new flex coupler has been installed and the propellor turns without a wobble!  Thanks, Mid-Lakes!

Cap still needs to re-install the electric motor. But we dragged him out of the engine room long enough to tour the aircraft carrier Yorktown.

The experience just made Cap hideously jealous, since the Yorktown (which, like us, is a large, steel-hulled vessel) has its very own helicopter.

On the other hand, Cap notes, he has more navigational capability in his i-Phone than the Yorktown could muster during its entire tour of operations during World War II.  So Cap wasn't completely crushed by the carrier's superior copter capacity. (More copter photos--and a picture of the gleaming new flex coupler-- HERE.) 

SlowBoat has been in the news this week: 

1. We send monthly trip reports to our hometown paper, the Centre Daily Times.  Read the latest installment HERE. 

2. The voyage of the Dragonfly was recently featured on the website "SolarChargedDriving."  As the name suggests, the site is all about vehicles that run on the sun.






Floating Boating Meeting

The SlowBoat Conference Center head chef and canvas scrubber

While we're at the dock, in between engine repairs and sightseeing and fun jobs like scrubbing mildew off the canvas, SlowBoat is once again the site for a "floating boating educational research meeting."

You may remember that back in Tennessee, two of Cap's colleagues, Steve Kerlin and Liz Goehring, joined us on the boat for a few days--the three researchers collaborate on an international science education project, GLOBE. (See the Oct 8th entry in Dragonfly's VISITORS LOG.)  Now Steve is back (we miss you, Liz!) for a follow-up meeting.

Dragonfly makes an excellent conference center. Consider the attractions:  Guest room with ensuite marine head! Conference room with (roll-up canvas roof and) view of Charleston harbor. On-board personal chef, conference facilitator, photographer, and bow bunny.  Make your reservations now!

I mentioned Cap is about to reinstall our electric motor.  As you know, we use this little wonder to travel very, very slowly.  But it IS capable of going fast.

Just check out this You-Tube video showing a motorcycle going 100 mph using an electric motor.