The Mount is out today?
 

Anyone know why?

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I want to be a smart #$$ and say "Unlike all of us who wished we could -- THEY CAN ? "

with that said, I don't think she's EVER been out this late before


(sorry Don -- couldn't resist, it was the first thing that came to mind)
I will totally understand if you remove this
.

Perhaps a PM to WeirsBeachBoater would tell us.

It is sitting in its winter home in CH!!

she went out..........
 

I just looked at the Mount's web cam for today, and the last frame shows her out on the lake!

I saw it docked in Center Harbor at 3PM...

earlier........
 

The time was around noon that that particular shot was taken.........

Camera tricks... ;)

I saw it go past Black Cat in both directions this afternoon. It was going faster than I ever saw it move. It doesn't typically put up a noticeable wake but today I could heard the waves hitting my shore very shortly after it passed by.

Trying to see if they can exceed the speed limit?

Another stolen boat!!! Were the MP's chasing it?

One last Blast – one last Cast.

That is a spooky image of the Mount and it was out cruising empty.

Definition of "empty": containing nothing.

Was it piloted by remote control?

cruisin' again
 

Technicians from ZF Marine (makers of the transmission and control systems) were aboard for maintenance checkout and sea trials. Pleased to note that all was normal!

Any chance they can restore the previous engine's old, slow rpm, iconic long-time chugga-chugga-chugga sound like it had from about 1946-2011 ....... coming around the bend don't-u-hear-it ... chugga-chugga-chugga .... !

Sorry FLL, we'll all just have to replay that sound in our minds. The new engines run a much higher speed than the old Enterprise engines. (That's why the new Caterpillar engines need the transmissions.) That cool pocketa pocketa sound only happens with low speed diesels. :)

One of the less known but cool things about the old engines was that there was no reverse gear or neutral for that matter. To back up, the engines were stopped and then restarted running backwards. Lots of compressed air and fancy camshafts on the engines to make this work. I'm sure it got very interesting in the engine room if they ever had to stop in a hurry with the ship moving at cruising speed...

Sometimes in the past the mount would be backing out of the Center Harbor docks with a heavy wind and when they were switching over to forward, she would come a little too close to the shoreline.:laugh:

But I too miss the sound of those engines.

The Old Mount before being lengthened did not stop quickly either as most large boats/ships don't. She went sideways in Alton Bay at Echo Point in the 60's after a sailboat in front of her tipped over. It took some work, fwd/rev, to get the Mount straightened out after they removed the sail boat

Maybe they could put some big subwoofers down below and play a recording of the old style engines.... :rolleye2:

Irwin Marine posted this image to facebook a few days ago and thought it was very interesting.

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/...4b&oe=54DACC0C

Caption: SS Mt Washington at Weirs pier for repairs. Dec. 23, 1939 a fire broke out at the Railway station and heavy winds helped the fire to engulf the SS Mt. Washington. Here is all that remained after the fire. Photo from the Robert J. Girouard collection. www.facebook.com/NewHampshireThenAndNow

Engine sound
 

A friend pointed out that you as much felt the old Mount engines as heard them.

Slow speed + large displacement = big explosions to turn those propeller shafts! :D

Put enough base on those woofers... You'll feel it.. lol

Those old engines where a wonderful thing. The sound the vibration etc. was wonderful... But as all thing time has a way of aging even the greatest things...

I for one was glad to see the new engines go in. Not for all the earthy crunchy reasons that some give... But rather because, I knew with new engines, the mount would be strong enough to continue on. With transmissions she would be safer and more maneuverable. And finally now I hope that someday I will have grandkids, and get to watch them enjoy the mount, and watch my kids enjoy their kids watching the mount, just as I enjoyed watching them......

The new engines should not be mourned. We should reminisce about them because they where cool.... Just as we will someday reminisce, about the conversion and modernization of the old girl.....

Everybody hates change. Or most people do.

Nostalgia for the past is just that, remembering all the good parts of the past without having to deal with the realities that existed then and now.

We all miss things that made a time in our life special, in this case for a number of us it's the unique sound that those large slow turning engines made. Remembering that is fun for any number of personal reasons. For me, it's because when I was a kid and we were able to stay on Cow for a good part of the summer, you could actually hear the Mount before you saw her as she passed down the Broads during the week. (Even though she was over a mile away.) Not loud, more like a slight muttering across the water. It was cool and I miss it not so much for the sound but because I can't go back to that time that only exists now in my mind.

I'm sure the engineers on the Mount don't miss having to try to source or custom make parts for 70 plus year old engines. I'm sure it's much more pleasant to maintain the new engines as opposed to praying the old ones would make it through another busy season. There's probably a lot of peace of mind for the Captain in knowing that the ship can stop or turn in an emergency thanks to shaft brakes and modern engines / transmissions. However I don't doubt that they all still miss the sound of those big beasts rolling over and coming to life after another winter nap. It was cool and we miss it.

I know someone that recorded the sound on the last trip to Center Harbor... Maybe someday, that person will share that sound of engines past ;)

OK, I'll bite. Could "someone" please please please do that soon? :D

Another thing you don't see any more is boats jumping the wake behind the Mount-because there almost isn't one.

True
 

That is true but watch out for the wakes from the Sophie C. and the Doris E.

I hit one of those wakes bow down on the waverunner and the whole thing, me included, submarined. I think even my head was about a foot underwater. When I bobbed to the surface it took me about 30 seconds to sit there and understand my mistake. Never again!