Quote:
Originally Posted by hazelnut
As far as I recall from working on the Doris back in the early 90's she is outfitted with twin Allis Chalmers diesel engines. The twins make her a tad easier to handle in tight spaces. She can turn on a dime around the docks. Sophie is a bit tougher to handle in an around the docks. As far as the HP on either boat goes I am drawing a blank.
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A tad easier to handle is an understatement. I was the deckhand on the Doris for two summers in the 70s (76 and 77, I think). The captain was fairly young and we had a great time. My boat handling skills were good enough that he let me pilot the Doris on many occasions. This included docking in Meredith fairly regularly. It was actually pretty easy.
I had to work the Sophie once or twice when the regular deckhand was ill. From what I remember, the engine started with compressed air and similar to the Mount, had to be shut off to shift between forward and reverse. They would occasionally have issues getting the engine going again and the crew of the Doris had to be prepared to detour to get them out of trouble. I recall at least one occasion where we did receive such a call. We changed course to head for them and I had to begin prepping ropes and bumpers to tow the Sophie back to port. Fortunately, they got her started before we got there.