Moving the 10 ton SV Naomi with the Achiles Dinghy and Yamaha 4hp

Tom's 37 foot sailboat Naomi had a new slip on the dock. We planned to move it over in the day when it was sunny. That was a couple of days ago. There was an engine problem. Tom wanted to paddle it over. He didn't remember the currents are significant in this area near the bridge. I volunteered my little Achilles dinghy with the 4hp Yamaha engine. By the time we got the task started it was night with a serious downpour. Typical. The current caught the bow when Tom untied the bow line. The Yamaha 4hp conked out just then too. I got it working again when we were perpendicular to the dock. We were off like a hurtling herd of turtles. Tom was steering from the main boat with the dinghy tied alongside and me providing the power. The current almost took us into the big tug boats. Tom suggested with some volume and urgency in his tone of voice that I should untie from the side and act as a tug. That's how I began prodding the Naomi with my dinghy nose till we got it aligned. Then I tied on the stern and pushed the boat. Tom got off the bow of his boat on the dock but the current began carrying the boat sideways. I couldn't hear Tom's "suggestions" till he was somewhat frantically shouting that I should do the tugboat thing again. From the distance he did appear to be struggling with the full weight of the boat bearing up against him. Eventually I got untied and pushed the stern of the big boat up against the dock using the nose of the dinghy. Job well done. Gilbert loved the excitement. Later eating the elk I'd had roasting in the oven we reflected that someone might have brought all manner of reasons for not doing what we'd done. We suspect we gave a great deal of entertainment to the real Tugboat Captains whose boats we maneuvered among to get to the Naomi to her new slip.