And I couldn't be happier about it. :-)

The bowthruster specialist showed up at the yard today and is working
Saturday and Father's Day Sunday to get his portion of the project
complete. Tip of the hat to him- (I took him and his helper to lunch
to show my appreciation for the weekend scheduling). Wtih the bow
thruster done by Monday, there is a fair chance that the yard will
finish reassembling "Indulgence" in time for a relaunch next weekend.

A couple of notes on my thruster;

It's a 6-HP Sidepower. My business associate for thrusters and
stabilizers is Kevin Pattison of Underwater Control Technology. Kevin
recommends many different brands of thrusters after taking into account
the clearances available in the installation area, etc. He felt the
Sidepower would be the best choice for my application.

The unit will operate off a dedicated 12-volt battery, installed only
about a foot or so from the thruster motor. This battery will recharge
with a separate charger when connected to shorepower, or will recharge
from the engine alternator underway.

Kevin builds up the hull a bit on the leading edge of the thruster
tube, rather than leave the original contour in place. After doing
thrusters from many years, he is convinced that creating a gentle
"brow" forward of the thruster will reduce the possibility of the tube
creating additional drag during high speed operation. ("High speed" is
relative, of course, when it comes to my boat). Kevin is also conviced
that adjusting the shape of the hull creates a bigger "bite" for the
tube at lower speeds. His comment today, was, "Some boats with
thrusters intalled need to be all but stopped for the thruster to
really have an effect. With this reshape of the hull, you will probably
be able to get effective use of your thruster at speeds of perhaps 4
knots or so."

(I may be almost consistently lucky when docking- but you won't catch
me approaching anything except open water at speeds of 4 knots). :-)

Next time I add to the Extreme Makeover photo site I'll add some
pictures of the bow thruster tube and corresponding hull reshape.

A second happy surprise during visiting and varnish day: The new
aluminum mast is installed, and the yard surprised me by rigging up a
small version of a commercial fishboat deck light on the aft side of
it. It looks really sharp! Should have had one long ago. I can't see
where they made provision for a forward steaming light, (and I had one
before) but under 12 meters I guess you can use a mastead light instead
of a forward steaming light. I'm pretty sure my new masthead light
lights up two different ways, showing light in the required arc when
underway and in a 360-degree format when at anchor. (Nobody around to
ask, but the lens seems to be divided athwartship, so I assume that
would be the purpose).