There is a reason we have checklists. Running through the daily routine of fluid levels, etc., Don discovered the housing to the port battery was cracked AND one of the cell caps was MISSING! The guys at Martin's Marina had a replacement on the shelf and we were underway within an hour. Earlier, a mechanic checked out AHOD and could find no apparent damage from the clunk and thunk on our approach to Clewiston. He said the only real test would come when getting the boat on plane. That would have to wait a while as the first leg involved a shallow canal to the first of three locks that would lead us to Florida's Gulf Coast. Remember the blog where we said we were having trouble locating alligators. The canal must have had them all! Everywhere you looked eyes were glaring at you. But once the beast was abeam it would sink below the surface. Once past the first lock we had 20-feet of water under us. All Hanz On Deck! The boat was struggling to get past 15 mph but by keeping the trim tabs down a bit longer than usual AHOD leveled out and cruised comfortably at 30 mph. A half hour later we encountered a sailboat and slowed so as not to swamp him in our wake. Then the first sign of trouble. Port engine starts vibrating as we throttle up. It's taking even longer to get on plane... but we get there and have another smooth run until we reach the second lock. While slowly bumping forward/reverse to keep the boat in position to enter the lock we hear a grinding noise. After passing through the lock, we try to get on plane, but AHOD would have none of it. Port engine would not rev above 3000 forcing starboard to do all the work just to get us to 10 mph with heavy cavitation. Checking the Waterway Guide we find a small marina that has one slip available. Hey, it's all we need! We reach Rialto Harbor, truly an "old Florida" marina. We are in with the Big Boys - 67' Hatteras, a Trumpy, a 57' Hatteras, a big old work tug converted to a cruising vessel... and then there are the amenities - laundry room with Bosch appliances, shower room you would expect to find in a stately mansion, tennis court, heated pool, horses, goats, chickens, bull frogs, limpkins, turtles and GATORS! Bus Hamilton, his wife Nifty, daughter Jan Jan and Nifty's mother have a 12-acre Garden of Eden. And you do not have to have a boat to visit here. A quaint 2BR 2BA Guest House awaits those arriving by car. As for the boat, Mark, who works on all the big boats at Rialto Harbor suggests hiring a diver to check things out. But it's 4th of July weekend and locating one is futile. We contact the on-call tech at the nearest Volvo-Penta repair facility and upon hearing our story she advises to not drive the boat until the drives can be thoroughly inspected. With that in mind, we decide that Saturday we will rent a car to make the 2-1/2 hour drive to Palmetto so we can meet the movers on Sunday. But first things first, Bus tells us about a bar-b-q place called Mississippi Matt's. Pulled pork, chicken, beef and ribs, plus cole slaw, potato salad and beans. Add in a couple of gin and tonics and... what boat problems?