Page 149 The Francesca was one of the East-Coast-style lobster boats that were beginning to show up in California. She was thirty-foot, diesel powered, with a shaft. Her hull was white, with a large forward cabin that could sleep three comfortably. At $60,000 it was an expensive boat, but reliable, and able to carry the weight. ... The Snubnose was old, slow, and stinky. It was a former Navy transport that Barry McNellis had converted into a dive boat, and the motor (an old Detroit Diesel), had more hours on it than my dad. Oil spewed from all points, and the engine room had no insulation, making it unbearably loud. The Snubber, as it was called, only made about seven knots. The propeller was bent, creating a constant vibration that shimmied throughout the boat, and her long, narrow hull made for a constant rocking motion, so seasickness was a common occurrence. Besides the dreadful things described above, the Snubnose was ugly. A dark navy gray, it had not seen a new coat of paint for decades. The engine room was a disaster area. Electrical wires wandered aimlessly about, some connected to something, some lying in the oily bilge. Rust and oil were everywhere, and the fact that it ran at all was remarkable.

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