i have been lurking around ProaFile and the forum off and on for about five years, so perhaps it is time for me to put my paddle in the water and pull for a bit, even if it is in the wrong direction.

From what i have read and watched over the last several months, there are a lot of paddles in the water, and even if they are not all pulling in the same direction, at least everyone is singing more or less the same song.

i am living in a land of outrigger canoes, mostly powered with an outrigger on either side- the Philippine pump boat. These craft got their name for their powerplant, often a Chinese version of a Briggs and Stratton horizontal shaft aircooled engine of a type usually employed in water pumps.

Thanks for including me in the group and listening to my ideas, no matter how half baked they happen to be.

pete