A funky flotilla of watercraft in the middle of Gig Harbor on Tuesday became a surgical center for a critical and delicate transplant operation.
The transplant was on a distinctive sailboat, a floating sailing school offering training and adventure for half a dozen would-be transoceanic sailors.
The patient, Koru, is a cruising catamaran measuring 50 feet long and 26 feet wide. It is scheduled to leave Gig Harbor for Hawaii on May 15 with a crew of tuition-paying adult students.
A weighty operation
The organ needing transplant: one of its two 550-pound diesel engines. The surgical team: employees of Gig Harbor Marina and Boatyard and of Marina Floats, a Tacoma firm that specializes in dock installation, maintenance and repair…