What are your boating goals of 2024 ?

[PierreR]

Wow, Pierre, I'm winded just looking at your list. You're completely rebuilding the entire boat, not just systems but soft cores. I'm sure somewhere in your near future it includes rebedding all the windows too.
Best of luck to you!

Keep in mind that I brought the boat back under its own power 3,400 miles last spring. Many of the systems that I list are actually functioning fine at this point. My boat is quite usable as is.
The only things I will hire done is the fire suppression system and possibly some of the electronics.
I am actually much more qualified to fix boats than operate them.

 

[Cargile]

Our plan/goal is slightly less adventurous. Pull our 28' trailer trawler to Ludington MI. 1100 miles. Launch and port hop north. The clear fresh water of Lake Michigan is fantastic. When we reach Mackinac would like to turn NW into Lake Superior but that depends on how long we dilly dally port hopping before the return south to Ludington. Wait a minute, that was last years plan/goal! Oh well, try again this year.

 

[ksanders]

2024

The year to say goodbye to the old, and hello to the new.

Officially I retire 6/30/2024, but will be winding down my efforts and job time come late winter.

But, life will be frenetic between now and the time I can relax. Finish up the job and train replacement. Finish renovation of a 120 year old home in CT, list it. Sell it. Move. Do the work to get the boat launched in the spring. Do all of the administrative things to get pensions, SSS, Medicare, and related things fired up.

Boating will be a few days here and there for the first half of the season, inevitably given the other life tasks. Fingers crossed I can cast off docklines as close to 7/1 as possible, and spend the rest of the summer poking up the Chesapeake rivers and coves for as many 7-10 day jaunts as I can squeeze in for the remainder of the season.

I retired on 1-May-2022 and was fortunate enough to cast off the dock lines the very next day starting a 4000 mile retirement cruise that seems like it never ended

But... by that time all I had left was my pickup, and my boat. Everything else was gone already.

 

[FWT]

I retired on 1-May-2022 and was fortunate enough to cast off the dock lines the very next day starting a 4000 mile retirement cruis that seems like it never ended

But... by that time all I had left was my pickup, and my boat. Everything else was gone already.

I have read your many posts on your adventures, beginning with the advice you shouldn't / couldn't make the trip south solo. Not having anything useful to comment on, I haven't. But I've read it all with envy, as no doubt others have.

Your tale is a useful reminder. See it. Plan it. Do it. A new life awaits, and whatever one you want if you reach for it.

 

[ksanders]

I have read your many posts on your adventures, beginning with the advice you shouldn't / couldn't make the trip south solo. Not having anything useful to comment on, I haven't. But I've read it all with envy, as no doubt others have.

Your tale is a useful reminder. See it. Plan it. Do it. A new life awaits, and whatever one you want if you reach for it.

It's amazing the number of folks I have met that have done the exact same thing, although not as many solo.

Pretty much everybody in the marina here I suppose. I used to think I was the odd duck, and then you get here and realize everybody has a similar story.

 

[AusCan]

Some incredible adventures and projects listed here. You guys rock!

I've got 2 of my brothers visiting from Canada, and we'll be doing a 6 week cruise. Depending on the weather, we'll be exploring St Vincent Gulf, Kangaroo Island, Spencer Gulf, & St Joseph Bank Islands.

I'm really looking forward to the adventure as we haven't seen much of each other over the last 40 years.

 

[slowgoesit]

It's amazing the number of folks I have met that have done the exact same thing, although not as many solo.

Pretty much everybody in the marina here I suppose. I used to think I was the odd duck, and then you get here and realize everybody has a similar story.

Kevin, Rest assured, you ARE an odd duck!
I mean that in a GOOD way!

 

[Seevee]

I read with envy all the neat places you guys are going and would love to be there at your destinations. However, I'm not a blue water cruiser, I'll still to intercoastal cruising.



I've done the great loop and the triangle loop and going to spend more time on the west coast of Florida for short week or so trips. And I AM looking forward to the Florida Summers!



Not doing any boat remodeling, but some simple maintenance items. Don't want to be too far from home in case a storm hits, as I have a great hurricane hole.


Going also do some flying. Pickled the plane last year because I'd be on the boat over half the year, so I need to unpickle it and fire it up.

 

[Mambo42]

I retired on 1-May-2022 and was fortunate enough to cast off the dock lines the very next day starting a 4000 mile retirement cruise that seems like it never ended

But... by that time all I had left was my pickup, and my boat. Everything else was gone already.

It is indeed kind of strange. When you are young you are basically trying to continuously add more stuff to your house and life. When you get older you throw away what you don't need anymore and will not need ever again. We have basically thrown away everything we had, even old pictures. Were not looking at them anymore, they were just decoration.
So now we have our clothes, what fits in the boat and in our apartment. Everything else we just threw away. And guess what ? Never thought about any item whatsoever.
It makes life much simpler and less stressed.

 

[FWT]

It is indeed kind of strange. When you are young you are basically trying to continuously add more stuff to your house and life. When you get older you throw away what you don't need anymore and will not need ever again. We have basically thrown away everything we had, even old pictures. Were not looking at them anymore, they were just decoration.
So now we have our clothes, what fits in the boat and in our apartment. Everything else we just threw away. And guess what ? Never thought about any item whatsoever.
It makes life much simpler and less stressed.

Some advice my father gave me quite a long time ago.

You spend the first third of your life acquiring things. The second third is spent replacing the things bought in the first third. The last third is spent getting rid of all of it.

 

[ABfish]

There are some ambitious itineraries in this group.

Mine are much more humble. Take the boat to the Chesapeake and eventually Baltimore (where number one son lives) for the summer. At least one weekend trip to Alexandria and DC while the boat is up there.

Before that, I need to complete my dinghy davit and chock installation. Can't go on that trip without a dinghy.

 

[ABfish]

Some advice my father gave me quite a long time ago.

You spend the first third of your life acquiring things. The second third is spent replacing the things bought in the first third. The last third is spent getting rid of all of it.

My father said he spent the first two-thirds making money and the last third trying to keep it (legally) away from the government.

 

[dpmcgarry]

Goal 1: buy a boat (we are under contract so that’s at least headed in the right direction)

Goal 2: cruise the Chesapeake this year and get to know some local cruisers

 

[slowgoesit]

I read with envy all the neat places you guys are going and would love to be there at your destinations. However, I'm not a blue water cruiser, I'll still to intercoastal cruising.

I've done the great loop and the triangle loop and going to spend more time on the west coast of Florida for short week or so trips. And I AM looking forward to the Florida Summers!

Not doing any boat remodeling, but some simple maintenance items. Don't want to be too far from home in case a storm hits, as I have a great hurricane hole.

Going also do some flying. Pickled the plane last year because I'd be on the boat over half the year, so I need to unpickle it and fire it up.

Larry,
That's why you hook up with people who are ALREADY in the places with their boats that you want to visit, and come spend some time with them!

 

[Tator]

Not regretting too much having sold our boat!

Tator

 

[Pascall]

Shall I.....

We hope to leave mid-May from the southwest of the Netherlands, province of Zeeland towards the north Scandinavia.
Via Denmark to Norway, the south coast or to Sweden, Stockholm.
We make that choice when we are on site.
I was hesitating to put an Oerlikon on the foredeck because if we choose Stockholm Russia is not far away.
But after all the stories about stability here on the forum, I decided not to do it.

Greeting

Pascal.

 

[ScottC]

Some advice my father gave me quite a long time ago.

You spend the first third of your life acquiring things. The second third is spent replacing the things bought in the first third. The last third is spent getting rid of all of it.

+1

 

[ScottC]

Shall I.....

I was hesitating to put an Oerlikon on the foredeck because if we choose Stockholm Russia is not far away.
But after all the stories about stability here on the forum, I decided not to do it.
Greeting
Pascal.

If you wish to avoid Stockholm, then I can highly recommend:
- Copenhagen
- Limfjord (northern Denmark)
- Göteborg archipelago
- Oslo/Oslo fjord
- Telemark Canal (from Oslo fjord into central part of southern Norway). It's a real gem.

We've done all of the above and can highly recommend these places to keep you entertained from May - October.

 

[Captain DJ]

Any idea which fuel flow meters you will be installing ? Have been thinking about them as well, is a bit more accurate and faster than measuring our day tank all the time.

I don't know if I read this correctly. Sounds as if you might trust fuel flow meters more than a day tank.
Did I get that right?

A day tank is infinitely more reliable than flow meters. I made a 40 inch high and 40 gallon day tank on my Grand Banks 42 Classic, now I have Floscan meters on twin Ford Lehman's on my Cheoy Lee and I gotta say, with calibration of two meters for output and two for return, there is no way I trust that as much as a simple sight gauge at the end of the day.

 

[Captgary175]

Our boat is an ongoing project. Every year I plan to improve the boat .
May 2024: work on the boat on the hard.
Repair goals are:

• repair damaged fiberglass outer walls at the rear of the cabin
• Add portholes in the stateroom and head.
• Bottomcoat
• Add extra freshwater tank
• Add day tank and plumbing.
• Repair swim platform strut(leaks)

We plan to splash end of May.

Then the rest of the summer, live on the boat and cruise around the Great Lakes, Thousand Islands and perhaps up the Rideau.
Haul out for us is always the end of September due to low water in Lake Ontario, especially at our home marina.

We are planning the Erie Canal up to Oswego (maybe a side trip to the finger lakes) then to Thousand Islands, Kingston Ontario, Rideau Canal to Ottowa, Ottowa River to Montreal, down the St Lawrence to the Richilieu River and Chambly Canal, through Lake Champlain and back to the Hudson River (Coeymans Landing) for the winter haulout. Probably spend 2 or 3 months traveling.

 

[gholmesbm]

2024 plan

2024 plan is step 2 of an extended Great Loop trip.

Cruise from Long Island where she is for this winter up the Hudson/Erie/Oswego to Lake Ontario and enter Canada. Then up the Rideau canal to Ottawa and back to Kingston. Then through the Trent-Severn to Georgian Bay, visiting friends & relatives with cottages along the way.

Back to the USA and haul for indoor winter storage in Michigan or Wisconsin.

2025 is more Great Lakes and Chicago, where our son and grandchild live, then the inland rivers to the Gulf, Florida & Bahamas to complete the Loop in the fall.

 

[rslifkin]

We are planning the Erie Canal up to Oswego (maybe a side trip to the finger lakes) then to Thousand Islands, Kingston Ontario, Rideau Canal to Ottowa, Ottowa River to Montreal, down the St Lawrence to the Richilieu River and Chambly Canal, through Lake Champlain and back to the Hudson River (Coeymans Landing) for the winter haulout. Probably spend 2 or 3 months traveling.

If you've got time, after you get to Oswego, take a short detour to the west before heading up to the Thousand Islands. Fair Haven (about 12 miles west of Oswego) is a very nice and cruiser friendly stop. There are marinas there as well as a few good areas of anchorage, a state park (dinghy accessible), a winery (they have docks for dinghies and smaller boats) and the town has a dinghy dock as well.

 

[dpmcgarry]

We are planning the Erie Canal up to Oswego (maybe a side trip to the finger lakes) then to Thousand Islands, Kingston Ontario, Rideau Canal to Ottowa, Ottowa River to Montreal, down the St Lawrence to the Richilieu River and Chambly Canal, through Lake Champlain and back to the Hudson River (Coeymans Landing) for the winter haulout. Probably spend 2 or 3 months traveling.

When you get to the thousand islands I highly recommend a stop in Clayton. Great small village. We used to keep our boat there.

 

[AlaskaProf]

<sigh>

 

[Mambo42]

I don't know if I read this correctly. Sounds as if you might trust fuel flow meters more than a day tank.
Did I get that right?

A day tank is infinitely more reliable than flow meters. I made a 40 inch high and 40 gallon day tank on my Grand Banks 42 Classic, now I have Floscan meters on twin Ford Lehman's on my Cheoy Lee and I gotta say, with calibration of two meters for output and two for return, there is no way I trust that as much as a simple sight gauge at the end of the day.

Unfortunately I don't have a day tank, also have no space for it anymore. I moved the batteries to the lazarette, where I had a 300 ltr tank. That tank had to come out, but can't fit it anywhere. ER and lazarette are fully occupied. I would have to redesign the ER to fit in a day tank.

 

[Pascall]

I installed a day tank a few years ago, 80 liters.
It was quite a puzzle but eventually I found a place behind the sofa in the saloon.
It works great and the sight glass is next to the bench.

Greeting

Pascal.

 

[Pascall]

If you wish to avoid Stockholm, then I can highly recommend:
- Copenhagen
- Limfjord (northern Denmark)
- Göteborg archipelago
- Oslo/Oslo fjord
- Telemark Canal (from Oslo fjord into central part of southern Norway). It's a real gem.

We've done all of the above and can highly recommend these places to keep you entertained from May - October.

They are indeed wonderful places to visit the ones you mention and we know that because we have already been there.
Only the telemark canal is still on the bucket list, which keeps us from coming to a dead end and having to go back the same way.

Greeting

Pascal.

 

[La Sirena]

In 2 days we fly back to Florida to meet on the boat after spending holidays with family. We finish up the following projects: Replace worn exhaust riser/mixer, remove fuel cooler, replace a couple of worn canvas covers, varnish teak cap rails and other teak, prepare hole in swim platform, and many other smaller projects.

Then wait for a weather window in Lake Worth to go to Chubb Cay and spend 3-4 months in the Bahamas. Then head north to Maine and spend 2 months there before heading south again to Florida.

I want to install a second 22" touchscreen in the pilot house running TimeZero. Also, I need to plan on how to get to the Panama Canal from Florida next year.

Looking forward tonreconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones.

Richard
Untethered, Selene 57

 

[dpmcgarry]

In 2 days we fly back to Florida to meet on the boat after spending holidays with family. We finish up the following projects: Replace worn exhaust riser/mixer, remove fuel cooler, replace a couple of worn canvas covers, varnish teak cap rails and other teak, prepare hole in swim platform, and many other smaller projects.

Then wait for a weather window in Lake Worth to go to Chubb Cay and spend 3-4 months in the Bahamas. Then head north to Maine and spend 2 months there before heading south again to Florida.

I want to install a second 22" touchscreen in the pilot house running TimeZero. Also, I need to plan on how to get to the Panama Canal from Florida next year.

Looking forward tonreconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones.

Richard
Untethered, Selene 57

Do you have a short list of touchscreen brands

 

[PierreR]

Summer trip will be from Sandusky Ohio back to roots in Traverse City and the North Channel for about 5 weeks. Lots of local boating as well. Approximately 1,200 -1,400 miles. About one tank of fuel.

Finalizing plans for the summer trip in order to get reservations for Mackinaw, Traverse City and Suttons Bay.
Will be leaving Sandusky on 1 or 2 August and Traverse City on August 10 where I pick up my wife. The onto Mackinaw and North Channel. Will drop off my wife in Rogers City on the 2 of September and be back to Sandusky around the 7th. All total 5 weeks.& 1,500 miles. 13 of those days will be long, more like a delivery to get the boat north. Should put around 2,000 miles on the boat this summer.
I offered my Nephew and his wife the front stateroom for the entire trip if they want to join. They likely will.