BDofMSP
Guru
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2013
- Messages
- 934
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Gopher Broke
- Vessel Make
- Silverton 410 Sport Bridge
Hey folks,
A lot has happened with my plans to bring my new to me Silverton 410 Sport Bridge up from Ft Myers to her new home port of Bayfield WI. I've gotten a ton of support from members here in the process, so I'm definitely remiss if I don't update.
We've changed our plan and now we're taking a "reverse loop" home. Heading up the Tenn-Tom, Ohio, Mississippi, Illinois rivers and then across the Great Lakes. It basically came down to predictability. First, the construction on the Erie Canal has been put on hold until god only knows when. And when it starts it's 3-4 more weeks before the canal opens. This could be July, or September, or maybe not this year at all. Second, one of my captains is from Florida, and their Governor has put a quarantine requirement on anyone flying into FL from NY. This means that my captain would be out of work for two weeks, which he wasn't interested in and I wasn't interested in paying him for it. That quarantine is at least as much a political issue as a health issue, so again, who knows when it would be lifted.
So I've hired a new captain and crew that specializes in this delivery route. Captain Matt Hahn was interviewed by AGLCA last year on this same "reverse loop" topic due to the pending closure of the Illinois. His detailed commentary gave me the confidence that this was the most reliable way to get her home, and with fuel so cheap it eliminated one of the major drawbacks.
So - I came down Friday and started preparations for our trip. Progress has been ... slow. I'm here solo so everything takes forever, especially with proper caution for virus concerns. Plus, and this is important, this is my first:
A) "big" boat. Last boat was a single gasser I/O at 30'
B) diesels. Never owned them, never worked on them. Staggering to deal with oil changes in gallons vs quarts and oil filters that, filled, are weighty enough that you can actually get tired trying to get them to thread onto the %!%#@$ filter mount.
C) preparation for a serious long distance cruise. All my other really long trips before have been on chartered boats. This one's on me.
Moral of that story is that I'm being super careful to not cut corners, to triple check my understanding of everything, oh and yeah, I'm making a few mistakes here and there. Things that should be simple (and certainly will be next time I do them) are being treated like brain surgery. And yet the mistakes..
Anyway, we plan to leave Wednesday crack o dawn. Captain and crew should arrive Tues. around noon, so we'll have a flurry of activity. Lots of weird stupid stuff that needs (?) to get done like removing the previous name and adding mine (and a hailing port), mounting the official number on the hull (was previously registered in Canada and had none). OH! And the radar! I installed a new suite of electronics last time I was here. Just couldn't get to the autopilot before I left (see other thread about marina upcharges on this topic). Well I returned to find a very well functioning new autopilot. But the radar no longer is recognized at all! That's ... a problem.
Ok. I have a lot of "fun" stories about the preparations but I've gone on far too long already. Lots of fun posts to come. I'll try to keep updates coming on our trip once it starts.
Please - Wish us luck!
BD
A lot has happened with my plans to bring my new to me Silverton 410 Sport Bridge up from Ft Myers to her new home port of Bayfield WI. I've gotten a ton of support from members here in the process, so I'm definitely remiss if I don't update.
We've changed our plan and now we're taking a "reverse loop" home. Heading up the Tenn-Tom, Ohio, Mississippi, Illinois rivers and then across the Great Lakes. It basically came down to predictability. First, the construction on the Erie Canal has been put on hold until god only knows when. And when it starts it's 3-4 more weeks before the canal opens. This could be July, or September, or maybe not this year at all. Second, one of my captains is from Florida, and their Governor has put a quarantine requirement on anyone flying into FL from NY. This means that my captain would be out of work for two weeks, which he wasn't interested in and I wasn't interested in paying him for it. That quarantine is at least as much a political issue as a health issue, so again, who knows when it would be lifted.
So I've hired a new captain and crew that specializes in this delivery route. Captain Matt Hahn was interviewed by AGLCA last year on this same "reverse loop" topic due to the pending closure of the Illinois. His detailed commentary gave me the confidence that this was the most reliable way to get her home, and with fuel so cheap it eliminated one of the major drawbacks.
So - I came down Friday and started preparations for our trip. Progress has been ... slow. I'm here solo so everything takes forever, especially with proper caution for virus concerns. Plus, and this is important, this is my first:
A) "big" boat. Last boat was a single gasser I/O at 30'
B) diesels. Never owned them, never worked on them. Staggering to deal with oil changes in gallons vs quarts and oil filters that, filled, are weighty enough that you can actually get tired trying to get them to thread onto the %!%#@$ filter mount.
C) preparation for a serious long distance cruise. All my other really long trips before have been on chartered boats. This one's on me.
Moral of that story is that I'm being super careful to not cut corners, to triple check my understanding of everything, oh and yeah, I'm making a few mistakes here and there. Things that should be simple (and certainly will be next time I do them) are being treated like brain surgery. And yet the mistakes..
Anyway, we plan to leave Wednesday crack o dawn. Captain and crew should arrive Tues. around noon, so we'll have a flurry of activity. Lots of weird stupid stuff that needs (?) to get done like removing the previous name and adding mine (and a hailing port), mounting the official number on the hull (was previously registered in Canada and had none). OH! And the radar! I installed a new suite of electronics last time I was here. Just couldn't get to the autopilot before I left (see other thread about marina upcharges on this topic). Well I returned to find a very well functioning new autopilot. But the radar no longer is recognized at all! That's ... a problem.
Ok. I have a lot of "fun" stories about the preparations but I've gone on far too long already. Lots of fun posts to come. I'll try to keep updates coming on our trip once it starts.
Please - Wish us luck!
BD
