Gopher Broke is Headin' Home

[BandB]

The captains I know always use barrels instead of bladders. Easier to handle and no problem to dispose of at the other end and have minimal investment in them.

 

[Irish Rambler]

Hi Dan.
I worked on 22 ton bladders for transporting wine/brandy/latex and they do have many benefits in many applications but anchoring one down on a boat in a rolling sea versus cost (don't forget I'm so tight fisted I can make a Jew look generous) availability/security etc I still think I'd err on the side of a couple of plastic drums.
Each vessel has its own specifics and what suits one may not suit another.

 

[BandB]

Hi Dan.
I worked on 22 ton bladders for transporting wine/brandy/latex and they do have many benefits in many applications but anchoring one down on a boat in a rolling sea versus cost (don't forget I'm so tight fisted I can make a Jew look generous) availability/security etc I still think I'd err on the side of a couple of plastic drums.
Each vessel has its own specifics and what suits one may not suit another.

Also most of the vessels we're talking about do not have a lot of space. Bladders use that space less efficiently.

 

[BDofMSP]

He does have an inreach as noted in post #6. I just checked his progress and it looks like the Mississippi will be no problem based on fuel. He's close to 300 miles from his departure from Clearwater and still heading north. Hope it was a smooth crossing and give us an update when you get some rest!

Thanks for reading the posts Spike. Yes we did an overnight crossing yesterday/today. It was one of the highlights, no THE highlight of my boating career. We had everything from 3 footers on the bow to 6 footers following to smooth and clear. 25-30 winds to calm. Fog. Oh and the Super moon.

We changed destination 3 times based on conditions and fuel burn, with Carrabelle our original and Destin our final. Thankfully we had the radar and AIS operational. Radar is not a nice-to-have on an overnight crossing for me.

Very tired and infinitely grateful for this experience. I'll post my logs tomorrow.

BD

 

[BDofMSP]

For those concerned about the fuel on the Mississippi River, that's one of the primary reasons I chose the captain I did. He does this regularly in addition to working on the river. He knows every marina and their owners and operators. Plus HE needs to get the boat up there, not me. I'm only on until around St Louis.

Also Hoppies is closed and quite possibly will never reopen. Kidds isn't as much "non recreational" as large minimums. Another advantage of hiring a local pro.

We leave for Dog River early AM tomorrow.
BD

 

[BDofMSP]

Think sprint-walk. Pull into Clearwater and re-fill to figure your usage at whatever you run there to from FM. Plan for running X hours at a good clip when water conditions allow and y hours at "hull" speed. Don't get greedy and use more x hours than you should if it looks smooth all the way.

Thanks Rich. That's basically what you'll see we did if you look at the Garmin track. 8 knots when it was snotty and 17 when it was calm. I was very nervous about fuel but we had 75 gallons to spare when we got in
BD

 

[BDofMSP]

Leaving for Dog River now. New alternator should be waiting there when we arrive.

 

[OldDan1943]

Glad you are making good progress and that you have a good captain.
What is your fuel capacity? (400 gal gas?)
New alternator?? And no further explanation? Give us details.
Weather further north is supposed to be colder than a well digger's butt.

Yup, comes to fuel usage.... now that's a variable. We dont run one speed.
One might consider fuel usage on a particular leg and the next leg different.
Running with the current vs running against the current. Inside, outside, getting to a unfamiliar dock or perhaps a inlet, in the day light. Wave height etc. All these things will greatly effect the real world gph.

 

[BDofMSP]

Regarding the alternator, I mentioned it in post 35. I wasn't putting anything out - likely never has been since I bought her. Voltage falls off across the day and we have been running the gen occasionally to top it off. Time to fix that.

For those who are interested, here are some notes from my log on the night crossing.

• Destination Carrabelle. Departed 14:30. Winds 20-25 and choppy in ICW
  Got outside and found 2-3 ft on the bow. Decided to move ahead. 8 kt @1500 (expect 9 gph burn)
  Shifts of 2 hr off and 4 on
  By 0100 seas had calmed to 1 ft. Spooled her up to 2200 and got about 16.5 kt at that (expect 29 gph burn)
  Saw zero boats on radar or AIS from the time we left the ICW until dawn. Nothing except Air Force towers on radar. VERY reassuring to see them pop up and match the chart.
  Some fog about 0300. Nothing significant
  Seas started building at 0600 and by 0800 reduced to 1600 rpm, 8 kt. Seas turned from the southeast and pushed us on the port stern quarter
  Freighter Guadalupe appeared on AIS about 08:45. Eyes on at 09:15
  09:45 seas 2-3
  11:00 seas 4-5. Getting pushed around quite a bit
  noon - fuel gauge showing VERY close to empty but calculations anticipate having about 70 gallons remaining at destination
  1:45 tied up at fuel dock. Took 388 gallons of diesel (tank 450). Began washdown while fueling

 

[slowgoesit]

Glad you are making good progress and that you have a good captain.
What is your fuel capacity? (400 gal gas?) per post 16, fuel capacity is 450 gallons
New alternator?? And no further explanation? Give us details. see post 35
Weather further north is supposed to be colder than a well digger's butt.

Yup, comes to fuel usage.... now that's a variable. We dont run one speed.
One might consider fuel usage on a particular leg and the next leg different.
Running with the current vs running against the current. Inside, outside, getting to a unfamiliar dock or perhaps a inlet, in the day light. Wave height etc. All these things will greatly effect the real world gph.

Please see remarks in red above.

 

[ben2go]

Just joining the progress. Good luck Gopher Broke on finishing your trip safely.

 

[ranger58sb]

Regarding the alternator, I mentioned it in post 35. I wasn't putting anything out - likely never has been since I bought her. Voltage falls off across the day and we have been running the gen occasionally to top it off. Time to fix that.

Is that Cummins 450Cs?

We ran from Annapolis down to Jacksonville last November without a functioning alternator on our port engine. It had just been newly installed, either incorrectly or it was faulty out of the box... but we didn't discover that until already underway.

Worked out OK anyway. Got the replacement replacement installed down in JAX.

-Chris

 

[BDofMSP]

Yes 8.3 CTA Diamond Series.


The new one never arrived. They're going to have to ship it up river to me hopefully on Monday.

 

[OldDan1943]

I carry a spare alternator onboard. They took the existing 'working' alternator off for a spare and installed a new one. SMILE

 

[BDofMSP]

Yes this one will be rebuilt and kept as a spare.

 

[BDofMSP]

Bad Day

So yesterday everything was great until it wasn't. I had just written in my log how wonderful everything was running and going. We'd made Mobile Bay and I sent a picture of it to my wife. Within 5 min that changed.

As we entered the bay we struggled to find the center of the channel. The red was there but we couldn't find the green. Well that's because it wasn't there - it's missing. Instead we found 3 ft of water. We were doing about 14 knots and hit hard.

Fortunately it was sand and mud. Tow Boat US came out and extracted us (using his props to dig a hole in the sand and mud). No water intrusion, no vibration at all, seemingly no damage. I'll get a haul later and put on the spare props and get these tuned. But right now there's nothing to indicate anything serious. Captain has offered to pay for the haul. Any damage would be covered by insurance.

Horrible feeling to hit bottom like that when you just got this thing. But happy that it didn't turn out badly.

On plane on Mobile River now. Eyes wide open for debris. Gotta go.
BD

 

[rslifkin]

Hopefully there was enough bottom slope where you hit to prevent the props from touching. If that's the case, you just might find the only damage to be some scuffed up bottom paint.

 

[OldDan1943]

Yes this one will be rebuilt and kept as a spare.

You might consider having the rebuilt altenator reinstalled so you can be sure it will work, then save the newer one as the 'known to be working spare'

 

[sunchaser]

As we entered the bay we struggled to find the center of the channel. The red was there but we couldn't find the green. Well that's because it wasn't there - it's missing. Instead we found 3 ft of water. We were doing about 14 knots and hit bottom. BD

It is not uncommon to have a buoy missing or at times never there. The secret I learned on the inland rivers is to hug the single buoys. During the spring some markers have moved or channel filled up from a spring flood. Non commercial channels are the worst.

Also, pull your strainers. Years ago when I hit a Mississippi sand bottom the strainer quickly filled up and low flow toasted an impeller.

 

[rgano]

As we entered the bay we struggled to find the center of the channel. The red was there but we couldn't find the green. Well that's because it wasn't there - it's missing. Instead we found 3 ft of water. We were doing about 14 knots and hit hard.


BD

Which way were you entering the bay, from sea or from the ICW?

A friend owns TowBoatUS Mobile. Glade they were able to help.

 

[BDofMSP]

Which way were you entering the bay, from sea or from the ICW?

A friend owns TowBoatUS Mobile. Glade they were able to help.

From the ICW. The operator was friendly and knowledgeable and I very much appreciated his help.

Yes we checked the strainers before starting the engines. Clean. The engines stopped immediately when we came to a stop.

 

[BDofMSP]

Making about 16.5 to 17 kts on average so losing about 2 knots to current. Very little debris - almost none.
BD

 

[BDofMSP]

Just locked thru Coffeeville and passed Bobby's Fish Camp. Anchoring out tonight about 30 miles from here .

 

[BDofMSP]

Two tows passed us during the night. The downbound gave a couple whistle signals (probably since he couldn't raise us on the radio). The other didn't bother.

Fog delayed our departure to 0600 this morning. Hope is to make Columbus, but that will require a lot of luck. Fuel stop in Demopolis.

BD

 

[FoxtrotCharlie]

Sorry I will miss you in Columbus - I'll be back at our boat Tuesday afternoon late. Safe travels.

 

[BobMc]

Since the captain you hired has experience with this reverse loop route, he'll figure it out, but just as a reminder to others: the current on the Mississippi will be in the neighborhood of 5-6 MPH against you. That means that in order to make good 15 MPH you'll need to turn RPMs for 20-21 MPH which will significantly decrease your range. You may need to take a couple of bladders of diesel in order to make it through the 250 miles without diesel available.

Yes we've discussed those spots. I burn about 32 gph at cruise, so about 14 hours run time. To make the 250 miles I'd need to make good about 15 knots. Definitely possible, but there is a fuel delivery option too. Or of course we can go slower, but at some point we need to make way against the current, so...

BD

 

[88FuHwa]

BD good luck on your trip. With respect to oil filters, on our Perkins engine 6.354 I use a NAPA 1459 filter that has a check valve inside of it. That filter is also mounted upside down. Not sure if there is a filter like that for your engines but I have zero spills but for a few drops when I change it.
Keep us posted on your experience.
Dirk

 

[Forever Friday]

Radar a nice tool for night crossing

Will you be running an overnight crossing the gulf?

You might be surprised how little you use a radar - if at all.

Wow...we'd sure (respectfully) disagree with that one. Crossing the gulf we used radar continuously--usually placing a 3-5 mile "Guard Zone" around the boat. We were very interested in seeing anything that showed up on the screen--cross checking visually with the binos. Maybe if you cross in the most idea conditions (totally flat seas with a bright moon) would you not use radar as much. And we concur with AIS being a wonderful tool for the rivers. Wouldn't have done our loop without it.

Mike Kelley
M/V Forever Friday
2008 American Tug
Currently on a Freighter enroute to Victoria, BC

 

[BDofMSP]

Made great time yesterday, especially with 8 locks to transit. Even with that, we made a hundred and thirty miles and got into Aqua yacht at about 5:45. That was a little late for the fuel dock but they agreed to stay open for us which was super helpful.

We cleared Pickwick lock this morning at about 6:30 so it's clear sailing for the rest of the day. We hope to make green turtle, but that's very aggressive. Unlikely but we'll try.
BD

 

[rgano]

Cuba Landing is a short-of-Turtle option.