Warren & Lori are here:
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:27.6593
Longitude:-82.6888
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:02/27/2009 17:30:41 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=27.6593,-82.6888&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tierra Verde, FL
We are now enjoying the Florida sunshine and warmth -- finally! We trailered to Fort DeSoto Park, which was recommended to us by Roger (flrockytop). Here is a lonk to a satellite view of the park. It is the finest launch facility I have ever seen in Florida, and in some ways is better than the new Everett facility, which is pretty darn good.
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=27.645661,-82.716349&spn=0.002438,0.003433&t=h&z=18
From there we drove, following the well-marked channels, to theTierra Verde Resort Marina, which you can see in this satellite view:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=27.6889,-82.7229&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
This marina was purchased by a group of investors who bought out all the leaseholders with the intent of tearing it down and rebuilding -- but then the economy tanked. So the facility has old wood docks, two vacant, condemned condo/motel buildings and a dry storage. I hope the investors can hang on until the economy improves -- it must be extremely expensive to carry all this nonproductive waterfront real estate.
That aside, we love St. Petersburg, particularly some of the older areas like Pass-a-Grille. We both have been dealing with feeling a bit under the weather but hopefully soon we will get out and do some exploring. Currently the weather has been slightly cloudy and a bit breezy, with temperatures of 74/60.
We're staying here until Monday when we head north to Apalachicola and Pensacola again.
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=27.645661,-82.716349&spn=0.002438,0.003433&t=h&z=18
From there we drove, following the well-marked channels, to theTierra Verde Resort Marina, which you can see in this satellite view:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=27.6889,-82.7229&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
This marina was purchased by a group of investors who bought out all the leaseholders with the intent of tearing it down and rebuilding -- but then the economy tanked. So the facility has old wood docks, two vacant, condemned condo/motel buildings and a dry storage. I hope the investors can hang on until the economy improves -- it must be extremely expensive to carry all this nonproductive waterfront real estate.
That aside, we love St. Petersburg, particularly some of the older areas like Pass-a-Grille. We both have been dealing with feeling a bit under the weather but hopefully soon we will get out and do some exploring. Currently the weather has been slightly cloudy and a bit breezy, with temperatures of 74/60.
We're staying here until Monday when we head north to Apalachicola and Pensacola again.
OK ESN:0-7399410
Warren & Lori are here:
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:27.6889
Longitude:-82.7229
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:02/25/2009 14:14:24 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=27.6889,-82.7229&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:27.6889
Longitude:-82.7229
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:02/25/2009 14:14:24 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=27.6889,-82.7229&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Good News, Bad News
While waiting for news from Bulldog on the repairs to my outboards, we took a day trip to Ft. Lauderdale's RiverWalk area. While there, feeling quite boatless, we opted to take a 1.5 hour tour boat trip of the area (I can just see Jim B. at the helm of this boat.) Boats, boats, boats everywhere! The majority seem to be gold-platers but a variety of smaller boats as well -- but we did not see any C-Dories.
Here is a link some photos taken from the tour boat. Note particularly the very retro or art deco or Buck Rogers boat we saw twice, the second time under tow by two mini-tugs. Apparently it is cheaper to pay these tugs $1000 to tow you on the river than to risk the liability of a collision -- and it is crowded and narrow enough that is a real possibility!
Yesterday we drove around Lake Okeechobee. For the most part, very boring!
The bad news from Bulldog: Not only did the shaft and gears of the starboard motor expand, at a potential cost of $2200, but they also found that I bent the shaft of the port motor at a cost of $600. The good news: the starboard motor is covered under warranty! The not-so-good news: $882 is owed to Bulldog. Ouch! The good news: we pick up the boat tomorrow (Friday) morning!
We're headed up to St. Petersburg and then after a few days there to Apalachicola.
Here is a link some photos taken from the tour boat. Note particularly the very retro or art deco or Buck Rogers boat we saw twice, the second time under tow by two mini-tugs. Apparently it is cheaper to pay these tugs $1000 to tow you on the river than to risk the liability of a collision -- and it is crowded and narrow enough that is a real possibility!
 |
| Ft. Lauderdale |
Yesterday we drove around Lake Okeechobee. For the most part, very boring!
The bad news from Bulldog: Not only did the shaft and gears of the starboard motor expand, at a potential cost of $2200, but they also found that I bent the shaft of the port motor at a cost of $600. The good news: the starboard motor is covered under warranty! The not-so-good news: $882 is owed to Bulldog. Ouch! The good news: we pick up the boat tomorrow (Friday) morning!
We're headed up to St. Petersburg and then after a few days there to Apalachicola.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Joe Btfsplk
We are feeling more and more like Joe Btfsplk is accompanying us on this trip (if you are too young to remember Joe, Google Li'l Abner.)
In my last post to the blog (some of this is redundant to the Brats) I mentioned that I had swapped the props so they were installed on the correct motor. I had started the port motor and it worked correctly, so I thought all was well. Thursday I went out to get the boat ready to go out and fired up the port motor. All was well. I then started the starboard motor, but as soon as the engine started, the boat wanted to take off in forward gear, even though the shifter indicated it was in neutral. Obviously this was not normal, so we called Bulldog Boatwerks and discussed the situation with them. They indicated that I might have damaged the lower end gearcase in some way, but they could not service it on the water -- I would have to bring the boat to them.
After much consideration, I decided to once again enlist the aid of Vessel Assist (Tow Boat US). They dispatched a boat to come the following morning to help us get back to the launch ramp -- and more importantly, on the trailer (now that I have been through the process, I realize I could have loaded the boat on my own using the winch, but at the time I was concerned about getting the boat straight on the trailer without power to both sides.) I certainly have been getting my money's worth from Boat US this year! Hopefully I will not have further need for their services!
Once the boat was on the trailer, we towed it down to Bulldog, but because we arrived on a Friday afternoon, we had to wait until this morning (Monday) to find out the bad news. Unfortunately, it is not a simple linkage problem. It appears that when I ran the starboard motor in reverse, with the wrong prop on it, the force of the prop was directed toward the gearcase (forward), instead of aft. As a result, the propeller shaft became overheated and expanded to the point where it would no longer slide back and forth in the bearing. At least that is my understanding of what the tech told me.
We are now in wait mode until tomorrow to find out when Bulldog can get the part in. The earliest will probably be Thursday, so we packed up the truck and headed east. We are currently in a KOA Kamping Kabin somewhere near the Okeechobee Lake. We will probably visit Fort Lauderdale and some of the other places we didn't get to on the boat.
I want to thank Allen Hitchcock and his cousins Bud and Kathie, visiting housesitters from Connecticut, for letting us use his travel trailer over the weekend while we waited for word from Bulldog. Allen's generosity was in keeping with the highest traditions of the C-Brats.
In my last post to the blog (some of this is redundant to the Brats) I mentioned that I had swapped the props so they were installed on the correct motor. I had started the port motor and it worked correctly, so I thought all was well. Thursday I went out to get the boat ready to go out and fired up the port motor. All was well. I then started the starboard motor, but as soon as the engine started, the boat wanted to take off in forward gear, even though the shifter indicated it was in neutral. Obviously this was not normal, so we called Bulldog Boatwerks and discussed the situation with them. They indicated that I might have damaged the lower end gearcase in some way, but they could not service it on the water -- I would have to bring the boat to them.
After much consideration, I decided to once again enlist the aid of Vessel Assist (Tow Boat US). They dispatched a boat to come the following morning to help us get back to the launch ramp -- and more importantly, on the trailer (now that I have been through the process, I realize I could have loaded the boat on my own using the winch, but at the time I was concerned about getting the boat straight on the trailer without power to both sides.) I certainly have been getting my money's worth from Boat US this year! Hopefully I will not have further need for their services!
Once the boat was on the trailer, we towed it down to Bulldog, but because we arrived on a Friday afternoon, we had to wait until this morning (Monday) to find out the bad news. Unfortunately, it is not a simple linkage problem. It appears that when I ran the starboard motor in reverse, with the wrong prop on it, the force of the prop was directed toward the gearcase (forward), instead of aft. As a result, the propeller shaft became overheated and expanded to the point where it would no longer slide back and forth in the bearing. At least that is my understanding of what the tech told me.
We are now in wait mode until tomorrow to find out when Bulldog can get the part in. The earliest will probably be Thursday, so we packed up the truck and headed east. We are currently in a KOA Kamping Kabin somewhere near the Okeechobee Lake. We will probably visit Fort Lauderdale and some of the other places we didn't get to on the boat.
I want to thank Allen Hitchcock and his cousins Bud and Kathie, visiting housesitters from Connecticut, for letting us use his travel trailer over the weekend while we waited for word from Bulldog. Allen's generosity was in keeping with the highest traditions of the C-Brats.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Punta Gorda, FL
Every day has been an adventure on this trip, it seems, and not always the fun kind.
On Saturday Tom Bailey, the dockmaster of the KOA marina in Sugarloaf, offered to help me get the boat on the trailer at a nearby marina with a longer and steeper ramp than the KOA offered. Even though Tom was piloting, we hit some coral, which bent both skegs and chewed up the props. Then when we got to the ramp, we discovered that the low clearance of the hitch (the trailer was not set up properly as the coupler rides 3" or so too low) resulted in my trailer jack clearing the ramp breakover by less than an inch. The first time we tried to pull the boat out, the truck smoked the tires in 2WD, so I shifted to 4WD and at the same time Tom applied maximum throttle to the Tom Cat, and that did the trick.
Even though we did not have good weather in the Keys, I can't say enough about how well the folks at the Sugarloaf KOA treated us, both in the campground proper and the marina. They have about 20 small, C-Dory size slips and although it is not cheap (about the same as an RV spot), I think they definitely gave good value for the money. They are not listed in any of the cruising guides I have been using, so keep them in mind if you are cruising the Keys. Note that they do have gas but do not have a pumpout. Their ramp can probably accommodate up to a C-22.
We then pulled the Tom Cat to Naples from Sugarloaf Key and checked into the KOA there. We decided to stay two nights because we knew no business that could repair the props would be open on Sunday. The Naples KOA is also company owned, but is much more "ordinary" than the Sugarloaf Key facility, with a population age averaging a good 20 year more than the Keys. Our adventure there was on Sunday night: they offered an ice cream social followed by a movie, Firestorm. The ice cream was fine but once the movie started we realized it was not our cup of tea, as it was intended for an evangelistic Christian audience. What irritated me most about the situation was that the flyer advertising the film did not make it clear what kind of film it would be. Adding insult to injury we somehow, inadvertently, sat in two empty chairs that a couple of elderly ladies apparently felt we should have known were theirs, and they hassled Lori until we left, halfway through the film.
On Monday, thanks to Jim of the Jennykatz, we met at a local prop repair facility, that did a great job of fixing both the props and the skegs for a very reasonable price. It is Naples Propeller, 3951 Mercantile Ave, Naples (239) 261-7909. While we were waiting for Rich at Naples Prop to do his thing, we had breakfast with Jim and then went out to the house of Mike (Papillion) where Jim keeps the Jennykatz. Jim treated us to a nice ride around Naples Harbor and out into the Gulf. Jim kept telling us that we should put the boat in the water to make sure everything was OK before leaving, but we had a dinner engagement and had to tow the boat up to Pine Island where we were staying for the night, so we did not heed his advice.
Click on the photo for an album with photos related to this post.
After a pleasant dinner in Estero with Robin and Monique, two friends from Salt Lake City days who now divide their time between the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin and a condo in Bonita Springs, we returned to Pine Island. In the morning we finally hooked up with Allen and Lorraine Hitchcock, owners of a new C-25. We had kept putting them off as one thing or another delayed our arrival at their house, but we finally made it. They very generously offered us the use of their 2nd dock for the duration of our time in Charlotte Harbor.
Yesterday afternoon we decided to launch the Tom Cat. Allen drove us around to check out several local launch ramps -- we chose the Punta Gorda city launch in Ponce de Leon park. It only has one lane but is nice and deep and does not have big breakover at the top of the ramp. Allen and I were aboard as Lori backed us down into the water. When we were in position, I gunned the motors in reverse. Nothing happened. Hmmmm. Time to get bumped off the trailer. Lori pulled forward, then reversed and popped us off. I engaged reverse -- and headed straight for the concrete abutments surrounding the launch ramp. I realized then that Naples Prop had installed our props "backwards". That is, because I have counter-rotating twins, the props were installed on the wrong engines and produced the opposite thrust through the water than desired. So I shoved the throttles forward and reversed away from the dock before any damage could occur.
We only had about 4 miles to go to get to Allen's dock so I decided to proceed forward -- in reverse. Allen called Bulldog, the local C-Dory dealer, who told us that we could continue with the port engine, but that we should stop using the starboard engine. Sure enough, the starboard engine was running significantly hotter than the port engine. I shut down the starboard engine and tilted it up, and we proceeded to Allen's dock slowly, and sometimes not in the straightest line, but we made it to the dock without further mishap.
This morning Lori cleaned the boat while I took the truck and trailer to a local RV shop to see if I could buy a draw bar that would raise the hitch enough to make the trailer level (when I upgraded the Tom Cat trailer hitch to 15,000 capacity, the folks at the RV shop in Mt. Vernon installed a draw bar that curved down and bolted the ball assembly to the highest set of holes. Unfortunately, this was not high enough to make the trailer ride level. When I was at Bob's in Pensacola we put a level on it and determined that the trailer should ride about 3 inches higher.) Instead of selling me a new draw bar, the RV shop reversed the draw bar and now the trailer rides almost perfectly level -- perhaps a very slight upward tilt. We will see how well it works on the next segment of our travels, back to Apalachicola.
I had previously made arrangements to store the trailer on the property of Tom Ray, the local Ranger dealer, so after the hitch work was finished, I took the trailer to Tom's and then picked up a prop wrench at West Marine. With Allen's help, we switched the props and with any luck we are good to go out tomorrow.
Hopefully we will not encounter too many more of these adventures!
On Saturday Tom Bailey, the dockmaster of the KOA marina in Sugarloaf, offered to help me get the boat on the trailer at a nearby marina with a longer and steeper ramp than the KOA offered. Even though Tom was piloting, we hit some coral, which bent both skegs and chewed up the props. Then when we got to the ramp, we discovered that the low clearance of the hitch (the trailer was not set up properly as the coupler rides 3" or so too low) resulted in my trailer jack clearing the ramp breakover by less than an inch. The first time we tried to pull the boat out, the truck smoked the tires in 2WD, so I shifted to 4WD and at the same time Tom applied maximum throttle to the Tom Cat, and that did the trick.
Even though we did not have good weather in the Keys, I can't say enough about how well the folks at the Sugarloaf KOA treated us, both in the campground proper and the marina. They have about 20 small, C-Dory size slips and although it is not cheap (about the same as an RV spot), I think they definitely gave good value for the money. They are not listed in any of the cruising guides I have been using, so keep them in mind if you are cruising the Keys. Note that they do have gas but do not have a pumpout. Their ramp can probably accommodate up to a C-22.
We then pulled the Tom Cat to Naples from Sugarloaf Key and checked into the KOA there. We decided to stay two nights because we knew no business that could repair the props would be open on Sunday. The Naples KOA is also company owned, but is much more "ordinary" than the Sugarloaf Key facility, with a population age averaging a good 20 year more than the Keys. Our adventure there was on Sunday night: they offered an ice cream social followed by a movie, Firestorm. The ice cream was fine but once the movie started we realized it was not our cup of tea, as it was intended for an evangelistic Christian audience. What irritated me most about the situation was that the flyer advertising the film did not make it clear what kind of film it would be. Adding insult to injury we somehow, inadvertently, sat in two empty chairs that a couple of elderly ladies apparently felt we should have known were theirs, and they hassled Lori until we left, halfway through the film.
On Monday, thanks to Jim of the Jennykatz, we met at a local prop repair facility, that did a great job of fixing both the props and the skegs for a very reasonable price. It is Naples Propeller, 3951 Mercantile Ave, Naples (239) 261-7909. While we were waiting for Rich at Naples Prop to do his thing, we had breakfast with Jim and then went out to the house of Mike (Papillion) where Jim keeps the Jennykatz. Jim treated us to a nice ride around Naples Harbor and out into the Gulf. Jim kept telling us that we should put the boat in the water to make sure everything was OK before leaving, but we had a dinner engagement and had to tow the boat up to Pine Island where we were staying for the night, so we did not heed his advice.
 |
| Naples |
Click on the photo for an album with photos related to this post.
After a pleasant dinner in Estero with Robin and Monique, two friends from Salt Lake City days who now divide their time between the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin and a condo in Bonita Springs, we returned to Pine Island. In the morning we finally hooked up with Allen and Lorraine Hitchcock, owners of a new C-25. We had kept putting them off as one thing or another delayed our arrival at their house, but we finally made it. They very generously offered us the use of their 2nd dock for the duration of our time in Charlotte Harbor.
Yesterday afternoon we decided to launch the Tom Cat. Allen drove us around to check out several local launch ramps -- we chose the Punta Gorda city launch in Ponce de Leon park. It only has one lane but is nice and deep and does not have big breakover at the top of the ramp. Allen and I were aboard as Lori backed us down into the water. When we were in position, I gunned the motors in reverse. Nothing happened. Hmmmm. Time to get bumped off the trailer. Lori pulled forward, then reversed and popped us off. I engaged reverse -- and headed straight for the concrete abutments surrounding the launch ramp. I realized then that Naples Prop had installed our props "backwards". That is, because I have counter-rotating twins, the props were installed on the wrong engines and produced the opposite thrust through the water than desired. So I shoved the throttles forward and reversed away from the dock before any damage could occur.
We only had about 4 miles to go to get to Allen's dock so I decided to proceed forward -- in reverse. Allen called Bulldog, the local C-Dory dealer, who told us that we could continue with the port engine, but that we should stop using the starboard engine. Sure enough, the starboard engine was running significantly hotter than the port engine. I shut down the starboard engine and tilted it up, and we proceeded to Allen's dock slowly, and sometimes not in the straightest line, but we made it to the dock without further mishap.
This morning Lori cleaned the boat while I took the truck and trailer to a local RV shop to see if I could buy a draw bar that would raise the hitch enough to make the trailer level (when I upgraded the Tom Cat trailer hitch to 15,000 capacity, the folks at the RV shop in Mt. Vernon installed a draw bar that curved down and bolted the ball assembly to the highest set of holes. Unfortunately, this was not high enough to make the trailer ride level. When I was at Bob's in Pensacola we put a level on it and determined that the trailer should ride about 3 inches higher.) Instead of selling me a new draw bar, the RV shop reversed the draw bar and now the trailer rides almost perfectly level -- perhaps a very slight upward tilt. We will see how well it works on the next segment of our travels, back to Apalachicola.
I had previously made arrangements to store the trailer on the property of Tom Ray, the local Ranger dealer, so after the hitch work was finished, I took the trailer to Tom's and then picked up a prop wrench at West Marine. With Allen's help, we switched the props and with any luck we are good to go out tomorrow.
Hopefully we will not encounter too many more of these adventures!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Are you sure we're in Florida?
The weather here has defied the meteorologists' attempts to provide forecasts that are accurate for more than a day or two ahead. Several times they have promised warm temperatures low wind and calm seas in Hawk Channel (not more than 2' waves), and each time the next day the forecast for that day has been revised to what has been the normal weather here for the last week or so: 20-30 mph winds out of the north-northwest, temperatures in the 50s or 60s, 2-5' waves inside the reef (Hawk Channel), rough in the bay, small craft warnings.
On Tuesday it looked like we might be able to go Wednesday or Thursday, so we made preparations and called ahead to Marathon, where we planned to stop for the night on our way to the ICW route (inside the Keys) up the east coast of Florida to the entrance of the Okeechobee Waterway. That is when we learned that no one is moving, everyone is holed up just like us, waiting for a weather window. No moorage in Marathon!
That is when we threw in the towel. Bob and Barbara drove us up to Flamingo yesterday afternoon and we picked up the truck and trailer and returned to the KOA. If you're ever in Marathon and looking for a great lunch, be sure to stop at Keys Fisheries Market and Marina.
This morning I woke up to find the Lori Ann hard on her bottom, with the wind and temperatures just like January in Anacortes. Here are a couple of photos:
Our plan now is to get the boat on the trailer and head up to Punta Gorda where we'll spend some time in Charlotte Harbor and part of the Okeechobee.
On Tuesday it looked like we might be able to go Wednesday or Thursday, so we made preparations and called ahead to Marathon, where we planned to stop for the night on our way to the ICW route (inside the Keys) up the east coast of Florida to the entrance of the Okeechobee Waterway. That is when we learned that no one is moving, everyone is holed up just like us, waiting for a weather window. No moorage in Marathon!
That is when we threw in the towel. Bob and Barbara drove us up to Flamingo yesterday afternoon and we picked up the truck and trailer and returned to the KOA. If you're ever in Marathon and looking for a great lunch, be sure to stop at Keys Fisheries Market and Marina.
This morning I woke up to find the Lori Ann hard on her bottom, with the wind and temperatures just like January in Anacortes. Here are a couple of photos:
 |
| Low Tide |
Our plan now is to get the boat on the trailer and head up to Punta Gorda where we'll spend some time in Charlotte Harbor and part of the Okeechobee.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Superbowl Party
We have essentially been stuck here, waiting for a weather window to go north, and it looks like it will be here Wednesday or Thursday. Marvin from Jacksonville tells me this has been an atypical winter, with weather windows few and far between. Funny thing, they told me the weather in Anacortes was great until I moved there!
Yesterday was Superbowl Sunday, and the KOA put on a big chili cook-off and BBQ at the park Pub to celebrate. I was nonplussed when most of the people in the Pub stood up for God Bless America and then the Anthem. Maybe this is a Southern thing, but when I lived in Utah, arguably the reddest of the red states, I never encountered anyone standing for the anthem on TV. Here is a photo of the assembled multitudes:
Yesterday was Superbowl Sunday, and the KOA put on a big chili cook-off and BBQ at the park Pub to celebrate. I was nonplussed when most of the people in the Pub stood up for God Bless America and then the Anthem. Maybe this is a Southern thing, but when I lived in Utah, arguably the reddest of the red states, I never encountered anyone standing for the anthem on TV. Here is a photo of the assembled multitudes:
 |
| KOA Superbowl Party |
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