Think of spare parts as well. Belts and fuel filters. Diesel at marinas is known to have water issues, fuel water separator filters as well if boat is equipped. Additionally if you have never been through the cut in Marco, make sure you do it during the day, it can be very confusing looking at it the first time.

t
what motors are in the boat?

The boat has twin Cummins 6C8.3TAhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1313437238.jpg

Hey T , check out Chapman's for some good info about the fine points of boat handling, Look into the use of spring lines in docking and undocking. I googled your boat and see that it has quite high free-board forward. This does make it tough to hop off onto a dock from the bow.


Making it a good idea to run the bow and forward spring back to the aft area during docking. to ease access to the dock.

It also covers maneuvering at slow speeds, and I think they talk about prop walking, which can be used to aid in getting up to a dock.

These are not my strong points in boating. But these thoughts have been coming up that may be of some help to you.

Cheers Richard

Wow! Looking at the spread sheet you just posted it looks like 8.5 kts is the economical cruising speed. Whew what a jump in consumption after that. 17/21 kts looks like a good speed to cover lots of distance in good conditions. Good info. You do want to make sure that the bottom and props are clean for the best performance.

I know a good looking woman boat capt. (100 ton Lic) that lives in FLa. You could hire her.

Hire a capt for a day so at least you see and learn how to do it right.


...and remember the pros know what to do when things go wrong.


Good luck and enjoy!

I have to take off my sailor hat and think of the trip in your terms. At 20 kts you can get your 150 miles in during day light hours and be at anchor or docked for the night. A fuel dock might be a good idea, Ha just joking. But you will need to take on fuel each day traveling at those speeds. This also calls for good near calm conditions, to make these speeds enjoyable..
Your setup seems real good for coast-wise cruising. You may be able to go have a nice dinner in a waterfront restaurant each night. Now that sounds civilized.

Cheers Richard

DUDE-

"The most important safety device in any aircraft is a well-trained pilot". That is the motto of FlightSafety International, a flight training group. And it is correct.

-You go and do what you want, but I've spent the past 22 years operating airplanes for a living. I can tell you COMPLETELY that experience is everything!!! If you try to operate that boat without a paid captain...you are likely to run aground or have some other serious and expensive problem between Tampa and Daytona!

Why would you even consider this? If you decide to track your Porsche, are you not going to get some instruction first? If you decide to buy a Piper Warrior airplane....are you just going to go out and attempt to fly it without any instruction? Both vehicles are the same value as your new boat, low six-figures. What makes you think the boat doesn't require any training?

-You're going to have a thin wallet if you do what you are talking about. I don't race my 928S2 because I have NEVER had a single lesson on high-performance driving. But I've had hundreds of hours of "dual", or instruction given in airplanes. That's why I felt comfortable flying 747's around the world as captain.

Listen: Hire that captain. Swallow the cost, allow "Captain Ron" to live with you and your family for a week or so. HAVE HIM TEACH YOU BOAT HANDLING. You'll be far better for the experience, as will your family...and your boat!

Good luck! I'm sorry if I'm being negative, but I have your [and your family's...] best interest at heart.

N!

[Current captain of the "Happy Pelican", my 16 foot Larson boat]

bah - nattering naybobs of negativism. Point the boat east and head to England. It's not a shakedown cruise until you're in 40' seas...


no warranties expressed or implied...and I need dramamine to take a shower so ymmv

You've read too many Harry Potter books. Professor McGonnagal doesn't exist here-

N!

Hi T, In looking back over this thread, I decided to delete part of my post #28 where I went into a comparison of the fuel consumption of sail vs power boats. This was not really relevant to this discussion and only plays into the divide that exists for some between sail and power boat users. Kind of like that between performance car enthusiasts and hyper milests.
I am sure you considered the costs of operating your new boat before you got into it. All boaters have more in common than not. the need for good planning, prudent seamanship, dependance on good weather for fun, the need of safe harbors, etc.

The Chapman that I mentioned earlier is Chapman piloting and seamanship. it is a big book chock full of detailed info on most aspects of the subject. My copy is on board for use as a reference source.
The mention of having a paper chart is a good one. you can plot a running fix on it from your GPS just incase. Chapman has a section on chart plotting, using dividers to get the coordinates of a fix. Or using a handheld compass to plot a fix from land marks. These are useful skills to have. Some of these are dying arts in this age of electronics. The US Navy no longer teaches celestial navigation from what I hear. Any way You can set up way points on your charteplotter that will give you the coordinates of the spots as well.

The coast Guard auxilery in your area probably has a safe boating course that should cover these skills and many others.

I think that you are going thru some understandable stress from stepping up to a larger boat, and taking on a trip that is longer and in waters that are new to you. Taking your familurisation with your boat step by step will settle a lot of these concerns for you and your wife. Plus a bit of worries will help keep you focused on your trip. And help you avoid the complacency that leads to many of the problems that can be befall the too casual boater. Take it slow when in doubt! The bigger boat will help smooth rougher conditions and provide comfort and shelter that will ease the experience over the long hall . Leaving you fresher and more able to deal with pressures of land fall and getting settled in safely at the end of a day underway.

Once you get thru this adjustment period , I am sure your new boat will bring you lots of fun and good times.

Cheers Richard

tevake, well said.

there is no comparison of sail to powerboat, as you said I would hope that the new owner considered the cost to use the boat. My cruising speed is 6kt @ 1800rpm @ 4/10's gph, yearly consumption about 40 gal.

Coastal cruising would be a good intro to test those skills out before taking on a lengthy trip out to sea.

As one good sailor told me long ago, if it hasn't happened to you yet, it will eventually.

Myself after owning a sailboat now for over 6 yrs, sail in the san juan islands which is coastal cruising at its finest, the hardest thing is still bringing her into the slip. It creates the biggest anguish because so much can go wrong in a short period of time. You have lots of boats to bounce off of, you can have jerky boaters that will squeeze you in the lane when the winds or current are not helping, having a bad hair day or the wife is freaking. For the most part bringing her in is easy but.................... I dream of having bow thrusters.

you say you dont have map coordinates for all of the locations you need to plot and dont know where to find them?

ignore my ignorance, but dont you have any PAPER maps of the area you plan to cover?
they should have all the info you need and they will always work in any kind of weather/power loss.

get a captian to show you what you need to know about the boat and how to navigate with out electronics if you cant already.

teenerted1,

I do have paper charts as well, plus some on a laptop and the ipad.

What I was looking for was someone who had the route already fleshed out with a known good and safe course.

We are going to hire a captain for 2 separate full days and leave the boat in Tampa until we are competent.

We then are going to enlist a co-worker's assistance. He lives in Miami and will meet us in Tampa and get us to Miami. I know him and his wife and he has the proper experience and has made the journey before....

t.

Where in Tampa is the boat docked?