ben2go
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We have enough people here to have a buddy flotilla. :lol:
CarDude begins epic broke-boat return to US
- Thread starter healhustler
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silentfaith
Senior Member
Well, whoever is going bring me back a northern lights 5kw generator and collect 2k.....larry never got your pm. cpt,craig
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Just stumbled upon this thread and read it end-to-end! What an exciting and worthy adventure.
Kudos to you, Dude, for a great boat save! I'd be honored to put the first cold beer in your hand in Ft. Pierce!
Cheers to Dude and Bijou!
Kudos to you, Dude, for a great boat save! I'd be honored to put the first cold beer in your hand in Ft. Pierce!
Cheers to Dude and Bijou!
cardude01
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Ha. I appreciate the thoughts but Larry’s use of “epic” was more than a little tongue in cheek I think. I definitely consider the trip more lucky than involving any skill.
I had some contacts who had already been to the the island post hurricane (one a TF member), so I was fairly comfortable I would be OK once I got there. My only concern really was water— I took all my own food but not any water due to weight restrictions. Also, I was a little worried about cell service coverage for weather updates and contacting my wife and friends in the US helping me like Larry and others on TF. Turns out there were pallets of water everywhere and cell coverage was serviceable. So that was lucky.
What I didn’t know much about was the condition of the boat. I knew the mast was broken but other than that not much. My biggest concern was water intrusion, and that turned out to be a non-event. The interior was damp and a little mildewed, but that’s about it. The battery bank was at 13% when I got there and that was concerning, but after plugging into the yard generator for 8 hours a day for two days they charged up to almost 80%. Then after they launched me I set up my portable solar and ran the generator to get them up to 88% before I left. I figured that was good enough to get me home as long as the generator would continue to run. More luck.
Another very lucky part of the trip was that the yard was able to clear enough boats out of the way to get to mine and launch me the second day after I was there. That was huge and it took some prodding and lots of tips to the hands. That saved my bacon because I had a very narrow weather window to get back across to Florida and would have to either wait a week for a cold front to work through or attempt to fly back to Florida and try again later. I really didn’t want to wait around a week, and I also didn’t want to fly back home, so my lucky weather window worked out.
Finally, the broken mast or the other boat systems didn’t cause me any trouble on the trip back. I was a little worried about the mast when it got rough at first starting the trip across from West End to Florida, but my makeshift mast holder board held firm.
The more I think about the trip typing this, the only amazing thing is that all the things lined up for me to be able to get the boat home on the first try. I’m really glad the weather worked out becaue I was so intent on getting it back I’m a little afraid I would have possibly tried to make it back in less than perfect weather, and that is where it could have gone sideways on me.
I had some contacts who had already been to the the island post hurricane (one a TF member), so I was fairly comfortable I would be OK once I got there. My only concern really was water— I took all my own food but not any water due to weight restrictions. Also, I was a little worried about cell service coverage for weather updates and contacting my wife and friends in the US helping me like Larry and others on TF. Turns out there were pallets of water everywhere and cell coverage was serviceable. So that was lucky.
What I didn’t know much about was the condition of the boat. I knew the mast was broken but other than that not much. My biggest concern was water intrusion, and that turned out to be a non-event. The interior was damp and a little mildewed, but that’s about it. The battery bank was at 13% when I got there and that was concerning, but after plugging into the yard generator for 8 hours a day for two days they charged up to almost 80%. Then after they launched me I set up my portable solar and ran the generator to get them up to 88% before I left. I figured that was good enough to get me home as long as the generator would continue to run. More luck.
Another very lucky part of the trip was that the yard was able to clear enough boats out of the way to get to mine and launch me the second day after I was there. That was huge and it took some prodding and lots of tips to the hands. That saved my bacon because I had a very narrow weather window to get back across to Florida and would have to either wait a week for a cold front to work through or attempt to fly back to Florida and try again later. I really didn’t want to wait around a week, and I also didn’t want to fly back home, so my lucky weather window worked out.
Finally, the broken mast or the other boat systems didn’t cause me any trouble on the trip back. I was a little worried about the mast when it got rough at first starting the trip across from West End to Florida, but my makeshift mast holder board held firm.
The more I think about the trip typing this, the only amazing thing is that all the things lined up for me to be able to get the boat home on the first try. I’m really glad the weather worked out becaue I was so intent on getting it back I’m a little afraid I would have possibly tried to make it back in less than perfect weather, and that is where it could have gone sideways on me.
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Action
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Kudus!!!!!
Thanks so much for the update.
A good boater has the skill and resources to prepare for the worse. The great boater takes in the unexpected and continues to press on.
There were a lot of things that could have gone worse. I think everyone including you are pleased at he outcome.
Kudos!
Thanks so much for the update.
A good boater has the skill and resources to prepare for the worse. The great boater takes in the unexpected and continues to press on.
There were a lot of things that could have gone worse. I think everyone including you are pleased at he outcome.
Kudos!
ben2go
Guru
I'm happy it all worked out an the trip was fairly uneventful other than some bouncy times. I believe luck and keeping the boat in good shape is what saved the boat and made it possible to get back home.
cardude01
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What he said.
And Bill, what’s the plan looking like to get seaworthy again?
Sorry just saw this. It's in Stuart waiting on a new mast and rigging. Because of the backlog the mast will take two months to get built and delivered by Selden in SC. Not much else to report. Not sure what I'm going to do with my solar. Don't know if I'm going back with those huge panels. I'd like something that didn't hang over the roof so much. I'm sure that's why they blew off, but in 200 mph wind I guess everything blows off.
Keep the solar
Bill, is your insurance paying for the new mast?
As far as your solar panels go, our experience with our system has exceeded expectations.
We have two large 235-watt panels on our roof, and 6 Fireflys for our house bank. And a Victron 3000-watt controller/inverter.
The beauty of the Fireflys is that we can run them down to 20% safely, so it takes fewer Fireflys, compared to lead & AGM, to achieve the same power availablity. Plus, they charge faster than lead & AGM.
We run a small electric ceramic heater at night and still have 25% left in the bank in the morning to make coffee and start the engines. This is on top of keeping our 10.6 cu ft fridge & freezer happily humming along. By mid-day the bank is fully charged again, even on partly cloudy days.
If we ever buy another boat, we'd install something similar.
I've been so impressed by our boat solar I am thinking about converting half our house to solar. The only thing we need the grid for is the a/c; we have natural gas for the stove, hot water and furnace in the house.
In other words, solar is awesome on the boat. I'd recommend keeping it.
Cheers,
Mrs. Trombley
Bill, is your insurance paying for the new mast?
As far as your solar panels go, our experience with our system has exceeded expectations.
We have two large 235-watt panels on our roof, and 6 Fireflys for our house bank. And a Victron 3000-watt controller/inverter.
The beauty of the Fireflys is that we can run them down to 20% safely, so it takes fewer Fireflys, compared to lead & AGM, to achieve the same power availablity. Plus, they charge faster than lead & AGM.
We run a small electric ceramic heater at night and still have 25% left in the bank in the morning to make coffee and start the engines. This is on top of keeping our 10.6 cu ft fridge & freezer happily humming along. By mid-day the bank is fully charged again, even on partly cloudy days.
If we ever buy another boat, we'd install something similar.
I've been so impressed by our boat solar I am thinking about converting half our house to solar. The only thing we need the grid for is the a/c; we have natural gas for the stove, hot water and furnace in the house.
In other words, solar is awesome on the boat. I'd recommend keeping it.
Cheers,
Mrs. Trombley
cardude01
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The outboard was still there. It has a small hole in the cowling now from flying debris, but I expertly covered that with duct tape. Now it looks old so maybe it will be less of a thief magnet.
Bill: The covers fiberglass and real easy to repair. When you’re in the yard have one one of the yard guys show you how to. It’s a good thing to practice on, should last longer than the tape and as you say, “it will be less of a thief magnet”. :lol:
cardude01
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I have all the estimates submitted to the surveyor, and he reviewed them and forwarded them all to the insurance company, so I’m hoping to hear something this week on if they are going to cover it all (less my big storm deductible). Fingers crossed.
We really enjoyed the solar when we were in the Bahamas, especially after the generator went down and I didn’t have the part to fix it. So I want to go back with something, just don’t really like how those panels looked hanging over the back. They were big 300+ watt house panels that I bought from a guy for $120 each. So they were cheap, and I like cheap, so I might go back with the same thing. I keep the dinghy on the roof so that limits my space up there.
As to the batteries, my fairly new Lifeline AGMs were at 18% when I got there but they seemed to have charged all the way up on the way back to FL, so I’m hoping they will hold up. Time will tell. If not I might check out the Fireflys. Thanks for the tip!
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