It is happening

Some might remember that last year in August we were in the process of buying a trawler. We did it, I posted it, and asked many questions since our planned move up the ICW to Borne Ma. did not occur due to numerous mechanical problems. Well now, March 8th, we are heading North. Check out the daily blog. WWW.denandken.wordpress.com.

Ken
PS comment if you like.

Greetings,
Mr. k. Good stuff. Keep it up. Gotta love those dolphins.

Welcome
Love the blog and the nice big pictures

Great to hear! Have fun and if you need any help or advice along the way let the forum know. We used to keep the boat in Westport Harbor so have made that trip from/to FL a few times. Lots of forum members along that route as well those who have traveled it.

Great blog over morning coffee. Loved the shrimp story!

Nice (and interesting) blog. Keep it up. And yeah, the shrimp feeding on stuff on the bottom of the boat has caused many an anxiety attack for people who are not aware of that little oddity!

Be careful anchoring at Fernandina Beach, if you are planning on that. Wicked tides and heavy traffic. Going on a bit further and anchoring off Cumberland Island is better, plus you can dinghy ashore and walk around Cumberland Island some.

We have made it to our first layover. Would have liked to continue North but other obligations have gotten in the way. I have decided to move north again next month for 7 to 10 days. I have started the planning stage for the next leg. Part of my planning is to find a place for wet storage for another month or so. I have been looking at the section between Savannah and Charleston. I use Active Captain for this purpose and so far been unsuccessful. Has anyone any suggestion? I prefer a mooring as opposed to a slip.

Ken

Check with the Beaufort SC town marina and see if the moorings there are in yet and if they will let you use one for your intended purpose. 843-524-4422. Last I heard, they were just beginning to do the prep work so doubt if they are in yet. That's the only mooring possibility. There are plenty of marinas of various quality and price between the two cities, in Hilton Head, Beaufort, Dataw Island, etc.

Just curious: Is your boat set up to stay on a mooring by itself unattended for longer periods of time?

I am not sure exactly what you mean by set up to stay on a mooring for a longer period of time. Certainly this is an issue. Our last boat was kept on a mooring and we went to it every two weeks or so. I was always uncertain what I would find when I returned. Leaving the vessel on a mooring for a month or two has concerned me and I have taken all of the precautions I could think of. Mainly being sure there were multi lines with chaff protection to the mooring ball. Butting down and locking up also done. Other than that my next concern was theft. I was told it has not been a problem at it's present location. We have decided to cut the stay in half.
Ken

kpinnn said:

I am not sure exactly what you mean by set up to stay on a mooring for a longer period of time. Certainly this is an issue. Our last boat was kept on a mooring and we went to it every two weeks or so. I was always uncertain what I would find when I returned. Leaving the vessel on a mooring for a month or two has concerned me and I have taken all of the precautions I could think of. Mainly being sure there were multi lines with chaff protection to the mooring ball. Butting down and locking up also done. Other than that my next concern was theft. I was told it has not been a problem at it's present location. We have decided to cut the stay in half.
Ken

Click to expand...

In addition to the factors you mention, there are the issues of battery capacity for bilge pumps and anchor lights, among other loads. Many mooring fields (those not designated "special anchorage" on the chart), require an anchor light, so either a solar switched/powered light or capacity to have it on all the time. I always felt better if I had friends, particularly live aboards in the field, or a capable marina worker/ launch driver who would keep an eye on things. We lived on moorings full time for several months, and occasionally had to leave on business or family trips.

It's not a big deal, obviously, thousands of people keep their boats on moorings and almost never stay over night. Just takes some planning.

Mooring long term is pretty uncommon in the Ga/SC area. Not many fields, not many folks watching over boats. I would worry about thieves and vandals and flat batteries. Up in the NE, mooring fields have lots of eyes on them.

Find a slip on floating dock, that's my rec.

To date, there are no Mooring fields in SC. (Those that are maintained and cost money). As mentioned, Beaufort was in the process of converting the anchorage next to the Downtown Marina, but last time I was there they had not started on the project. I would call them. There are plenty of anchorages but nowhere I would recommend leaving more than a few nites. If you can make it up to Surfside/Myrtle Beach area this will be the least expensive area to get a slip long term. Osprey, Bucksport, and Coquina Harbor are your best bets. Good Luck!

Are you moving north to "Bourne MA" it's still cold on the Cape. I'm heading that way from SW FLA mid April

I moored an old fishing boat in SE NC for a while (wayyy back). Big Danforths kept dragging in the soft bottom (eel snot) every storm. I ended up buying a big junk V8 car engine with no oil pan, wrapped a chain around the crank and dropped it off the transom. It was 6' of water and like 15' of chain vanished!! Soft bottom, indeed. Dragging problems ended.

THAT was the best anchor on the planet.

A bit redneck, I know. Hard to beat for 20 bucks!!

Ski in NC said:

I moored an old fishing boat in SE NC for a while (wayyy back). Big Danforths kept dragging in the soft bottom (eel snot) every storm. I ended up buying a big junk V8 car engine with no oil pan, wrapped a chain around the crank and dropped it off the transom. It was 6' of water and like 15' of chain vanished!! Soft bottom, indeed. Dragging problems ended.

THAT was the best anchor on the planet.

A bit redneck, I know. Hard to beat for 20 bucks!!

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Old School! I like it!

Capecodder, Yes we are headed to Bourne Ma., actually Monument Beach. We started the trip from Key Largo. Presently in St Augustine and will be continuing the end of April. Probably stop in Charleston for another three to four weeks. I don't expect to get to Bourne until June. I think we will do a slip in Charleston or near by. Not knowing where we will end up each leg has made planning flights difficult. I think this time we will fly to the boat and then rent a car to drive home once we find a slip. The first part of the trip, Florida, has been easy. Getting used to the bridge schedules, bridge data, and names were the only challenges. I expect the next portion is going to present other challenges. Not sure but expect more shoaling and commercial inlet challenges. Tides become greater and currents stronger I suspect. Tide schedules are easy to find but currents are another story. My current app was great but they have not updated it from 2013.

Ken

Ski in NC said:

I moored an old fishing boat in SE NC for a while (wayyy back). Big Danforths kept dragging in the soft bottom (eel snot) every storm. I ended up buying a big junk V8 car engine with no oil pan, wrapped a chain around the crank and dropped it off the transom. It was 6' of water and like 15' of chain vanished!! Soft bottom, indeed. Dragging problems ended.

THAT was the best anchor on the planet.

A bit redneck, I know. Hard to beat for 20 bucks!!

Click to expand...

:lol:Ski, you just made me snort my coffee. That reminded of a saying I had not heard in 40 years. You have probably heard it. When a guy was a little slippery acting the downeasters would say, "that boy is slicker than two eels in a bucket of snot". You knew where you stood with those guys.:lol:

Currents are important through Georgia and South Carolina, and there a passel of current stations. If you are using the ICW keep in mind the current stations will be focussed on the inlets. So, for instance on the flood, as you head north before the inlet you will be against the current, once past the inlet you will be with the current. So that is how the substations are set up. See, for instance the Newport River at various places relative to St Catherine's Entrance.

Here is comprehensive current information for Georgia,South Carolina and North Carolina arranged north to south, so you would start at the bottom of the page with Cumberland Sound. The Florida tables are also on NOAA's page. Click on each station or substation for a complete daily calendar.

Tidal Current Predictions - NOAA Tides & Currents

Most chart plotters and plotting software are also equipped with this info. Have you outfitted your boat with one yet?

The boat came with raymarine c120. It has new navionics software.

Not sure what your Raymarine has, but the Furuno system on my boat has Navionics Gold, which is currently their most basic product. It has "point and click" tide and current info. Might be worth looking through your plotter manual to see what functionality it has.

There are a variety of "apps" for various smart phones and tablets, I'm sure there must be forum members who have some. My MacENC program on my computer has Mr.Tides built in, which is available separately if you happen to have an Apple. Great for planning purposes. I'm sure there are a variety of cheap or free PC programs too that the members here can recommend, and most of not all PC plotter programs have tide and current functionality.

I had a great app for android. It was called currents". Last time I looked it had not been updated from 2013. That was the easiest and best I found. Not anything as easy to use. Eldridges is maybe my next best bet. NOAA gives currents in the inlets and then simply apply North and South common since. The current does change as you move from the inlet and the app automatically made the calculations. I think the NOAA web site gives the formula but I have not yet looked at it.
Currents are definitely a must for the next leg of the trip.

Ken

Great blog. Put its link in your signature that way folks will know where to look....

It is difficult to time the currents right in the n fla, ga, sc, nc region. Many inlets, and current changes direction in multiple places, as you approach then depart an inlet, when tide changes, etc. Nothing feels as good as getting a couple free kts, but dang hard to time. In north SC and in NC I've got some of the worst areas dialed in, but they are long stretches where it really matters.

Great blog, great pics! Wonderful to see another vintage Gulfstar out there doing it! Keep up the good work.

As Ski infers, it really isn't necessary to be that granular. Sometimes the tide cycle just isn't going to fit a practical schedule. What you pick up south of the inlet coming north on the ebb, you often give up on the other side for a variety of reasons. I found the published stations to be more than adequate and I enjoyed the sport of navigation. If you can get lucky and hit it a bit before slack before flood, you can get a little slingshot effect. Myself, I just want to generally know how long it will take to get from point A to point be at a certain RPM, and if it is worth sleeping in or dawdling a little bit longer or getting up earlier. Most of the time, it doesn't matter for practical purposes; the sum of the day's tide shifts over a 40-60 mile stretch balance out. Unless of course I am going in or out an inlet (to/from the ocean where tide against the wind can really effect safe sea conditions as well as speed.

Depending on your draft and the dredging schedule, there are always some spots every year that may only be negotiable at mid to high tide. We've been known to truncate the day's cruise and anchor out waiting for safe water heights. Fortunately, it's gunk holer's heaven through there. A few times we liked the spot so much we stayed there a few more unplanned days. Cruising at it's finest!