Finally gone...

As of the 15th we have given up our slip that was home for the last four years. We cast off the lines and are making our way south to Key West and beyond? ..just wanted to thank all the folks that have posted info on repairs, improvements and navigation in the past. It has been very helpful and much appreciated. But now it's time to' get out there' and do it and that is what we are doing. So thanks for the help and the humor, and we are finding out that full time cruising can be exhausting if one does not learn to pace oneself. So a big thanks to all on the forum!! (I miss being able to jump in the car and pick up a replacement part)...cheers!!

Have fun!

Remember to check in when you have the opportunity. I, for one, would like to read about your adventures.

Giggitoni said:

Remember to check in when you have the opportunity. I, for one, would like to read about your adventures.

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What he said!

Congratulations on cutting the dock lines.

Fair Winds! I hope you share some of your journey with us from time to time. Key West and beyond sounds like an ambitious undertaking!

????

MYMT said:

(I miss being able to jump in the car and pick up a replacement part)

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Not to hijack your thread, but do you guys that cruise full time carry something like a moped to use while in port? I can't imagine being in a new place, but stuck at the marina.

clynn said:

Not to hijack your thread, but do you guys that cruise full time carry something like a moped to use while in port? I can't imagine being in a new place, but stuck at the marina.

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Cash and credit cards. We don't carry a moped or anything of that type.

Many marinas have loaner cars, but we've found in most towns, getting from the marina to places you need to go not a big problem. Public transportation in some. Taxi service is often not very expensive, although a few towns have no taxi's. Then if it's somewhere we're going to need a car to explore, we do rent a car.

Well an update. At the end of day 4 we are moored at Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove. The trip so far has been really good for the most part, a bit stressful at moments. I'm thinking that a trip through Fort Lauderdale and Miami may not have been the best idea for an initial shake down cruise. However we are learning a lot!
This living aboard and traveling is a whole different thing than in a slip at a Marina. A learning curve to it for sure, and hats off to the folks that have been doing it. Now if I can just get a new heat exchanger for my generator before the next thing goes wrong again I'll be a happy boater.
We are trying to get tech savvy (it's hopeless) and have an Instagram account at 'ayacht2sea' where we will try and keep folks updated. Thanks for all the replies and RT how do you find the clips you have for every occasion?... Very funny stuff!!

You sound like a veteran cruiser already. Fixing stuff in beautiful places.

Thanks. Got the heat exchanger online and am going to intercept it (hopefully) in Tavernier Wednesday, which apparently must be a beautiful place...but got a new vented loop, little plastic one they soaked me $40 for...went for a stroll down town, got turned around..took the long way home..in flip-flops & 90 degree heat...life aboard is not turning out to be boring, that's for sure!

We spent several days at Dinner Key Marina in 2010 we have friends living nearby we really enjoyed it. I especially liked the buildings with the Pan AM motif and the pictures of the PAA Flying boats on the wall inside.
Enjoy the trip!

I'm serious now ( and this is my serious look) keep us up to date and have a bunch of fun .

That's pretty serious looking! Tonight we are lounging on the bow with a dinner of wine and cheese, the Miami skyline is beautiful with lots of colored lights. I have a camera that could probably take a nice picture of it except I've forgotten how to use it, been working on the boat for so long. I'm just happy that I'm not in a hot engine room making repairs!..but will post more as we go. We've decided to do the inside instead of Hawks Channel. It's a bit depth challenged but seems more interesting. Besides, I've already dug a trench in the mud in Lake Boca Raton, both WaterWay Guide and Active Captain said it was a good place to anchor...not unless you draw less than about 3 and a half feet! So we have learned to be a bit skeptical of what we read and use a bit more caution when things look a bit dicey. Live and learn...

Steve, we did not notice a building with the Pan Am motif, but then again I'm not the most observant person in the world. And my first mate didn't appreciate the route I chose to walk back from the West Marine store either, but the area just a couple of blocks west of the Marina's really quite nice.

Wow seriously? 4 years in the slip and your busting out.

You'se are my heros. Party like its 1999.

MYMT said:

Besides, I've already dug a trench in the mud in Lake Boca Raton, both WaterWay Guide and Active Captain said it was a good place to anchor...not unless you draw less than about 3 and a half feet! So we have learned to be a bit skeptical of what we read and use a bit more caution when things look a bit dicey. Live and learn...

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Yep, been there and done that more than once! Live and learn.

Strange way to start the morning.. watching another trawler anchored behind us sinking as we were headed to shore in the dinghy. I've seen many that have sunk, but not one actually sinking with two men aboard, who didn't look to be in much of a hurry as they stowed stuff on the flybridge and into another tender. Told the Marina folks about it, but no one seemed overly concerned there either. So on our return there it was..on the bottom and listed to port. A bit unnerving, when your living on a trawler...

Strange indeed. Any word of the cause?

MYMT said:

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Strange way to start the morning.. watching another trawler anchored behind us sinking as we were headed to shore in the dinghy. I've seen many that have sunk, but not one actually sinking with two men aboard, who didn't look to be in much of a hurry as they stowed stuff on the flybridge and into another tender. Told the Marina folks about it, but no one seemed overly concerned there either. So on our return there it was..on the bottom and listed to port. A bit unnerving, when your living on a trawler...

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That is strange, suspicious, and everything else.

Oh, and on Lake Boca Raton, I show 3', 4', 5' and 6' depths depending on what part of the lake. Difficulty getting to the corner that is deepest, although I've never tried.

Taking the inside route from Miami to Marathon is a good bet. Make sure you stop at Cow Pens Anchorage for a day or two and try the restaurant at I believe it's Marker 88. Once south of Marathon it gets pretty skinny. I've never done that route but Hawk Channel is pretty easy to navigate and there are plenty of places to duck in if the weather turns.
Enjoy, you're in a fun place.

Well, not sure of the cause, but neglect may have played a role though it doesn't show in the pic's, it looked pretty rough.
On lake Boca Raton the 4,5&6' depths looked to be part of the channel for boats to access their slips, and not really enough room to swing. One suggestion was to enter just north of the green mark (can't remember the number) but there is a seawall just north of that marker and going between the seawall and Mark was where we left our trench in the mud! And as I was trying to wiggle back out a passing motor yacht came across the radio and said "careful, that lakes pretty shallow...he was right! Just a short ways south of there is Lake Santa Barbara where we anchored, depths of 6-12' if I remember, and much much nicer than Lake Boca Raton.
Timjet, cow pens is definitely on the agenda and we will look for that restaurant. Not sure we'll be able to get into Mangrove Marina and if not, then we'll anchor at Cow Pens.
From there south we'll have to check the weather and route again before deciding wether to go inside or Hawks. I'd really like to go inside just for the experience, cause I'm thinking after doing it, once will be enough. But anyway, really appreciate the suggestions, Thanks much!!

Made it to the Keys!! Key Largo! Anchored just south of Gilberts.
...this mornings lesson...one should not turn on the saltwater wash down pump until one needs to use it, if the hose becomes disconnected from the the deck faucet, it will fill the boat with water very quickly and with the engine running you'd never hear it. Thank god I installed $10 water alarms from Home Depot..dodged a bullet again....another lesson learned.

We are living (and learning!) vicariously through your posts
Please keep them coming...

J&L

Timjet, here we are motoring into Cowpens anchorage. We decided to spend a couple days at what apparently used to be Founders Park and is now Plantations Yacht Harbor Marina on the southern edge of the Anchorage. Marker 88 is a restaurant that the folks here say is very good so we will be going there soon. Thanks again for the heads up! We are in for a few repairs before heading south. The water getting here has been really skinny on occasion, so we've been trying to travel on the higher tide times..still managed to plow a furrow now and again...

MYMT said:

I'm thinking that a trip through Fort Lauderdale and Miami may not have been the best idea for an initial shake down cruise. However we are learning a lot!

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That is indeed a learning experience! The seasoned ones go outside down to Government Cut at Miami, duck inside, and then quickly get into Hawks Channel to go down to the Keys. But everyone should experience the ICW through Lauderdale once, just to know what Hell is really going to be like.

jwnall said:

But everyone should experience the ICW through Lauderdale once, just to know what Hell is really going to be like.

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Wifey B: Paradise... We normally go outside but it's nice to take a leisurely cruise inside occasionally just to see what is going on.