Finally Heading South

[O C Diver]

Heading across lake Okeechobee today. Will be going through the Port Mayaca and the Moore Haven locks and spending the night on a frlends dock just before the Ortona lock.

Sunrise at the Port Mayaca canal, 2 miles East of the lock.



A pass through. Water level in lake Okeechobee is high now, so the lock is open to move water out of the lake. This results in a 1.5 knot current in the waterway and through the lock. You just motor slowly through the lock.



Wind hasn't come up yet, so the lake looks flat. A few miles off shore, gentle <1' swells on my starboard stern quarter rock the boat. These are left over from yesterday's 20+ knot winds. The crossing is about 25 miles. Wind is supposed to pick up by 10 am. Hope I'm off the lake by then. The lake is so large that now I can only see 1/3 of the shoreline.



Ted

 

[No Mast]

OC, I'm sure it's in the thread and I missed it, but where's your destination?

 

[O C Diver]

OC, I'm sure it's in the thread and I missed it, but where's your destination?

Fort Myers, Fl is my winter home.

Ted

 

[BandB]

We resisted Lake Okeechobee for a long time. A friend kept telling us we should take it sometime but we found no attraction to the idea. We gave in. We even stopped and went fishing with a guide from Roland Martin's. We loved it. It was beautiful and calm like you're seeing it today. Now, we often do the FL loop with Lake Okeechobee in one direction and Key West in the other and then whatever side trips in the gulf.

We also love Fort Myers. Seems like an excellent place to live and great retirement city.

 

[O C Diver]

Coming off the lake you arrive at the Clewiston lock. You don't go through this one. Turn to starboard and travel North up the west side of the lake.



This is the rim canal.



No pics of the Moore Haven lock. It was a little busy with another boat on my a$$.

Ted

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Awesome! Thanks for the pics and narrative......

 

[BandB]

We've docked in Moore Haven, but the real joy is reaching the Ft. Myers Dock.

 

[O C Diver]

Sunrise near the Ortona lock.



The canal is wider and a more uniform depth below Ortona.



Farm land with cows grazing or crops in the field is common.



The Franklin lock to the left; spillway is in the center; Army Corp of Engineers campground is to the right.



Coming up to the lock.



Below the lock is a cove that cuts back behind the campground. It's very protected from wind, current, and wakes. There is an anchorage above the lock as well with boat slips ($30 per night).





Anchored up for the night, I'm playing with my new Lehr propane outboard. Seems odd to see a propane tank hooked to an outboard. Went from 15 HP to 9.9 HP. Works great with me, hoping it will get on top with 2 people. We shall see.



Ted

 

[stubones99]

I see you went with the big tank option. I guess at 9.9 on plane, you'd have to stop too often to change small LPG bottles. I like the idea of being able to take a small LPG bottle and refill it from the BBQ grill tank with an adaptor. I think I would have a small bottle or two aboard just in case the big tank runs out.

 

[O C Diver]

I see you went with the big tank option. I guess at 9.9 on plane, you'd have to stop too often to change small LPG bottles. I like the idea of being able to take a small LPG bottle and refill it from the BBQ grill tank with an adaptor. I think I would have a small bottle or two aboard just in case the big tank runs out.

Weighing out options. The tank pictured has a draw tube which pulls liquid propane from the bottom. The engine will run on vapor propane, but you're not going to get all the HP which may mean the boat doesn't get up on plane. Will have to do some more testing. Going to try a vapor tank (no draw tube) and see what that does.

Ted

 

[stubones99]

Flip the tank over and try it again?

I would have assumed that the 'carb' would have let the liquid to evaporate into a vapor as it is sucked into the engine but that's just an assumption.

 

[O C Diver]

That might work for the test.

Think the supply hose is going to be the limiting factor for vapor. A lot more BTUs are going to flow through that hose as liquid compared to vapor.

Ted

 

[stubones99]

Since you can't burn it in liquid form, you have to vaporize it, which it will do when you lower the pressure. I wouldn't want to be around if a load of LPG hits an open flame.

There is the same BTU's regardless of it's form, but you can't burn it unless it is in vapor / gaseous form.

 

[O C Diver]

I understand that, but there's a reason they are using a liquid draw tube.

Ted

 

[stubones99]

The liquid draw tube is to get liquid out to the regulator under pressure where it vaporizes into gas, mixes with air and fed to the engine. If it sipped from the top of the tank, there would still be liquid below on a cold day, when the pressure drops. You would be paddling.

 

[BandB]

Cryogenics.

The propane you'll eventually use in gaseous form actually weighs less and requires less space in liquid form as well.

 

[O C Diver]

Should be the last day of my trip.

Last night's sunset from the Franklin Lock anchorage.



This morning's sunrise.



Heading out in mostly cloudy skies but glassy water conditions.



Ted

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Way to go Ted! I guess you are off of suspension for providing such great pics!!!


OK we would like to know your numbers now. Miles, fuel used, fuel per hour etc.....And of course a picture of winter camp......

 

[Ski in NC]

If the outboard does not like liquid propane, you will find out soon enough by the fuel system under the hood or other fuel lines freezing up. If it does that, just wait a while for it to thaw. It will be obvious by ice forming. If you do a vapor draw on the tank, the freeze problem moves to the tank and you will see ice forming there.

The liquid must go to vapor form somewhere. Where ever that occurs, heat must be added to keep the boiling going. If not enough heat is added, you get frost. If the liquid can't get the heat it needs to boil, the pressure drops and engine will starve for fuel.

 

[O C Diver]

Coming into Fort Myers on the Caloosahatchee river.



End of the trip. Slow Hand will spend the next 6 weeks (when not out cruising) here at Salty Sam's Marina. Start heading North April 1st.



Ok, now for the numbers:

Trip was 24 days with 18 under way.
Traveled 1,145 nautical miles
Put 175 hours on the engine and 50 on the generator (couple of cold night were half the time ).
Used 335 gallons of fuel.
Worked out to 3.4 mpg including the generator.
Worked out to 3.7 mpg factoring out the generator.

Numbers are based on a 7 knot cruise speed on flat water. Very happy with those numbers!

Ted

 

[rochepoint]

Ted
Thanks it has been very enjoyable tagging along!

 

[rwidman]

Congratulations on getting where you planned to go. It sounds like an enjoyable trip.

 

[psneeld]

If you leave around Apr 1, and even remotely match your southward speed, you should pass us in Wrightsville Beach area around the 10th of Apr +/- 5 days.


Maybe we could meet up with Ski there if we can pry him away from housebuilding for a beer.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. OC. Thanks so much for the travelogue and pictures. Job well done!

 

[Marlinmike]

Glad to hear everything worked out just as planned, you certainly put alot of time/effort and money into that fine vessel, always great when a plan comes together and meets/exceeds your goals, congratulations!

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Great posting Ted. Thank you for taking the time and providing information for those who may travel this route.

 

[Wayfarer]

As others have said, thanks for taking us along!

 

[Ski in NC]

If you leave around Apr 1, and even remotely match your southward speed, you should pass us in Wrightsville Beach area around the 10th of Apr +/- 5 days.


Maybe we could meet up with Ski there if we can pry him away from housebuilding for a beer.

Ha!! At this rate I might have three more boards nailed up by April.

J/k. Been a challenge trying to keep good workflow, but expected some of that. Mostly ok as there is a lot of building going on and crews are in demand.

Ted- How's the new burn rate compare to the old 450C? That's the engine I run on my little 38, and at 950rpm/7.5kt it burns about 1.9. I figure at least half a gph is just to spin that beast, and your new engine is probably close to its sweet spot. Curious how much change you got at the same speed.

 

[O C Diver]

Ted
Thanks it has been very enjoyable tagging along!

Glad you enjoyed the trip, thanks coming along, were the meals ok?

Congratulations on getting where you planned to go. It sounds like an enjoyable trip.

Thanks, yes I enjoyed it very much.

If you leave around Apr 1, and even remotely match your southward speed, you should pass us in Wrightsville Beach area around the 10th of Apr +/- 5 days.


Maybe we could meet up with Ski there if we can pry him away from housebuilding for a beer.

Will be leaving on or around the 1st, but hoping to take a month to get to MD. Who knows, maybe a reunion of the Dismal Swamp Canal fan club.

Greetings,
Mr. OC. Thanks so much for the travelogue and pictures. Job well done!

Thanks RT, sorry we missed you in Fort Pierce, maybe next year.

Glad to hear everything worked out just as planned, you certainly put alot of time/effort and money into that fine vessel, always great when a plan comes together and meets/exceeds your goals, congratulations!

Yes, very happy with the results. Now if I can just keep the pelicans off the boat.

Great posting Ted. Thank you for taking the time and providing information for those who may travel this route.

Hopefully this will inspire some to give it a try.

As others have said, thanks for taking us along!

Hope your trip was a pleasant one. Bunk in the stateroom ok?

Ha!! At this rate I might have three more boards nailed up by April.

J/k. Been a challenge trying to keep good workflow, but expected some of that. Mostly ok as there is a lot of building going on and crews are in demand.

Ted- How's the new burn rate compare to the old 450C? That's the engine I run on my little 38, and at 950rpm/7.5kt it burns about 1.9. I figure at least half a gph is just to spin that beast, and your new engine is probably close to its sweet spot. Curious how much change you got at the same speed.

As near as I could tell, the Cummins was just under 2 mpg at 7.0 to 7.2 knots at 1200 rpm. The Deere is giving me around 3.5 mpg at 7.0 knots at 1400 rpm. The electronic display has a real time fuel consumption gauge. Once the house bank is recharged, I'm pretty consistently burning 1.9 gph. Boat now tips the scales at 40,000 lbs. The second alternator with the 3 stage regulator puts out 250 amps. This bumps the fuel burn up to 2.5 gph for the first hour or so, and then declines as the alternator output drops off. The fuel consumption gauge seems to be pretty accurate. Will be interesting to see if there is any additional improvement in fuel consumption at 1,000 hours.

Ted

 

[fryedaze]

I had the privilege to see Slow Hand come by us the other day. She is a sight to see. The next day Ted gave me a tour. The quality and craftsmanship of the refit was first class. It now a one of a kind Trawler. The pictures on TF do not do paint justice for the Light blue color. Thanks for taking us along Ted.