Leatherneck
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2019
- Messages
- 213
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Devil Dog
- Vessel Make
- 1987 Jefferson 42 Sundeck
I thought I would recount my voyage from Daytona Beach to Southern Maryland on my new to me Jefferson 42 Sundeck. Had a few lessons learned along the way that might prove useful to others. David M from this forum went with me to show me the ropes and help me get familiar with Devil Dog. I can't say enough about his gracious help on this journey.
DAY 1. Departed Daytona Beach 5/15 with the intention of traveling to Fernandina Beach, then going offshore to Southport NC. Well TS Arthur nixed that plan so anchored overnight at Fernandina Beach after a long 14.5 hour day. No issues.
DAY 2. Continued up the ICW in the morning. Had some excitement crossing the Sapelo River. Seas about 2-2/2 feet. A wave struck us rather hard and my Yeti coffee cup fell spilling coffee. Oh No! Autopilot stopped working correctly about the same time seeming to be about 90 degrees off course. Course over ground on chart plotter was correct. Thought maybe the autopilot compass had gotten knocked loose. Search all over Devil Dog for it. Finally found it on the flybridge under the forward fiberglass panel. It looked fine. Then noticed I had wedged my metal thermos coffee cup between the cushion and that same panel. Moved the cup and all was well in the world once again! The second night we anchored just north of Hell's Gate after another long 13 hour day. Once again, no issues, Devil Dog ran well.
DAY 3. No issues. Decided to stop at Safe Harbor Marina in Beaufort SC the third night to refuel and take a break. Took on 200 gal at $2.25/gal. Found a nice Italian restaurant with outside tables spaced about 10 ft apart and had a good dinner. Marina staff were great.
DAY 4. Things got interesting (in a bad way). Left Safe Harbor around 0700 heading north. Got about a 1/4 mile past the bridge and heard a loud thunk under the boat. Thought I hit a crab pot although I hadn't seen one. Rudder was very stiff. Turned around and pulled up to the fuel dock at Safe Harbor marina. On approach realized there was no propulsion from the port side propeller although engine was running. Docked OK on one engine. Went down below and found that the port driveshaft coupler that connects the driveshaft to the transmission had sheared bolts and the drive shaft had slid aft until the propeller rested against the rudder. Dockmaster recommended a really good local mechanic and repair only took three hours. He used a come-along to pull the driveshaft back in and then six new bolts, all done from inside the engine compartment. I did plenty of pre-voyage checks but never thought to check the coupler bolts. He also found that the starboard coupler bolts were loose and tightened them. While we were waiting for the mechanic a woman was spotted a couple of hundred yards out from the dock being pulled along by a pretty stiff current. She was floundering. A boat went out and she refused their help although in obvious distress. Local police showed up and managed to get her into a boat with her fighting the whole way. They handcuffed her and brought her to the dock right in front of Devil Dog. She tried to jump back into the water but they were able to get her on the dock and took her away. The captain of a ship near the bridge said she was homeless and must have jumped off the bridge by the way she was drifting. Decided to spend another night in Beaufort.
DAY 5. Next morning the voyage was fine. No vibration detected from the port drive train. Anchored just off of the South Santee river a little south of Georgetown after a 13 hour cruise.
DAY 6. Traveled to just south of Southport and anchored in Dutchman Creek just off the ICW. Nice anchorage. Had a couple of strong thunder storms come through. Generator decided it wanted to overheat so no generator. My fault, I checked the engine impellers but skipped the generator before starting the voyage, Not a show stopper but at least as we traveled north the weather was getting cooler. No need for air conditioning.
DAY 7. Traveled 9 hours to Mile Hammock Bay, Camp LeJeune NC to anchor overnight. Devil Dog felt at home there since I served 25 years in the Corps.
Storms were coming and there were about 12 other vessels there. Anchor wouldn't set at first so moved to a different spot and it held fine there.
DAY 8. Next morning headed for Oriental NC with a fuel stop enroute at Morehead Gulf Docks, Morehead City. Took on 195 gal at $1.66/gal plus tax (nice!). Arrived at Oriental NC after 8 hours and stayed overnight at the Oriental Marina. I really liked Oriental, friendly people. Ate a very tender and delicious prime rib dinner at M&Ms restaurant, sitting outside at socially distanced tables. They took your temperature when you went in.
DAY 9. We started out planning to get to the north end of the Alligator River Pungo Canal and anchor there but looking at the weather it appeared that the next day would be pretty windy and the Albermarle Sound crossing might be a bit rough. We decided to push on and cross the Albermarle in the afternoon while the winds were more favorable and stay at the Elizabeth City City dock and take the Dismal Swamp route the next day. Good move as the crossing was fairly smooth. Arrived at Elizabeth city dock just before dark. Lots of mosquitoes so buttoned up tight.
DAY 10. Traveled to Salt Ponds Marina, Hampton VA. Trip through the Dismal Swamp was fine. Hit seven submerged logs but they were gentle hits just on the bow. A very nice lady came over to us while tied up waiting for the northern lock to open and gave us some strawberries she had just picked. That was a nice surprise. Stopped at Top Rack to fuel up at their wonderful price of $1.38/gal! Took on 128 gal. Plans went south when we left the fuel dock and approached the Norfolk and Southern railway bridge. It was down and red light flashing. I burned ovals for 45 minutes until the train showed up and took at least another 15-20 minutes to pass. I can walk faster than it was going. Now it looked like we would arrive at Salt Ponds just before dark. Here comes Murphy again. We could only make about 8.5 mph due to sea and weather conditions rather than the 9.5 - 10 we had planned. Arrived at the entrance to the marina using a spotlight to locate the markers. Found our slip and docked OK. The marina was closed but some nice boaters helped us with lines.
DAY 11. Final day! Made a nice run up the Chesapeake and into the Potomac River. Arrived at Tall Timbers marina at 1645. Devil Dog arrived at her new home port!
DAY 1. Departed Daytona Beach 5/15 with the intention of traveling to Fernandina Beach, then going offshore to Southport NC. Well TS Arthur nixed that plan so anchored overnight at Fernandina Beach after a long 14.5 hour day. No issues.
DAY 2. Continued up the ICW in the morning. Had some excitement crossing the Sapelo River. Seas about 2-2/2 feet. A wave struck us rather hard and my Yeti coffee cup fell spilling coffee. Oh No! Autopilot stopped working correctly about the same time seeming to be about 90 degrees off course. Course over ground on chart plotter was correct. Thought maybe the autopilot compass had gotten knocked loose. Search all over Devil Dog for it. Finally found it on the flybridge under the forward fiberglass panel. It looked fine. Then noticed I had wedged my metal thermos coffee cup between the cushion and that same panel. Moved the cup and all was well in the world once again! The second night we anchored just north of Hell's Gate after another long 13 hour day. Once again, no issues, Devil Dog ran well.
DAY 3. No issues. Decided to stop at Safe Harbor Marina in Beaufort SC the third night to refuel and take a break. Took on 200 gal at $2.25/gal. Found a nice Italian restaurant with outside tables spaced about 10 ft apart and had a good dinner. Marina staff were great.
DAY 4. Things got interesting (in a bad way). Left Safe Harbor around 0700 heading north. Got about a 1/4 mile past the bridge and heard a loud thunk under the boat. Thought I hit a crab pot although I hadn't seen one. Rudder was very stiff. Turned around and pulled up to the fuel dock at Safe Harbor marina. On approach realized there was no propulsion from the port side propeller although engine was running. Docked OK on one engine. Went down below and found that the port driveshaft coupler that connects the driveshaft to the transmission had sheared bolts and the drive shaft had slid aft until the propeller rested against the rudder. Dockmaster recommended a really good local mechanic and repair only took three hours. He used a come-along to pull the driveshaft back in and then six new bolts, all done from inside the engine compartment. I did plenty of pre-voyage checks but never thought to check the coupler bolts. He also found that the starboard coupler bolts were loose and tightened them. While we were waiting for the mechanic a woman was spotted a couple of hundred yards out from the dock being pulled along by a pretty stiff current. She was floundering. A boat went out and she refused their help although in obvious distress. Local police showed up and managed to get her into a boat with her fighting the whole way. They handcuffed her and brought her to the dock right in front of Devil Dog. She tried to jump back into the water but they were able to get her on the dock and took her away. The captain of a ship near the bridge said she was homeless and must have jumped off the bridge by the way she was drifting. Decided to spend another night in Beaufort.
DAY 5. Next morning the voyage was fine. No vibration detected from the port drive train. Anchored just off of the South Santee river a little south of Georgetown after a 13 hour cruise.
DAY 6. Traveled to just south of Southport and anchored in Dutchman Creek just off the ICW. Nice anchorage. Had a couple of strong thunder storms come through. Generator decided it wanted to overheat so no generator. My fault, I checked the engine impellers but skipped the generator before starting the voyage, Not a show stopper but at least as we traveled north the weather was getting cooler. No need for air conditioning.
DAY 7. Traveled 9 hours to Mile Hammock Bay, Camp LeJeune NC to anchor overnight. Devil Dog felt at home there since I served 25 years in the Corps.
Storms were coming and there were about 12 other vessels there. Anchor wouldn't set at first so moved to a different spot and it held fine there.
DAY 8. Next morning headed for Oriental NC with a fuel stop enroute at Morehead Gulf Docks, Morehead City. Took on 195 gal at $1.66/gal plus tax (nice!). Arrived at Oriental NC after 8 hours and stayed overnight at the Oriental Marina. I really liked Oriental, friendly people. Ate a very tender and delicious prime rib dinner at M&Ms restaurant, sitting outside at socially distanced tables. They took your temperature when you went in.
DAY 9. We started out planning to get to the north end of the Alligator River Pungo Canal and anchor there but looking at the weather it appeared that the next day would be pretty windy and the Albermarle Sound crossing might be a bit rough. We decided to push on and cross the Albermarle in the afternoon while the winds were more favorable and stay at the Elizabeth City City dock and take the Dismal Swamp route the next day. Good move as the crossing was fairly smooth. Arrived at Elizabeth city dock just before dark. Lots of mosquitoes so buttoned up tight.
DAY 10. Traveled to Salt Ponds Marina, Hampton VA. Trip through the Dismal Swamp was fine. Hit seven submerged logs but they were gentle hits just on the bow. A very nice lady came over to us while tied up waiting for the northern lock to open and gave us some strawberries she had just picked. That was a nice surprise. Stopped at Top Rack to fuel up at their wonderful price of $1.38/gal! Took on 128 gal. Plans went south when we left the fuel dock and approached the Norfolk and Southern railway bridge. It was down and red light flashing. I burned ovals for 45 minutes until the train showed up and took at least another 15-20 minutes to pass. I can walk faster than it was going. Now it looked like we would arrive at Salt Ponds just before dark. Here comes Murphy again. We could only make about 8.5 mph due to sea and weather conditions rather than the 9.5 - 10 we had planned. Arrived at the entrance to the marina using a spotlight to locate the markers. Found our slip and docked OK. The marina was closed but some nice boaters helped us with lines.
DAY 11. Final day! Made a nice run up the Chesapeake and into the Potomac River. Arrived at Tall Timbers marina at 1645. Devil Dog arrived at her new home port!