I only have a 2G connection tonight and it is taking forever to load pictures and publish. Sorry, but I am pretty beat, so I will update the blog tomorrow.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Close but no Cigar
Well, we almost made it...
We came up a little short today. We left Apalachicola this morning at 7:00am under freezing conditions. It could not have been 50F degrees when we pulled off the dock this morning. It was a far cry from the 90F degrees in Clearwater a day earlier.
Anyway, the first thing we noticed about 15 minutes into the trip was that the starboard engine was not turning up the proper RPM's. I thought it was one of the fuel filters getting clogged until I noticed some more than normal black smoke coming out of the exhaust. A quick trip to the engine room uncovered the issue. The turbo hose on the starboard engine was cracked. As a result, boost pressure was down and we were running too rich which was causing the black exhaust smoke. There wasn't much we could do at that point so we continued on at a reduced speed. We just had to reduce rpm to match the pressure with the proper fuel mixture until the exhaust cleared up. Not a big deal as we were able to manage the problem.
But then the real problem occurred about 30 minutes later. The entire trip the starboard throttle cable was very stiff. When I mean stiff, I mean like we needed both hands to pull back the throttle. It wasn't that big an issue the first three days as we were running off shore. So once we throttled up, we didn't touch the throttle again until we came into the marina. Well today the weather was bad off-shore so we ran the ICW. There was boat traffic and some no wake zones. Well after a few times up and down on the very stiff throttle, the cable finally broke. We ran slow while I was down in the engine room trying to jerry-rig a fix, but I couldn't get it to work. So we just had to limped into Panama City, about 40 miles away, where we will need a mechanic to fix both the turbo and the throttle cable. Since the boat is all safe and sound we will fly home tomorrow.
That is how it goes sometimes. The boat is only about 100 miles from its new home. We talked with the owner and determined there was really no need for us to stick around. We couldn't get anyone out to the boat this weekend, so it will be Monday before anyone is on the boat for the repair. The owner will come down to the boat on Wednesday and finish the last few miles.
Thanks to all who followed along. This was definitely one of the more interesting if not challenging trips. We have the Meridian Rendezvous this coming weekend, April 27th, but I will be flying to Long Island on Sunday the 28th for another trip on a 44' Sea Ray to the Washington, DC area. So stay tuned...
We came up a little short today. We left Apalachicola this morning at 7:00am under freezing conditions. It could not have been 50F degrees when we pulled off the dock this morning. It was a far cry from the 90F degrees in Clearwater a day earlier.
Anyway, the first thing we noticed about 15 minutes into the trip was that the starboard engine was not turning up the proper RPM's. I thought it was one of the fuel filters getting clogged until I noticed some more than normal black smoke coming out of the exhaust. A quick trip to the engine room uncovered the issue. The turbo hose on the starboard engine was cracked. As a result, boost pressure was down and we were running too rich which was causing the black exhaust smoke. There wasn't much we could do at that point so we continued on at a reduced speed. We just had to reduce rpm to match the pressure with the proper fuel mixture until the exhaust cleared up. Not a big deal as we were able to manage the problem.
But then the real problem occurred about 30 minutes later. The entire trip the starboard throttle cable was very stiff. When I mean stiff, I mean like we needed both hands to pull back the throttle. It wasn't that big an issue the first three days as we were running off shore. So once we throttled up, we didn't touch the throttle again until we came into the marina. Well today the weather was bad off-shore so we ran the ICW. There was boat traffic and some no wake zones. Well after a few times up and down on the very stiff throttle, the cable finally broke. We ran slow while I was down in the engine room trying to jerry-rig a fix, but I couldn't get it to work. So we just had to limped into Panama City, about 40 miles away, where we will need a mechanic to fix both the turbo and the throttle cable. Since the boat is all safe and sound we will fly home tomorrow.
That is how it goes sometimes. The boat is only about 100 miles from its new home. We talked with the owner and determined there was really no need for us to stick around. We couldn't get anyone out to the boat this weekend, so it will be Monday before anyone is on the boat for the repair. The owner will come down to the boat on Wednesday and finish the last few miles.
Thanks to all who followed along. This was definitely one of the more interesting if not challenging trips. We have the Meridian Rendezvous this coming weekend, April 27th, but I will be flying to Long Island on Sunday the 28th for another trip on a 44' Sea Ray to the Washington, DC area. So stay tuned...
Friday, April 19, 2013
It's Just Another Tequila Sunrise
I don't care how many times you see the sunrise or the sunset, it never gets old.
Another beautiful morning, however we were a little apprehensive about pushing off the dock this morning. Around 2:00am we could hear the wind pick up and the waves were hitting the bow of the boat in the marina. Forecast was wind out of the south at 15kts gusting to 25kts and waves 2 to 3 feet early increasing to 3 to 4 feet by the afternoon. We thought we might be in for a rough day as usually it is worse than expected.
Well as it turns out the weatherman hit this forecast right on the nose. The first 4 hours of the crossing were great. The waves were pretty much behind us and we were making great time. What Jubilee lacks in modern convenience, she more than makes up for in her sea-keeping ability. I would have to say that this is one of the best hulls I have run. The boat really performed beautifully in these sea conditions.
The trip across from Clearwater to Apalachicola is 170 miles inlet to inlet. At about the have way point we started to see some bigger waves. Solid 3 to 4 footers with an occasional 5 footer thrown in. The boat took the waves really well and we had a most enjoyable crossing.
We covered 183 miles today in 7 hours and 30 minutes. Without autopilot and having to hand steer the entire trip today, we are pretty worn out from the crossing. We are all fueled and tied up at Scipio Creek Marina in Apalachicola. We were lucky and got in just before a huge band of thunderstorms and rain moved through the area. We would have continued on the ICW had we not had the rain and severe weather forecast. We were following the weather on NOAA very closely as we were crossing the Gulf today. We plan on having some steamed oysters tonight at Papa Joe's. Tomorrow on to Orange Beach to get Jubilee handed off to her new owner and settled into her new home.
Another beautiful morning, however we were a little apprehensive about pushing off the dock this morning. Around 2:00am we could hear the wind pick up and the waves were hitting the bow of the boat in the marina. Forecast was wind out of the south at 15kts gusting to 25kts and waves 2 to 3 feet early increasing to 3 to 4 feet by the afternoon. We thought we might be in for a rough day as usually it is worse than expected.
Well as it turns out the weatherman hit this forecast right on the nose. The first 4 hours of the crossing were great. The waves were pretty much behind us and we were making great time. What Jubilee lacks in modern convenience, she more than makes up for in her sea-keeping ability. I would have to say that this is one of the best hulls I have run. The boat really performed beautifully in these sea conditions.
The trip across from Clearwater to Apalachicola is 170 miles inlet to inlet. At about the have way point we started to see some bigger waves. Solid 3 to 4 footers with an occasional 5 footer thrown in. The boat took the waves really well and we had a most enjoyable crossing.
We covered 183 miles today in 7 hours and 30 minutes. Without autopilot and having to hand steer the entire trip today, we are pretty worn out from the crossing. We are all fueled and tied up at Scipio Creek Marina in Apalachicola. We were lucky and got in just before a huge band of thunderstorms and rain moved through the area. We would have continued on the ICW had we not had the rain and severe weather forecast. We were following the weather on NOAA very closely as we were crossing the Gulf today. We plan on having some steamed oysters tonight at Papa Joe's. Tomorrow on to Orange Beach to get Jubilee handed off to her new owner and settled into her new home.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Welcome to Clearwater
What a beautiful start to my day! This is why I love this job.
Departed Marco Island to a most gorgeous sunrise. Seas 1 foot with wind out of the southeast. We had a great ride up to Clearwater today. Saw some dolphins and a few other boats.
Arrived in Clearwater around 1:45pm after 165 miles. Fueled up and got ourselves tied up in the slip by 2:30pm. After a quick washing down, we decided to do some more maintenance. The boat has no electronics of any kind to speak of, including a working VHF radio. Due to the distance and nature of the Gulf crossing tomorrow, we will be about 80 miles from the nearest land. My handheld VHF radio will not be sufficient to transmit that kind of distance, so we went ahead and installed a new VHF radio for the owner today. As you can see from the pictures below, the radio is nothing fancy, but it works perfectly and we will sleep much better knowing if we need help, someone will be able to hear us.
We are hoping for good weather tomorrow for the crossing. Jubilee continues to run very well for us!
Departed Marco Island to a most gorgeous sunrise. Seas 1 foot with wind out of the southeast. We had a great ride up to Clearwater today. Saw some dolphins and a few other boats.
Arrived in Clearwater around 1:45pm after 165 miles. Fueled up and got ourselves tied up in the slip by 2:30pm. After a quick washing down, we decided to do some more maintenance. The boat has no electronics of any kind to speak of, including a working VHF radio. Due to the distance and nature of the Gulf crossing tomorrow, we will be about 80 miles from the nearest land. My handheld VHF radio will not be sufficient to transmit that kind of distance, so we went ahead and installed a new VHF radio for the owner today. As you can see from the pictures below, the radio is nothing fancy, but it works perfectly and we will sleep much better knowing if we need help, someone will be able to hear us.
We are hoping for good weather tomorrow for the crossing. Jubilee continues to run very well for us!
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
On to Marco Island
Today started off like most delivery days; up early and on the water at 6:45am. We needed to stop on our way out to top off the fuel tanks. Fortunately for us there was a marina just before we headed out the inlet.
After a cup of Joe and 270 gallons of diesel fuel later, we were out Bakers Haulover Inlet and heading south on the Atlantic Ocean to Channel 5 down around Islamorada. The seas were a bit bumpy this morning averaging 3 feet and it was rather uncomfortable for the first hour. Then things settled right down for us and we had a beautiful ride on past Key Largo and Islamorada.
By about noon the seas were flat. We rode up the west coast to Marco Island and got in around 4:30. The boat really ran great and our hard work last night really paid off for us today. We were able to top her off with fuel and expect a good ride up to Clearwater tomorrow as the wind is supposed to be out of the east at 9kts gusting to 20kts.
We covered 202 miles in a little over 9 hours. The old girl did us proud today.
After a cup of Joe and 270 gallons of diesel fuel later, we were out Bakers Haulover Inlet and heading south on the Atlantic Ocean to Channel 5 down around Islamorada. The seas were a bit bumpy this morning averaging 3 feet and it was rather uncomfortable for the first hour. Then things settled right down for us and we had a beautiful ride on past Key Largo and Islamorada.
My first mate, Mark Groper, at the helm of Jubilee
By about noon the seas were flat. We rode up the west coast to Marco Island and got in around 4:30. The boat really ran great and our hard work last night really paid off for us today. We were able to top her off with fuel and expect a good ride up to Clearwater tomorrow as the wind is supposed to be out of the east at 9kts gusting to 20kts.
We covered 202 miles in a little over 9 hours. The old girl did us proud today.
Jubilee - Tough Start
Jubilee is a 1985 Ocean Yacht Super Sport Convertible with twin Detroit Diesel 671's. A good boat that I am sure has raised a lot of fish in her day. However, she is ready to leave the east coast of Florida and travel to her new owners in Orange Beach, AL.
We got down to the boat around 2:30 pm and immediately got to work. Jubilee has not had the best of care in the past. While doing our engine room inspection, we noted that the Racors were in need of some help. So they were completely taken apart, cleaned and reassembled. It kept us in the engine room until midnight, but we knew we would have no chance of a successful voyage without getting and keeping the fuel clean.
So it was a tough start to our trip. But we hope she is ready to purr like a kitten tomorrow.
We got down to the boat around 2:30 pm and immediately got to work. Jubilee has not had the best of care in the past. While doing our engine room inspection, we noted that the Racors were in need of some help. So they were completely taken apart, cleaned and reassembled. It kept us in the engine room until midnight, but we knew we would have no chance of a successful voyage without getting and keeping the fuel clean.
A bunch of "gunk" in the bowl of the Racor
So it was a tough start to our trip. But we hope she is ready to purr like a kitten tomorrow.
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