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Byrdman



Joined: 06 Nov 2003
Posts: 3320
City/Region: Cumberland River, Clarksville,
State or Province: WA
Vessel Name: " ? " After Rename Ceremony
Photos: FreeByrd and C-Byrd
PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2021 10:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cruise on my friend!!! You can dooooooo it!
_________________
Patrick Byrd "Byrdman"
Cumberland River TN home waters Puget Sound Summers.
Miss B - CD22A, Aug 2018
C-Byrd, CD18A, Hull #14 sold again.. May 2020
C-Byrd, CD18A, Hu #14 - Bought her again - May16
Aloysius, Sold to Brother Mike Mar16
Aloysius, Hull # 440 RF-246
C-Byrd, CD18A, Hull #14 Sold May09
TC24, Hull #51, Sold Feb06
CD16A, Sold Dec03
Never Deny Yourself The Pleasure of Helping Others.
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gulfcoast john



Joined: 14 Dec 2012
Posts: 989
City/Region: PENSACOLA
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2010
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: Cat O' Mine
Photos: CAT O' MINE
PostPosted: Fri Feb 26, 2021 9:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Many wise crews have said that “nothing is more dangerous on a boat than a schedule!”

We have found that to be true.

Wow, how a week can change weather!













Eileen tore up our schedule for this trip, then cut the pieces with scissors and a utility knife into tiny shards since we don’t have a shredder on the boat (most likely the ONLY boat here at Pink Shell marina without a shredder, a wine rack and a hot tub).

A few days later, we put those remnants in an old coffee can, filled it with gas and lit it.

The next week we took the 410 trolley and 490 trolley to catch the 430 bus to Home Depot to buy a galvanized 33 gal trash can, a “Hazardous Waste” label tape and a 80 lb bag of instant cement, and a gallon of Muriatic Acid, put all that in the can and secured it to the bike racks in the front of the trolleys and buses for the rides back.

We debated the Next Step for a week and then we added the Muriatic Acid and stirred it around with an old stainless steel ladle, which pretty much dissolved. We dumped all that in the 33g can and stirred in the instant cement. After that cured a few days later we slapped on the HAZMAT label, cast off all our lines and shorepower, and headed 100 miles out into the Gulf to heave it overboard.

If some shrimp boat nets it, we figure they most likely won’t keep it or open it.

It took us 28 days to get rid of that schedule, but it’s a goner.

Pink Shell Resort and marina is now our #1 winter marina pick!

$3.75 a foot with no minimum LOA is a bargain in season. Even more so since all resort amenities are included...daily pool/beach towel exchange, three heated pools (adult, kiddy and mixed), beach lounge chairs and umbrellas, super clean air conditioned marina bath house, free laundry, free bike, kayak and SUP with reservations, and (most important) an uncrowded hard sand beautiful beach for our daily 6 mile beach walk. Ice is only $2.50 ($2.00 at the Publx 3.2 miles away on slow trolley).

A free tram runs most of the length of Estero Island, and an air conditioned trolley the rest with a $0.35 fee for Geezers (Medicare cards suffice).

Cons: slips are exposed to wakes, supposed to be NO wake, IDLE speed but no one does except commercial trawlers. It all settles down after dark, and we’re not on the boat during the day.

Marco Island marina has one heated pool, but it’s $4.00 a foot with a 40 ft min!

We called eleven marinas at Naples, NONE had a one night transient slip.

Faro Blanco in Marathon was full (we rented a house with 22 ft Whaler there last month and are VERY familiar with that area).

So we ditched the Schedule and decided to stay here until March 3, then head back up to Punta Gorda, load up and March 5 head towards Ed Stone. Hope to see ya there!

When your crew decides to deep six a schedule, we hope it’s not such a complex operation as it is for us.

Happy winter cruising!

John and Eileen

_________________
John and Eileen Highsmith
2010 Tom Cat 255, Cat O' Mine
Yamaha F150, LXF150
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hardee



Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 12632
City/Region: Sequim
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2005
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Sleepy-C
Photos: SleepyC
PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 3:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

John, Nice job. Too bad you had that schedule printed on paper. Just think how easy it would have been if it had just been on your phone. All you would have needed was one cement block and a role of baling wire, or duct tape Rolling Eyes I guess might have worked.

Sounds like you had fun doing it though and since you are on a boat, that is what counts.

Sometimes we just need to come up for air, enjoy some new found freedoms, and vent a little.

Nice job John.

PS: Is that a blue Marlin in that pool shot?
PPS: Why do they put telephone poles out in the water??

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

Hiding out, not on a schedule!

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Though in our sleep we are not conscious of our activity or surroundings, we should not, in our wakefulness, be unconscious of our sleep.
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gulfcoast john



Joined: 14 Dec 2012
Posts: 989
City/Region: PENSACOLA
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2010
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: Cat O' Mine
Photos: CAT O' MINE
PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Full moon rise over Matanzas pass:



More full moon rise:
[img]

This pirate ship under the full moon displays all the USCG required lights for navigation.




And then some!



One of our favorite mods is the galley extension with the 110v outlet previously hogged by the water heater. This allows the coffee pot, toaster, and NuWave skillet to all be used to make breakfast with the air conditioner on, with no wires crossing the center aisle. Or the toaster oven for dinners.



The extension is ½ birch with a gloss stain, supported by the helm seat back when slid fully forward and the throttle levers, with the helm wheel positioned full down. The aft end is attached with 2 removable screws to a 1” board screwed to the existing teak fiddle. Cut carefully so the whole board can be stored under the Nav seat without interfering with the seat cushion snaps. This mod is stolen from the Ranger Tug concept.

We use the no-longer used water heater 110v outlet for these.

We find Publix and other grocers have much better and healthier choices in their ‘ready to bake’ sections as opposed to microwave entree selections. Therefore we choose a medium size Breville toaster oven over a microwave. In hot weather we’ll move the oven into the cockpit, or onto the dock connected to the power pedestal. It can hold a small pizza or baby back ribs.

Every marina has endless hot water showers with LOTS of room.

A perfect size very thin wood fiber cutting board from Epicurianusa.com covers the sink. Another covers the cutout for the removed butane stove (replaced by drop-in clear storage bins). They are flat on one side with a liquid-gathering cutout on the other.

Happy Cruising mods!
Hope you are cruising!
John
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Molly Brown



Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Posts: 404
City/Region: Punta Gorda
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2003
C-Dory Model: 24 Tomcat
Vessel Name: MOLLY BROWN
Photos: Molly Brown
PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That’s a sweet set up John. You and Eilleen know how to live “right”. What caught my eye though was that jar of peanut butter....a permanent fixture in our galley Laughing
Trust your loaded back up and headed this way.....

James

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James, Betty, Luna cat and Moki dog on the TomCat Molly Brown
Starting the Great American Loop 03/2024
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gulfcoast john



Joined: 14 Dec 2012
Posts: 989
City/Region: PENSACOLA
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2010
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: Cat O' Mine
Photos: CAT O' MINE
PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

James,

After 51 days on your boat I sure hope you are tipping your barber.

I don't, and it shows.

Here’s me and mini-me together at Pink Shell marina:





Last night I lightly swiped my face, sending my bifocals over the side, and as Luck would have it, they dived right through the tiny space between the boat and the finger pier and down 10 feet into the pluff mud.

We each have a backup spare specs in the First Aid box (after some debate on where to keep them). I’m having to use them now! You might consider having a Plan For That.

We have found it very helpful to make backup scans on Google Drive of things like prescription glasses rx, Medicare cards, copy of prescription medications, passports, car and truck tag registrations, boat liability insurance, Sea Star engine alignment procedure, etc.

All our passwords are on an Excel sheet (further password protected) in addition to Google’s pretty good security on Google Drive.

The forecast for Mar 3 was for near Small Craft advisories, which is what we came down in through Charlotte Harbor and Gasparilla Sound, so we elected to leave Estero Island a day early and it was a much more enjoyable ride with few whitecaps. Charlotte Harbor is BIG, and can be rough for a C-Dory.

We’re lucky in that we can make 80 miles a day easy at 25 MPH cruise.
We stopped again at Cayo Costa state park for a lunch hook meal, it was fantastic again!



We Cruised back up to Punta Gorda and Laishley Marina in time to do laundry, cook some Spanish rice, garlic and jumbo shrimp in the cockpit on the Nuwave skillet.



All our fresh water has started leaking into the starboard sponson, emptying the tank within hours. The tank is on the port side, so it could not be a leak there.

Since the leak was into the starboard bilge, I looked there first, and the filter cover was leaking where a tab broke off and the O ring squeezed out beyond it’s track. We adjusted the O ring and rotated some old Rescue Tape around the junction and will hope for the best. If it’s a boat, it’s always something. With any luck, a Whale freshwater pump filter cover will run under a Boat Unit.



Current plan (NOT A SCHEDULE!) is to heave the boat onto the trailer Friday and head up to Ed Stone. The ramp sign says NO POWER LOADING so we wish we had a 10,000lb rated winch for this 10,000 lb boat.

Safe travels everyone!

John
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ssobol



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 3362
City/Region: SW Michigan
State or Province: MI
C-Dory Year: 2008
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: SoBELLE
Photos: SoBelle
PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 7:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

gulfcoast john wrote:
... Last night I lightly swiped my face, sending my bifocals over the side, and as Luck would have it, they dived right through the tiny space between the boat and the finger pier and down 10 feet into the pluff mud.

We each have a backup spare specs in the First Aid box (after some debate on where to keep them). I’m having to use them now! You might consider having a Plan For That.

We have found it very helpful to make backup scans on Google Drive of things like prescription glasses rx, ...


We find it very helpful to have a net on an extendable handle to recover stuff that falls off the boat into relatively shallow water. We've fished things out of the mud in marinas that have fallen off the boat. If it's in the mud it can take a few tries to find it though.
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gulfcoast john



Joined: 14 Dec 2012
Posts: 989
City/Region: PENSACOLA
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2010
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: Cat O' Mine
Photos: CAT O' MINE
PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 4:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The freshwater pump filter MacGyver repair seems to be holding so far.

We developed a new nuance to our cruising plans...after every 30 day period on the boat (even at marinas) we’ll reward ourselves with two nights in a nice hotel (in this case the Wyvern, across the street from and overlooking the Laishley boat ramp, with a nice rooftop pool and bar).

We gained back our ‘land legs’, but we had every meal on the boat except a breakfast of jumbo crab and cream cheese omelet at John Ski’s...highly recommended! (So big we shared it).

While towing up the thruway 30 miles from Hontoon, the trailer tire pressure/temp monitor alarm went off. We pulled over and found a huge bulge on one tire with continuing loss of pressure. It’s the first structural failure of a Goodyear Endurance trailer tire we’ve had (we’ve had two nail puncture flats, but the TST system gave us plenty of early warning before any damage). This is right at three years from the date of manufacture.



That put us late to the ramp, where we tried to help jump start another Brat (who’d also had a flat). It was a pitch dark moonless night by the time we headed toward the Hontoon marina. Everything sure looked different at night!

Tomorrow, we search out a Goodyear tire dealer (so MANY adventures!)

This is the first time we used the Phifertex camper back enclosure. It gives a lot off privacy, while still being able to see out, allows some breeze to come through and some insect protection and increases living space. The heavy rain mainly sheeted down. We’re very happy with it.





A great winter month to be on the boat, and we’re glad to be at the Hontoon Hoot!

Cheers!

John
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