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03/07 - 03/09 - 2023 Hontoon Island Gathering
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colbysmith



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 4522
City/Region: Madison
State or Province: WI
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Traveler
Photos: C-Traveler and Midnight-Flyer
PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 7:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The 2023 St. John's River gathering at Hontoon Island State Park is officially underway.


Colby prepping C-Traveler for launch.


C-Traveler in the water. While this area was flooded from Hurricane Ian, the current conditions are quite low. I think they are saying the river is 1' below normal. Many say it's the lowest they've seen it.


Not as many boats this year, however we've still got about a dozen on the docks, and a few new comers without their boats that came to check things out.


Out host Tom from C-Otter leading our meet and greet session.
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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: Wed Mar 08, 2023 5:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We’ll, shoot!! I was really looking forward to the best coffee around. We had a lively discussion about trailering and potential trailering issues yesterday. I trust things will work out for you. If your in the SW Florida area in your travels let me know and I’ll launch and come meet for a visit. Good luck,
James

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



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 4522
City/Region: Madison
State or Province: WI
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Traveler
Photos: C-Traveler and Midnight-Flyer
PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2023 1:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Several folks have asked Rosanne or I about our screen on our cabin door. This is the screen:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074TWKVQB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We (Rosanne) simply cut the length to fit our door, and then hemmed the sides to fit the width. (Since there is already a nice trim material around the edges, worked better to leave that on and then sew the extra material together.) She sewed some velcro around the top and sides, and I used some 4200 or 5200 to glue some small strips of wood along the sides of the door to make a flush mount. Putting velcro up along that and the top of the door to install the screen against. I did mount it high enough above the top of the door, to allow enough screen width where it opens to walk through. The nice thing about the magnetic closing is that we just push it open to walk in, and barring any big breezes, it just closes back up behind us. Colby
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JohnnyD



Joined: 09 Jul 2020
Posts: 23
City/Region: Panama City
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2006
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Gypsy Rose
Photos: Gypsy Rose
PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2023 5:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the pics, Colby!
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Gypsy Rose - 2006 22 Cruiser;
July 2020 thru current
Home port: Panama City FL
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colbysmith



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 4522
City/Region: Madison
State or Province: WI
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Traveler
Photos: C-Traveler and Midnight-Flyer
PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2023 6:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It was around 9:30 by the time everyone was back on the docks, so the first meeting/seminar of the day with Dr. Bob talking about Fiberglass, epoxies, etc, didn't get started until around 10. After that we broke for lunch, and then John and Eileen from Cat-o-Mine talked about boating locations and travel. We also had several visitors interested in the C-Dory and a few more that have a new C-Dory to them, but not with them and just came to see different modifications and learn more about their boat. Several of us gave them tours on our boats and answered any questions. Some more photos I took today.


One of the local alligators patrolling the river Mr. Green


Sunrise over Hontoon


One of the cabins back in the campground. You can see the Hurricane Ian Flood level on the trees. The water was just over the cabin floors. Unfortunately, in the park admin building up front, it was about 3 or 4 feet over the floor. Currently they have all the drywall ripped out, and just the studs left. No contractors currently, but perhaps they are staying away with all the C-Brats this week, or maybe to let everything dry out completely, before installing new drywall.


Just a view of trees back in the campground where you can really see the flood lines.


Water (wild) Bill found the catfish and placed it where he thought appropriate! Mr. Green


Dr. Bob giving a seminar on Fiberglass repair and epoxies.


John and Eileen from Cat-o-Mine giving a talk on boating travel and locations.
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colbysmith



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 4522
City/Region: Madison
State or Province: WI
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Traveler
Photos: C-Traveler and Midnight-Flyer
PostPosted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Today ended another great gathering on the St. John's River at Hontoon Island State Park. Tom and Joyce from C-Otter are excellent hosts and even with the hurricane flood damage, pulled off a nice gathering. Sadly though, we lost another C-Brat this year, Larry Krabach from the Odyssey. We took a couple minutes after lunch to honor him with a small memorial. A bench that overlooks the river with plaques of those that have passed. A few will follow Tom and Joyce tomorrow as they cruise down river on the St. John's. Bill (Mystery Girl), Mike (Miss Jill), and Rosanne and I on C-Traveler will pull out tomorrow, trailer up to Jacksonville, launch again, and then cruise down the ICW. Regarding the coloring book in the photo below, that is a book I won at an auction at the first Hontoon gathering I attended. This is the 10th gathering here, I've been to the last 8. Colby


Sunrise over some rowers from a rowing club nearby.


Tom passing out some cookies before we start are first meeting of the day, sharing of galley gadgets. (Favorite items that C-Brats have purchased or made to make life a little easier on our boats.)


One of the C-Brats showing off their galley gadget.


Bill sharing about their Alaska trip last summer


And that's a wrap for this year's Hontoon gathering.

The remaining photos are of the short memorial we held for Larry.










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Avidmagnum12



Joined: 23 Mar 2013
Posts: 668
City/Region: Ocklawaha
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2011
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Otter
Photos: C-Otter
PostPosted: Sat Mar 11, 2023 2:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another C-Brat gathering has come to a close way too soon. Thanks to all that attended and helped out this year. It was more than a little different with the hurricane damage but went well. The park staff were amazing with getting the docks open, the laundry up and running along with the showers. Everything we needed. Most of us were able to work on our anchoring skills and all of us practiced docking maneuvers daily.

With donations and proceeds from our 50/50 auctions we raised over $600 for park projects. I’ll post more on this later. Colby knows how much I dislike typing on my iPhone so I’m glad he gave the activity report and posted great photos. 😊

Looking forward to seeing everyone again next year at Hontoon and hopefully the island will return to normal operations.

Safe journeys….Tom and Joyce

_________________
Tom and Joyce Schulke

2011 CD 25 "C-Otter" 07/2015 to present
2011 CD 25 "My Girl" 06/2015 renamed C-Otter
2004 CD 22 Commuter "Out2C" 03/10 to 06/15
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thataway



Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Posts: 20778
City/Region: Pensacola
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: thataway
Photos: Thataway
PostPosted: Sat Mar 11, 2023 3:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We had a great time, even without a C Dory. A lot of credit to "new" C Dory 25 owners: Peter and Becky Clay. They traveled with us in their RoadTrek. They helped with launching and retrieving the boat, and with all around camping and boating issues. Peter and Becky are very experienced boaters, and their knowledge shows! We were able to introduce them to several "new" bird sightings for them on a tour around Hontoon Island and thru Blue Creek in the days before the gathering.

There was a great group at Hontoon, and they certainly made the best use of the limits of the facility post flood. But the most credit most go to Tom and Joyce of Sea Otter, and their wonderful skills in hosting events and working with people. As Tom said, we have never had a "personality" issue at any of the Hontoon Gatherings! It takes a Train Conductor!!!

Our road trip home was from Hell. We stopped in Gainesville to have lunch with a friend. (We have a Winnie VIA 25T, -Mercedes Sprinter Chassis, and tow our Caracal 18' center console cat.). As we got on I 10, we had very heavy rain--enough to keep our speed at 20 mph with flashers on. Then Tornado Warnings (tornado on the ground). We were at a dead stop and then a crawl for almost an hour. A Tornado and some straight-line winds, and blown trees across I 10 blocking the West bound lanes--several vehicles were badly damaged. More rain. Then none of the RV parks near Tallahassee had any RV openings, so we decided to run all of the way home. This meant the last hour after dark. Only 4 miles from our Turnoff in Pensacola, a truck 3 vehicles ahead of us lost steering and control, and fishtailed back and forth across I 10 almost rolling as it came to a stop on the side of I 10. I always allow good space ahead, but at 65 MPH I had to stand on the brakes and pull to the shoulder as the freeway came to another dead stop.

We normally back our boat in and unhitch, but it was late, so we decided to pull the RV and boat up onto our circular drive. My mistake. As we made a turn to the right to park the RV, it pushed the boat trailer right side wheel and tire over the edge of our drive, and high centered the axle. This morning with hydraulic jacks, a farm jack and lots of cribbing, we got the boat trailer back on level ground.

I'll get my photos up in the next few days,

If I ever see Colby stand on a bar stool again to take a picture, I will shoot him on the spot! (Left over from a time when I was the OSHA medical officer at a University.)

Thanks to all of the wonderful C Brat community who made this another wonderful gathering. We hope to be around next near to attend another!

_________________
Bob Austin
Thataway
Thataway (Ex Seaweed) 2007 25 C Dory May 2018 to Oct. 2021
Thisaway 2006 22' CDory November 2011 to May 2018
Caracal 18 140 Suzuki 2007 to present
Thataway TomCat 255 150 Suzukis June 2006 thru August 2011
C Pelican; 1992, 22 Cruiser, 2002 thru 2006
Frequent Sea; 2003 C D 25, 2007 thru 2009
KA6PKB
Home port: Pensacola FL
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colbysmith



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 4522
City/Region: Madison
State or Province: WI
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Traveler
Photos: C-Traveler and Midnight-Flyer
PostPosted: Sat Mar 11, 2023 8:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
If I ever see Colby stand on a bar stool again to take a picture, I will shoot him on the spot! (Left over from a time when I was the OSHA medical officer at a University.)


Ha, that thing was more solid/sturdy than some step ladders I've used! Glad to hear you finally made it home. With hopefully no damage. We had some good rain later Friday evening on the Jacksonville Free Dock. However, at 1 am Saturday morning, Rosanne woke me to say someone was on our boat. I then heard what sounded like some birds on the roof, but Rosanne said she could hear people talking. I looked out the back window to see some guy in my cockpit. I opened the door to holler what the hell are you doing! Apparently three guys decided to go fishing, and managed to wrap their hook around my bimini frame. They have the entire dock ahead of our three boats and chose to fish here? And how you'd get a line over the top of my boat and wrapped around the water side (away from the dock) only makes me wonder. The entire time, the guy in broken English kept apologizing, "sorry friend".... while working to get the hook/line untangled. A few minutes later he was off and I strongly suggested they go fish somewhere else! Colby
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LCCRUISER



Joined: 30 Oct 2022
Posts: 18

State or Province: NH
C-Dory Year: 1983
C-Dory Model: 22 Classic
PostPosted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 9:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We were hoping to participate but the park said the sites were full. Disappointed since it looks there was some open dock space. In any case, glad to see those of you who were there had a good time.
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Gone Cruisin'
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multimediasmith



Joined: 23 Aug 2021
Posts: 35
City/Region: New Orleans' Northshore
State or Province: LA
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: ENDEAVOR
Photos: ENDEAVOR
PostPosted: Fri Apr 07, 2023 4:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

(We’ll, shoot!! I was really looking forward to the best coffee around. We had a lively discussion about trailering and potential trailering issues yesterday. I trust things will work out for you. If your in the SW Florida area in your travels let me know and I’ll launch and come meet for a visit. Good luck,
James)

So sorry to have missed all the great company this year. At this point my trailer brake issues have still not been resolved. I replaced all the calipers had the rotors turned and replaced one piece of brake line But couldn’t get it to work properly. It’s stayed with my mechanic for a week and he couldn’t figure it out, so I brought it to the Champion trailers in Mississippi Friday before last. Today they said they were any conversations with hydra start and hopefully will have it fixed by next week. Meanwhile my boat is still in the water. This will be a real test of the ceramic coating I did this winter.
Looks like a great gathering I’ll keep my eye out for future scheduled events or flotillas.
Best to everyone
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Avidmagnum12



Joined: 23 Mar 2013
Posts: 668
City/Region: Ocklawaha
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2011
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Otter
Photos: C-Otter
PostPosted: Fri Apr 07, 2023 8:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Greetings All…….Hontoon update.
The state park reservation system is taking reservations for the Hontoon Island Marina as of today. The gathering dates for 2024 will be March 5,6,7.
We have reserved slip 10B for the C-Otter.

Work is underway to have the park in full operation by the end of 2023. We anticipate a return to full programs and activities for 2024 barring another devastating hurricane. So if you missed 2023…. Make your reservation’s. Only 40 spots and 39 left!😁

We are still working on spending the donation money from our 2023 gathering. Devin, the park manager really wants a new mattress for the camp ground host and the park service will not authorize it because they do not have the title. Yet the old mattress is trash. I asked Devin to get a measurement but the individual who had the keys quit……..so no access yet. He’s working on it. Will let everyone know when the purchase is made.
The campground will be closed till next year.

Looking forward to getting together next year for the best gathering ever. Get those trailers serviced!
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colbysmith



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 4522
City/Region: Madison
State or Province: WI
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Traveler
Photos: C-Traveler and Midnight-Flyer
PostPosted: Fri Apr 07, 2023 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Make that 38 spots. C-Traveler just reserved 9A. Smile Colby
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colbysmith



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 4522
City/Region: Madison
State or Province: WI
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Traveler
Photos: C-Traveler and Midnight-Flyer
PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2023 12:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I reserved my spot, I was not able to pull up a marina map showing slip locations/numbers. Bill from Mystery Girl had an old diagram he emailed me, and I redrew it to make it easier to read. Disclaimer, I can't guarantee that this is accurate. I never noticed before that A and B slips are reversed in some locations...

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thataway



Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Posts: 20778
City/Region: Pensacola
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: thataway
Photos: Thataway
PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2023 6:40 pm    Post subject: Hontoon Photos Reply with quote

It is about 2 months since our gathering--and I am late in posting about 80 photos in the album:Here is the album link.

My only excuse is that I am 86 years old...and not counting....for not getting the photos up earlier. It took most of a day, which I did not have free until now!

Pictured are Peter and Becky Clay, as they repair the Bimini top bow on our 18' Caracal Catamaran, with....duct tape! Peter and Becky are the reason we were able to make it to Hontoon this year.



To Formally introduce these wonderful people to the C Dory/C Brat community is a real pleasure; Peter and Becky have recently purchased a C Dory 25, and have been working "madly" to get it "seaworthy". They are the reason that we had such a trouble free time at this 2022 gathering. Peter and Becky had driven by hour home (I suspect to check us out, since they had volunteered to shepard our trip to Hontoon Island, at least 9 months before the gathering.) We met in our RV's at about 70 miles from our home at the Ponce De Leon rest stop. They had made reservations for an extra long camp site at the St. John's Marina and Campground, just beyond the Ed Stone Park, and where the St. John's River Grill is located. We were in a 25' Winnie Via (Sprinter Chassis, two steps up from a VW Camper) and Peter and Becky were in a Road Trek Van conversion about one step up from a VW. As you might see in the RV photo,we had a certain degree of luxury--not even found in a 25' C Dory, including two 32" TV's, a separate shower and holding tanks of 50 gallons of black and grey water...Plus 4 people can comfortably sit in the "main saloon"....but it does not float. So we towed our 18' Caracal Catamaran center console. It has a number of advantages: it only weighs about 3200 # on the trailer, and has a 140 HP Suzuki--top speed about 36 mph, and very stable at that speed. Ride is about the same as the Tom Cat 255, because this boat has adequate tunnel clearance. (Higher tunnel than the Tom Cat.). We took Peter and Becky on a "nature trip" on our first full day on the river, the Saturday before the gathering. The next day, we took Peter and Becky to Blue Creek, and the Bird houses. We were able to point out many features along the river which had closed down and not reopened after the floods this last fall.

When you go on an adventure with the Austins, you never know what you will run into....

You might even get eaten.....this gator was in the 12' long category, and would make quick work of any of us....



As it turned out we had a great day bird watching and even got 4 new birds for the Clay's. They have a home in Florida near Fort Walton Beach, but have spent most of their lives near Wood's Hole Research center where they both worked. Peter would have the boat's cover off, and all ready loaded and ready to roll each morning as Marie and I gimped our way way the 150 feet from the campsite to the boat slip! Each evening I could trust Peter to put the boat to "bed". The only complication we had was that our air conditioning went out on the RV--it turned out to be a micro 12 volt relay, and if I thumped it (a good marine or RV Trick) just the right way it would close for one cycle....So we didn't get the time to visit that I am sure all of us wanted... It was a wonderful experience to have the Clays with us. They are very experienced offshore sailors, and have owned (and still do) own several sailboats.

On the other hand, despite a lot of adversities, the gathering at Hontoon Island went well, of course due to the expertise of our "Conductor" Tom!Pictured
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