Greetings from Key West

[gulfcoast john]

Greetings from Key West, Stock Island Marina, Slip B-18. If one must endure the first Artic blast of the season, then this is the place from which one can best endure it (you English teachers correct me here).
We trailered the 11,400# (weighed) rig over 1,000 miles at 60-64 MPH (my rig likes 60.0-64.2mph best) without a hitch (more accurately, with a Class V hitch rated for 12,000#). All 5 new truck tires, which aged out (from DOT mfg date) though tread looked new with only 12,500 miles over last 5 years when last replaced.
I again sing the praises for the Direclink.com trailer brake controller, which orchestrates ECM-controlled coordinated nuanced trailer braking in an amazing manner with a Wefings EOH Float-On trailer. We impacted many Atlantic- side waves that sent spray over every square inch of the top and bimini. "Sporting", as my pilot friends would say, meaning challenging but not dangerous, unless you lost power. Any crud in my tanks is now in the (genuine Yamaha and worth it) filters. As we gain hours in tough conditions, I believe this tougher-than-us boat will impress us more and more.
My advice applies only to you guys and gals towing over 8,000#.
PM me if in the area and wanting to chat or see Cat O' Mine, but we don't go out in SMA conditions.
Cheers!
John

[jbdba01]

Just curious...what is your towing rig/truck? Looks like a 1/2 ton GMC - is that correct?

I'm asking mainly because I'm in FL and currently only have a F150. Tomcat is years over the horizon, but figured if it's flat enough and brakes are good enough, perhaps an upgrade to a 250 really isn't necessary.

I don't see myself trailering long distances.

[BrentB]

How is the fishing?

[rogerbum]

[BrentB]

[gulfcoast john]

jbd...
We bought a new 2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD with Duramax diesel and HD trailering pkg (Allison commercial transmission, engine braking, 20,000# parking pawl etc) and it does the job effortlessly. Now with 65k miles it's only worth about $16,000 though has a lot of life left. I believe the overall conscensus of prior owners posting was they liked a 2500HD or equivalent best (even an old cheap used one). To my knowledge, I am the only 255 owner to actually put the thing on a scale in heavy cruising mode and weigh it at a truck scale. Gas alone can be 75gx2 tanks =150g x 6#/g = 900# in gas + 30 + 10 water x8#/g = another 320#...or less. 100% of the 'downsides' of 255 ownership involves the extra expenses...any cat requires 65% more fiberglass to build, a beefier truck (that is a true embarrassment to park at Wal-Mart), a near-custom trailer that is pushing $10,000 after TT&R even though Marc Grove at Wefings has the best Float On price in the country, big thirsty engines with lots of Japanese parts (x Evinrude) etc etc. The F150 is a remarkable truck, but I can't advise it for this. I was even unhappy with the GMC HD2500 with the biggest V8 towing the Regal. All that said, you can be just as happy with a smaller C-Dory, a more practical truck and much cheaper trailer package and have maybe 80% of overall 255 capability. We shouldn't go out in Small Craft Advisories, anyway. All our 12 prior trailer boats were smaller, but we had a blast in all of them, when we were younger and poorer. Youth is SO wasted on the young.

As for the fish, they are plentiful and delicious. We pick one out on ice at the Eaton Seafood Market and they gut it, clean it, cook it and serve it for you right there. You can't find other than good fish and seafood around here. Try the Hogfish at Hogfish Bar and Grill. We do not allow fish or blood or guts or pets or children or bleeding pets or gutted children or red wine or smoking or any combination of these on our boat (x smoked fish is OK). We just replaced the cabin Cabela's marine carpeting with Deckadence in Artic White (see/purchase at performanceunderfoot.com) and love it on Tom Shulke's rec'd. The Florida Condo look may be too precious for Roger or Brent...or maybe not. See the video where they pour an entire bottle of red wine on the Artic White and it just hoses off, or the brightly colored samples they dunk in pure Chlorox. The 6x10 ft roll does the whole cabin including head and under dinette.

Our adventuring is by truck, since there's been SCA out since Sunday and projected all week, which is why it's sunny and only 77-79 degrees all week. Brrrrrrr. We'll make do anyway.
Cheers!
John

[rogerbum]

[BrentB]

no problem here

I am glad you are hale and hearty, and enjoying life and travelling

[Sea Wolf]

Hmmmm................?

I'm kinda a long way from the Keys with my CD-22 here in Northern California.

How about I just fly down, bring a 6x10 section of the carpet, live on the carpet the beach, eat fish from the fish market, and drink red wine?

Sounds like a good version of minimalism that I could live with at this point.

Joe.

[gulfcoast john]

After a sweltering, challenging summer day on the water, involving, say, encounters with 3 burly drunks in a Skeeter, being stopped by the Florida Marine Patrol officers, a close fly-by by the BOATPICS.COM helicopter, and pics sent to the mother-in-law, the last thing I want to worry about is how to get red wine stains out of my bodice.
NO, Roger, I will NOT be seen in public in a red bodice...how gauche. Pink, maybe.
But you can bring red wine on my boat as soon as I verify it hoses right out of the Artic White Deckadence.
Joe, you'll fit right in. How do YOU get red wine stains out of your bodice?
What's great about this site is that EVERY issue has previously been experienced and addressed before!
Cheers!
John

[thataway]

Great laughs this belongs in the humor thread~! Great you are using that boat to its full potential. I would say that you scored on that truck with that low mileage!

Have fun down there!--by the way it is cheaper to catch your own hog fish! The first one we caught, I asked Marie what the H...is that. Then we got our guide out, and chowed down. The nice thing about the keys is that you can catch at least a dozen species of fish in a day, and never know what the next one is going to be, including bull shark...

[Larry Patrick]

Wish we were in Key West now. Some of my best memories are from fishing outta marathon. Need to get wife on the boat there.