Photos from the Florida Keys adventure

[clayhubler]

Hello Brats,

We are in the final days of our Florida Keys trip. Just wanted to share some of these photos taken by my daughter. She is 15 and diving is her new favorite hobby.

She is obsessed with all the little critters that we have never been able to see when snorkeling.

[thataway]

Tell your 15 year old daughter, "she has done well!"

Then see if you could arrange a few dives with "Pacificcoast101"--Just drop by S. Cal on your way home....

[hardee]

Very nice, She has a budding talent. I always heard you should focus on the eyes, but sometimes the teeth have a way of grabbing your attention too.

Harvey
SleepyC

[clayhubler]

Here are some aerial shots of Hammerhead in the keys. I know everybody likes pictures of c-dorys.

We were very fortunate that everything went well on this trip. Two weeks before we left the boat was still an empty shell. I only had time to do one sea trial with the boat before we left, and that was just to test the motors. Most of the other systems were not complete at that time.

I did not get the drawers built and installed into the new cabinets. I did not get autopilot or diesel furnace installed. And lots of other things. But we suffered no mechanical breakdowns with boat, trailer, or tow vehicle.

This was a trip that we have been planning for years. It will likely be a few years at least before we are able to return.

Here are some stats:

Total mileage for van was 7483. The trip down took 5 days and the return trip was 4 days. Longest driving day was 863 miles. MPG while towing was about 8. 2007 Ford E-350 with 5.4l. Not the best by any means but its what we've got and it gets the job done.

Total mileage on Hammerhead while there was 707. And about 70 hours on each engine. I'm happy to report that we have now put about 170 hours total on the boat since buying it in sept 2019. I feel we are getting our use out of it. Also, the thing was up on blocks for about 7 of those months. The previous owner only put about 50 hours on it over 5 years...

Hammerhead was tied up at the dock behind the rental house for 26 days and the new bottom paint did great. Pettit hydrocoat. No growth on the hull, but the lower units and trim tabs needed scrubbed pretty good when we pulled her out.

We all got (5) got certified to dive on this trip. After our cert dives we dove from Hammerhead. Makayla (15) logged the most dives with 18.

Here are the pics. The first one is at Rodriguez key sandbar. #2 is at molasses reef channel. Last 3 are at Carysfort reef lighthouse. I really wanted to get more images with the drone, but there was a lot of wind while we were there and I was worried about being able to retrieve it.

[hardee]

Cool Photos. Nice trip. Glad you did it? Sounds like it. d I am considering doing something of the sort somewhere down the line. Lang haul though.

Do you mind telling us about the drone?

Harvey
SleepyC

[clayhubler]

Harvey,

Best trip we've ever done. Hope to get back there again.

The drone is a DJI mavic air 2. This is the first time I've flown it other than at my house. Never had any issues with it until this trip. The second photo has a story. The reason the boat is so far away in the photo is because I launched the drone while Josie was driving. I wanted to get some pics of the boat underway. However, after only a short while, I heard "maximum flight distance reached" when I tried to fly toward the boat. I could fly away, but not toward. I also could not go very high. I've flown it much farther before, and I could still see the thing not too far away, so I was really confused, and I thought for sure the thing had gone haywire and was about to make a beeline straight into the water. That was the only picture I got from that flight. The rest of the time I was concentrating on getting it back aboard. We had to turn around and motor back to it and I went up on the bow and grabbed it out of the air.
It wasn't until later that I figured out what happened. I didn't pay it any attention, but in the upper left of the screen there was some text indicating that I wasn't logged in to the DJI fly app. Turns out there are restrictions to height and distance when you are not logged in. And apparently the point from which I launched it was the starting point, even though the controller was with me in a new location.
But it all worked out in the end, and after logging in at the house the drone performed normally. I make sure to check that I am logged in now before each flight.

[ssobol]

[clayhubler]

[localboy]

Man, that water is pretty! I miss the tropics.

[hardee]

Thanks for the drone story. Good info. Yes, I do love seeing that CLEAR water.
Glad you got the drone back, and look forward to some more (maybe less) exciting photos.

Harvey
SleepyC

[Hunkydory]

Clay, I enjoyed your report & photos. Really good use of the boat. Glad you went, even though the boat wasn’t quite done, as it seems on a boat there is always something more needed or wanted & that can put off or stop a lot of adventures.

Jay

[Nash 22]

Great pictures!
Where in FL did you launch your boat?
Did you have any issues with parking the towing vehicle?
I am planning a similar trip next summer with the Admiral and the pup.

Thanks.

[clayhubler]

Nash 22-
As our trip was primarily focused on diving and snorkeling, we actually rented a house on a canal for a homebase during our stay. I can't advise on longterm parking. The house worked out really well for this type of trip, as we needed someplace to wash our gear after each dive, and also there is no room to live out of a 22 cruiser with 5 people and their dive gear. In fact, the boat was nearly overloaded, as the dive gear is quite heavy.

I can tell you that if you plan to stay aboard the boat, you don't want to go during summer unless you have AC.

[Nash 22]