40 Miles in the rain

B

Bill3558

New member
I had to return home yesterday from Hilton Head in very rainy and sometimes stormy weather. Lots of green and yellow on the tv radar. I decided to do the trip outside in the ocean instead of the slow and twisty ICW so I could get home faster. The winds were 10 knots or less and the ocean was mostly calm.
Made the trip in 3 hours and I have to say I enjoyed every minute of it. I finally got to use my windshield wipers for more that spray! Cranked up the XM radio and my Garmin GPS made navigating a snap in the low visability. I think I saw only 2 other boats, both shrimpers. Im sure boating in the rain is no big deal to you folks in the Northwest but it was a first for me.
I have been boating for years, both sail and power, and I have never had such a fun and versatile boat.
Posted some pix in my album if your interested.

Bill
 
Enjoyed your post -- we feel the same way about rain in these great little boats --"singing in the rain" -- thanks for sharing your experience.
 
Great post! Thanks for sharing the moment with the Brats. What you experienced are the moments that many boaters dream about.

My favorite recent outing was last year on Thanksgiving day. It was 40 degrees outside and I only counted three other boats on the lake. We had our cabin heater going, while I sat at the helm without a coat or shoes on. We were out of the elements and enjoying a part of boating that people without enclosed cabins just don't understand.
 
There's nothing better than a driving rainstorm to make one appreciate being nice & dry on a C-dory. Some of the most memorable moments by my Wife & I were aboard our C-dory in blinding rain strom :oops: kinda like listening to rain on a tin roof. Gotta love that Suzuki you have. I have an 00 honda 90 on my flounder barge with hundreds of zero-problem hours and a suzuki 90 on my C-dory so they're both incredible outboards. I'm not too far from you on Amelia Island. Check out the 12# flounder we got the other night on my web site. Cheers.
 
Hi Folks,

We had a lot of rain on the Erie Canal last fall. Great in the cabin. Seeing as I had an old friend from college and my home town, I slept on my cockpit seat. Not very dry.

Next rain I shall be alone or with the little women so I can sleep in the very dry cabin.

While under way, the rain was no problem. The fresh water on the Erie cleaned off the windshield better than the salt water does. I have seen where boats have put a windshield washer above the windows to wash the salt off. Has anybody tried it?

Fred
 
We have talked about putting on sprayers above the helm window. But Rain-X helps a lot. You have to replace it regularly, but the salt water runs right off.
 
Has anyone installed Intermittentant wipers on their boat?

This is something I would be very interested in doing.

Mine seems to operate too fast for most conditions here in the Northwest.
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Dave dlt.gif
 
oldgrowth":2r17jjpx said:
Mine seems to operate too fast for most conditions here in the Northwest.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about that only yesterday. I wonder if an automotive aftermarket delay device could be adapted to a boat? How about THIS ONE? I bet one of our engineer-types could come up with something better.

Warren
 
Warren – someone has to be the first to try it. If you don’t within the next week, I will get one from my local NAPD dealer and give it a try.

Seeing as each wiper has its own motor, I will install it on the starboard side only to start with. I have installed a couple of them on older vehicles many years ago and can not see why they will not work on the boat.
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Dave dlt.gif
 
I used one of those units on one of the original Honda Civics. It worked great for years. I might just have to pick one up for each of the boats. But I think I would rather put in a washer system. Salt spray is the pits and a good washer system would be great.
 
That is just an awesome story and pictures. I enjoy the challenge of less than perfect conditions. Fair seas never made for good mariners as they say. I love cruising in the rain, and this is in part why I want a pilot house boat to never again do it with a canvas top.

I once made a 10 mile crossing from mainland RI to Block Island (RI) in thick fog. I had about 80' of visibility. I was running sans radar (foolish) but with a good tri-lens radar reflector. My GPS read "Arrived" at my final waypoint but we could see nothing but fog. I had a buddy who was a bit nervous but I reassured him we were just out of sight of the breakwater. We could actually smell the island (flowers and french fries) before we could see it. It's amazing when sense of smell is a navigation tool...ha ha!

Great story and great pics of your journey in the rain. There is something very peaceful about it.
 
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