I spent a week using my new to me 22, trailering it from Door County, WI to Charlevoix, MI with boating stops at Gladstone and Hessel MI.
The 22 has exceeded my expectations for my cruising needs! Much more on that later when I post the full cruise story.
The boat is sitting with Irish Boat Shop in Charlevoix for several modifications before I take it to the North Channel of Lake Huron.
As mentioned here previously, I am having them install a windlass. I was going to have them install chocks for use with both my anchor snubbers and my bow docklines but as soon as I walked up to the boat with the service manager, I saw what I hope is a better solution. I am going to have them install a new cleat on each side halfway between the bow and the first pulpit support. With cleats there, I don't think I will need chocks at all AND I'll have a cleaner installation for the docklines and fenders. Am I missing anything with that idea?
They are also going to take a very careful look at installing a HOnda 5 HP kicker. The fit would be extremely tight with the trim tabs and the main engine. We spent quite awhile looking and measuring but they really need to get the actual bracket and see how it would work. I also told them I would check here again to see if anyone has done that installation and what problems/solutions they found.
They will also install a four position rod storage thing on the starboard aft bulkhead. I don't fish much but I do like to have my book hook IMMEDIATELY available. I normally velcro the boat hook to one of the grab rails but I found I need it free and at hand when I am coming in solo. When I take it away from its normal position it sort gets in the way until I need it. A rod holder should take care of that.
There were a few other items such as a new GPS antenna (wire was corroded) and a new tongue jack (too wobbly at the full height which is needed for my truck).
Triple kudos to the service manager John at Irish. AS we talked for a long time about the things on my list, he kept looking over the boat. He found three significant dings on the chine at the aft starboard corner. Right through the gelcoat but only about 3/8" long or less for each one. Plenty big enough though for water to eventually intrude. I never would have seen them. We eventually figured out what happened. The transom tiedown strap had come loose at some point and the boat bounced just enough to hit bolts on the trailer at three points. The bolts lined up exactly with the dings. Not a problem to fix but I am sure glad he saw them. They are also going to give me a much better tiedown strap with firehouse around it so I can put it right across the boat instead of just using the eyebolts.
I have been very pleased so far with Irish. We'll see how the repairs go but they were certainly attentive and listened very carefully before offering their own suggestions. Of course I asked the test question: do you overdrill and epoxy for through bolt installations or just use sealant? Of the four yards I talked to, they were the only ones who do that. They said they would not consider doing it any other way on a cored boat. The other yards said they could not do the epoxy method and that it wasn't necessary in any case. I realize there may be legitimate differences of opinion on that but a lot of people I respect insist on the overdrilling/epoxy method so I was glad that was the default with Irish.
I am also going to send some suggestions based on other mods I have see here. In particular, I like the way people have dealt with coolers on the transom. That'll free up some cockpit space for me.
Overall, it was a great, great trip. Much more fun than I had even anticipated. I can't wait to get back up there and hit the North Channel.
BTW, I can confirm that a 22 is just as easy to launch and retrieve as a 16. I didn't really believe that but after multiple launch/retrievals, I am very happy with the process. In fact, on two occasions, I was at a ramp but without a lot of time (or so I thought) so I considered just camping in a parking lot. Both times I slapped some sense into myself and spent the five minutes necessary to launch and ended up spending two additional, delightful nights afloat instead of hiding in some store's lot.
The 22 has exceeded my expectations for my cruising needs! Much more on that later when I post the full cruise story.
The boat is sitting with Irish Boat Shop in Charlevoix for several modifications before I take it to the North Channel of Lake Huron.
As mentioned here previously, I am having them install a windlass. I was going to have them install chocks for use with both my anchor snubbers and my bow docklines but as soon as I walked up to the boat with the service manager, I saw what I hope is a better solution. I am going to have them install a new cleat on each side halfway between the bow and the first pulpit support. With cleats there, I don't think I will need chocks at all AND I'll have a cleaner installation for the docklines and fenders. Am I missing anything with that idea?
They are also going to take a very careful look at installing a HOnda 5 HP kicker. The fit would be extremely tight with the trim tabs and the main engine. We spent quite awhile looking and measuring but they really need to get the actual bracket and see how it would work. I also told them I would check here again to see if anyone has done that installation and what problems/solutions they found.
They will also install a four position rod storage thing on the starboard aft bulkhead. I don't fish much but I do like to have my book hook IMMEDIATELY available. I normally velcro the boat hook to one of the grab rails but I found I need it free and at hand when I am coming in solo. When I take it away from its normal position it sort gets in the way until I need it. A rod holder should take care of that.
There were a few other items such as a new GPS antenna (wire was corroded) and a new tongue jack (too wobbly at the full height which is needed for my truck).
Triple kudos to the service manager John at Irish. AS we talked for a long time about the things on my list, he kept looking over the boat. He found three significant dings on the chine at the aft starboard corner. Right through the gelcoat but only about 3/8" long or less for each one. Plenty big enough though for water to eventually intrude. I never would have seen them. We eventually figured out what happened. The transom tiedown strap had come loose at some point and the boat bounced just enough to hit bolts on the trailer at three points. The bolts lined up exactly with the dings. Not a problem to fix but I am sure glad he saw them. They are also going to give me a much better tiedown strap with firehouse around it so I can put it right across the boat instead of just using the eyebolts.
I have been very pleased so far with Irish. We'll see how the repairs go but they were certainly attentive and listened very carefully before offering their own suggestions. Of course I asked the test question: do you overdrill and epoxy for through bolt installations or just use sealant? Of the four yards I talked to, they were the only ones who do that. They said they would not consider doing it any other way on a cored boat. The other yards said they could not do the epoxy method and that it wasn't necessary in any case. I realize there may be legitimate differences of opinion on that but a lot of people I respect insist on the overdrilling/epoxy method so I was glad that was the default with Irish.
I am also going to send some suggestions based on other mods I have see here. In particular, I like the way people have dealt with coolers on the transom. That'll free up some cockpit space for me.
Overall, it was a great, great trip. Much more fun than I had even anticipated. I can't wait to get back up there and hit the North Channel.
BTW, I can confirm that a 22 is just as easy to launch and retrieve as a 16. I didn't really believe that but after multiple launch/retrievals, I am very happy with the process. In fact, on two occasions, I was at a ramp but without a lot of time (or so I thought) so I considered just camping in a parking lot. Both times I slapped some sense into myself and spent the five minutes necessary to launch and ended up spending two additional, delightful nights afloat instead of hiding in some store's lot.