Daydream's Great Loop Blog!

colbysmith":28shjaou said:
You probably are sitting a little lower in the water due to all the weight. But looks to me like you were on plane, and 20 is probably a decent speed for all the weight, and compared to what you were doing. And I believe you have a relatively small engine for the boat. Others I know that are running 200 hp with 25's, fairly heavy loaded, are still pushing closer to 30 at the higher RPM settings.
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No question Pat is way heavy since the boat was 7,500 +/- pounds on the travel-lift. For the record, the factory was recommending the Honda 135 or 150 for the 25s of Pat's vintage. We had a 135 on ours, rarely traveled light, and never had an issue getting on plane other than at high elevation (like 7,800' at Yellowstone). The right prop makes a difference.

The motor of choice these days may be the 200, but I don't think any came out of the factory with that in the 2006 era. A few had twin 90s - something we considered, but the Honda 90s didn't have fuel injection in 2007. I wouldn't be surprised if Pat repowers with something with more hp if/when the time for that comes.
 
Also there is about $3,000 more cost for the 200 over the 150. Two 90's today will be over $4,000 more when you finish rigging. Normally the 150 is plenty of motor for the 25--only when you load the boat up--and altitude is the need for the 200. But the extra power is nice to have...
 
OK, Pat has a weight of 7500#. When I did a weight analysis of Journey On the total cruising weight was 7400# and Pat has hit it on the head. Why doesn't his boat plane, since Journey On has no problem at that weight? BTW, they were built within a couple of months of each other in 2005. Note that we have the same 150 Honda, though mine's counter rotating.

Note that the 25 is really sensitive to weight, and Judy has learned how to pack that boat until it's full. And we carry a rolled-up inflatable in the cockpit whilst we're cruising plus my tools, etc. Don't forget the beer. So in cruising we do 13-15 knts (15-17 mph) when there's a chop and if it's smooth we'll get up to 17 knts (19 mph). All on plane. And plane goes down to 9 knts. When we're loaded, no 20 knts. All with a 4-blade 16" pitch prop.

Note that I cannot get on plane without the trim tabs. One day those tabs didn't work and by golly, no planing. Another factor is a clean bottom. I don't ever recall Pat mentioning cleaning, even when the boat was pulled at Wefings so maybe it isn't that dirty, but we clean the bottom of Journey On about every month when it's in the water.

And maybe now the tabs are fixed, Pat's boat is planing; all he has to do is start looking at the readout to show that those tabs are fully down. With an 11" pitch and a full cruise weight of 4500#, I personally think he's doing well. As pointed out above, as the fuel burns, he'll do better. And as he drinks the beer. Oops, that shouldn't go overboard unless you're 3 miles offshore.

Boris
 
From Pats comment along with his blog:
"Also, boat with half full fuel tank and no people was weighed on the scale on the TraveList at Harbor Sprints in Michigan, and weighed 7,500 pounds." (Think the "4" might have been a typo.)

Boris, Someplace I read that when they pulled the boat at Wefings, there was a pressure wash done on the bottom. Not sure what was there, prior, or if it had done before, but before they left home for the Loop trip, Daydream did get bottom paint done, so it should not have been too bad. (7 months in the water, with moving pretty frequently.) I know without bottom paint and 48 days in the water SleepyC grew barnacles, and 1 inch fuzz up around the north end of Vancouver Island , so would expect more in the warmer waters where they have been, not withstanding the bottom paint.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

JC_Lately_SleepyC_Flat_Blue_070.thumb.jpg
 
Wefings":38jgocwl said:
The bottom wasn't bad , but we power washed anyways .
Marc
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What are you doing up at this hour, don't you have to drive to Alabama tomorrow? :-) :-) Great dinner at Up the Stairs, we enjoyed the company and the evening a lot!
 
Marty Platzner suggested that we off-load some weight here in Apalachicola and pick it up when we tow home. I think we are going to do that. May not make a lot of difference, but being a little lighter cannot hurt anything!
 
Pat Anderson":2jf766rm said:
Marty Platzner suggested that we off-load some weight here in Apalachicola and pick it up when we tow home. I think we are going to do that. May not make a lot of difference, but being a little lighter cannot hurt anything!
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A very good idea, a few (hundred) pounds could sure help. Marty is a good brat.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Pat I feel your pain with the I-phone . I have a love /hate relationship with Apple phones .The Samsung is soooooooo much better in almost every way for me . I can't wait to have my 2 year indentured servant to Apple be over and done. Then back to my Great Great Samsung 8.Yes Taking a few hundred pounds off and maybe putting more weight forward could help
Enough of phones So maybe crossing on Tue to Steinahatchie then what will be your next stop Cedar Key? .I'm trying to see when you will be in Ft Myers ? give or take a day or so ?
 
jennykatz":nhnsqg2w said:
Pat I feel your pain with the I-phone . I have a love /hate relationship with Apple phones .The Samsung is soooooooo much better in almost every way for me . I can't wait to have my 2 year indentured servant to Apple be over and done. Then back to my Great Great Samsung 8.Yes Taking a few hundred pounds off and maybe putting more weight forward could help
Enough of phones So maybe crossing on Tue to Steinahatchie then what will be your next stop Cedar Key? .I'm trying to see when you will be in Ft Myers ? give or take a day or so ?
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Jim,

We don't have a contract, we own our (refurbished) iPhones. We will tough it out at least until December when we are back home with both iPhones and T-Mobile. When we get home, one decision is easy - cost be damned, Verizon has to be the carrier. Our Verizon Jetpack works everywhere, our T-Mobile iPhones work almost nowhere, so far they have only worked in urban areas. No brainer. I will let the guru at the Verizon store set up the iPhones and make sure they work.

Right now, here is the tentative itinerary as far out as we have planned, based on mileage and dog friendliness :

10-31 Steinhatchee (marina)
11-1 Seahorse Key (an anchorage)
11-2 Crystal River (anchorage)
11-3 Anclote (Tarpon Springs) (marina)

At Tarpon Springs, we are back on the ICW, and we are open to suggestions about the places we should stop. We are not really sightseeing, so no City tours for us, but would love to connect with you!

Pat
 
Pat and I have had the discussion over the years, but Verizon has proven to have the best coverage in our travels, coast to coast to coast. Easy to switch/add phones. The iPhones do what they need to do, no fuss.

Good luck with this next water section, Pat and Patty.
 
"11-3 Anclote (Tarpon Springs) (marina)

At Tarpon Springs, we are back on the ICW, and we are open to suggestions about the places we should stop. "

If there still is a guy selling canvas stuff in the Tarpon Springs market, get a small 'ditty bag'. You will have it on your boat forever and it will remind you of this wonderful adventure.
 
I'll second Marty's suggestion to stop in Tarpon Springs--there is the temptation to just anchor at Ancolte Key and then move on down. Yes Tarpon Springs is "touristy"--but there is still a real charm, and should be some very good Greek food. Plus you become one of the attractions in the slips right in the middle of "town".

There are well over 100 miles between Steinhatchee and Ancolte Key with many fun stops. (Suwannee River, Cedar Keys, Withalcoohee River, Crystal River, Homosassa River, and a host of other smaller bays and rivers) The decision has to be made if it is worth the time to weave in and out of these spots of "old Florida"---before the onslaught of the metropolis of Tampa Bay area.

Stay at the Tarpon Springs City Marina--maybe not the best docks--but right in the center of things--dog park close, great marina staff. We always stop there.
 
Pat and Oatty, I will second Marty's idea. Find something useful to work on the boat as a reminder of this trip, the ditty bag, a brush or canopener, a pan or bowl, that you will use, and every time you do, it will bring back memories.

Also, don't become to focused on the end, (barn sour, it would be called in the horsey world), but enjoy the trip and all the spots all the way to the end. It's not like you're going to go back and do this again soon, right?

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
My blog is always a day behind, so the one I will write and publish today will be about Dog Island. But this morning we crossed the Big Bend of the Gulf of Mexico from Dog Island to Steinhatchee. We left the St. George Sound inlet at 8:15 a.m. and arrived at the Steinhatchee channel at 1:14 p.m., just about five hours flat. With the trim tabs working, the new Stingray hydrofoil stabilizer and the new 11 pitch prop, we had no problem getting up on plane. We ran at 5,200 RPM at plus or minus at 15 miles per hour burning 9 gph. After running for 4,900 miles at ~7 mph, running at 15 mph felt like we were flying. Conditions on the Gulf were ideal, nearly flat water. It was about 75 miles, so economy was about 1.67 mpg, but we didn't mind burning the fuel for the time saved!
 
thataway":27aex1ne said:
Congratulations on getting across the "Big Bend".. Glad it was flat as predicted.
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Yes, very easy crossing!

I was wondering whether the 9 gph for my 5,200 RPMs was in line or not, so I searched and found this chart here from a 2007 thread.

CD25FuelUSe.jpg


So it looks to me like my 9 gph at 5200 RPMs was right in line here. This shows 8.1 gph for 5,000 RPMs and 11 gph for 5,500 RPMs. Of course my speed was much lower because of the 11 ptich prop, but I think gph are directly correleated with engine RPMs, regardless of speed, correct?
 
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