I am all ready for my trip to Alaska!

T

tparrent

New member
I trailered my 22 from NYC where I work to North Carolina where I have my family in storage :lol: As I was putting the boat away in the storage yard, I went through the cabinets and cubbyholes and determined that the boat is finally equipped for that long planned trip to Alaska. In fact, it may be over equipped.

How, exactly, did I acquire 47 lifejackets? More importantly, WHY?

I have enough spare parts and lifesaving equipment to add a couple inches of draft.

Five sets of rain gear should be adequate when I'm out singlehanding.

The remote villages in the PNW no longer have to suffer life without a library when my boat pulls in.

Those same villages can now have a 4th of July worthy pyro display with my extra flares.

I measured and am now reasonably certain that I have enough line to tie me to the dock at Sitka..and Seattle... AT THE SAME TIME!

I guess I will use some of the line to construct a fuel barge using the 14 spare gas cans I have accumulated.

Yep, I'm ready to go!

Except that I'm not going to Alaska any time soon :cry:

Heck, I'll be lucky to make it the three hours to the Outer Banks this year.

Fortunately, the boat is stored 5 minutes away from a gorgeous lake upon which I am often the only boat in winter. Unfortunately, I and my tow vehicle are stored 10 hours north of the boat and lake. That may change though and I look forward to becoming reacquainted with that lake.

Now I know that this may be heresy but I am thinking about unloading everything from the boat that I do not need for my typical outing on the lake. I would carefully stow all that gear in totes so that I could be ready to head for Alaska at a moment's notice by simply throwing the totes in the truck if a "work window" should open up (unlikely).

On the local lake I figure I need the following gear:

Life jacket (1)

Other USCG required equipment - and NO extras!

Two dock lines and a tow line

Two fenders

A book

Yep - that's it. If disaster befalls me, I will drift ashore and walk back to the ramp (been there, done that). If I get hungry (a true disaster), I will bring a sandwich.

Boating perhaps not as I envisioned it but boating as it is - and pretty darned enjoyable at that.

Have any of you raised your waterline lately?
 
tparrent-

How true!

And :lol: :lol: :lol:

Many boat owners make it a practice to "unload" the extra gear at least once a year, often when preparing the boat for the winter layover.

Most of us have tons of extra stuff on board, often adding up to several hundred pounds!

This all brings us back to the familiar refrain "Less is More: Simplify!" :wink

Have fun!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Great post!! Thanks! Oh, and by the way, if you were really ready for Alaska. You would have enough tools and spare parts to add four not just two inches to the draft, after all, enough fiberglass matting, resin and catalyst to rebuild the transom plus the three front windows take up some room, ohh and did I mention the shotgun and gallon of bear spray :lol: :wink:
 
I cringe when I count life preservers on my boat. Seems they spawn like tribbles when in a compartment.

Years ago I removed the fresh water tank that makes more storage space………That storage subseqantly gets filled filled with sweatshirts, change of cloths cold water survival suits , life jackets and rain gear. Not useless stuff but unnecessary in the quantity.

More space is like a huge garage in that it gets filled.

Happy sorting!
 
lol great thread, I can relate.

I have separate fishing tackle boxes for the many different things I fish for out here. At one point I finally told myself I dont need the bass gear in the c-dory. I am constantly removing things from the boat that I once thought I needed. Reminds me of a post I think Bill and El had about bricks vs diamonds. I tend to say "I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it," but at the same time, simplicity is quite rewarding in itself!
 
....and here I was thinking about adding a new Garmin handheld GPS......just in case :shock: :oops: :shock: :oops:

Great posts. Time to stop and do some thinking :arrow: :mrgreen:

Harvey
SleepyC:moon
 
Great thread!! How true - especially for people that like to be self sufficient and not have to call for help.

Thanks for the :lol: :lol:

I read a story once about Reggie Fountain - apparently on more than one occasion when a customer called him to complain about the performance of one of his boats - the first thing he would do when he went to check it out was - board the boat go through it from stem to stern and start throwing out all the unnecessary clutter that the owner had accumulated. Then he would say OK lets try it now!

A deep V hull, like a Fountain is designed to operate best within a limited weight tolerance. The more weight you add to a deep V - the lower it sinks in the water and it ends up "plowing" through the water. This eats up the HP and is very detrimental to its performance. A lot of early speedboats in the 60's didn't even have seats. Luckily flat bottom boats like the C Dory can handle more weight.

Regards, Rob
 
Wonderful post to start off December! We do carry a lot of gear. However, at the end of the "Season" of traveling, we do completely unload the boat--and take advantage of one of the best things of the C Dory--take out the cushions, turn on the hose and wash the boat out! Get rid of the assorted sands and any dirt which might be hiding in the corners.

We really do put most of the stuff in tote boxes. The only problem is now I cannot get the truck in the garage...OH well have to "re-organize" some time...Anyone need a 1988, Single Side Band radio, converted to do all bands and all frequencies, including military, Ham and Marine? Cost $9,800 when new--I'll make you a real good deal on it, complete with tuner.
 
colobear":3u2j8tx9 said:
ohh and did I mention the shotgun and gallon of bear spray :lol: :wink:
Click to expand...

I'm all with the spirit of this, but in case anyone is taking this seriously…

A 12-gauge shotgun can be an adequate defense weapon against Alaskan bears, but only if loaded with slugs. Shot will at best momentarily annoy the bear. Since, in most people's mind the advantage of a shotgun is that you only have to be close, slugs negate that; you have to be as accurate as you would be with a rifle.

So: 12-gauge, pump-action, loaded with slugs and you have practiced? Good to go!

John
 
A kind person pointed out that my message might be construed to recommend a shotgun as bear defense.

It was meant to discourage the notion of buckshot as effective. The best choice for defense is situational awareness; weapons if necessary should be whatever you are comfortable and practiced enough to use accurately under high stress. Shotgun with slugs is one possibility that requires less expertise than say a .50 cal handgun.

Really, though, try to pay very close attention to your surroundings. The best bear confrontation is the one you avoid.

Cheers!

John
 
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