1991 350 sundancer - on the road, finally!!

[Someday Lady II]

Well, the long awaited day has arrived. I have dreamt, feared, anticipated and hoped for this moment since the deal on this one owner Sea Ray closed last November.
My friend, Loren who owns a trucking company, agreed to accompany me on the trip and we left Canada on Saturday for Grand Rapids Michigan.
I had been advised that the 7 new wheels and ST235/85R/16 tires that I had bought (now for sale!!!) would probably not fit within the trailer fenders, so reluctantly agreed to purchase 3 new 8.50 x 16.5 tires to replace three bad tires. On Sunday when we arrived we found that the wheel bearings had been greased, new surge brake actuator and 2 new brake lines had been installed and the trailer was pronounced ready to go. We put on the Oversize Load signs, removed the radar dome, put on the marker flags and were ready to leave in the morning.
Monday morning bright and early, we hooked up the equalizer hitch and the trailer to my 06 Duramax and backed my new (for me) boat out of the previous owners shop for the last time.
Avoiding construction in Michigan required innovative route planning but we still arrived at the Mackinac Bridge well before (almost 6 hours) before we would be allowed to cross with a wide load escort. I tried to take a picutre in Audie's Restaurant parking lot (GREAT place, GREAT food and GREAT service) of my boat with the Bridge in the background but it did not turn out that great, you can barely see the towers behind the trees.
We crossed the bridge and headed west on US 2 with the Duramax happily chewing up the miles and slurping down the fuel. Then came the ticket. 60 mph when restricted by permit to 45 mph on 2 lane highways. $40 bond and not sure what the ticket will be. The trooper told us to enjoy our 45mph tour of Michigan and then proceeded to follow us for 50 miles to make sure.
Overnighted in Manistique and departed Tuesday morning, Loren's alarm was still on CST and we were probably an hour late getting rolling.

 

[Big Island Lifer]

Congrats on the move!

 

[Someday Lady II]

Sorry about disconnecting early.
Rolling on through Michigan, at approximately 48 + or - mph, we realized that our permit service provider routed us way north of M 28 and that at our speed we would lose another hour of travel time. We gambled and stayed on 28, hoping to plead dumb if caught and got away with it.
Duluth was the next big concern as the costruction on US 2 was so extensive that loads were restricted to 10 feet wide max forcing us to use 53 and to go through the big hills complete with lights at the top AND the bottom of most of them.
The Duramax shone through in this part and although the temperatures started to climb Loren assured me that it was good to make a diesel work and better if every once in awhile you "warmed it up a bit."
Well, he was right because from that point on we hardly required tow haul mode to get going and when we did the shifts were crisper and better timed.
Travelling through Minnesota was great and we arrived at Canada Customs no worse for wear. One trailer wheel had started spitting some grease out but was barely even warm to the touch, as were the other 5 wheels.
Got raped by the government at the border for GST and provincial sales taxes and kept on going.
Arrived in Winnipeg 10 PM in the dark and parked the boat and trailer in Loren's yard.
Posed for a picture with the Admiral next day.
Can't wait for the flooding to stop and the Red River to go down so we can launch this beautiful boat and really begin living.

 

[DustinL]

Glad you finally get to hit the water man. I know you have been waiting forever. I know the rest of the 350 club is awaiting to hear about the performance of that girl with the stern drives.

 

[Quint4]

Beautiful boat ! I just sold my Duramax last week ( sadly) they are towing machines.

 

[CV-23]

A 350 with sterndrives.....I love it!....That's a cool trailer also, Mike.

 

[rondds]

Holy Crow! That's a LOTTA boat to tow that far. Maybe I missed it in another thread but curious what your weight was (boat + trailer) and how many miles you logged on this journey. Boat looks great! Best of luck to you!

 

[wavedancer37]

congrats man, quite a haul. nice to have another 350 in our neck of the woods

 

[MarkD]

welcome to the 30 Gallon per hour club! LOL I havent seen a 350 with I/O's in a few years but I knew they were out there (just uncommon). The IO's made for a huge dance floor in the forward engine room for storing TONS of stuff. This boat should really haul some butt. I would also be intersted in the weight.

good luck with her!

 

[Someday Lady II]

Holy Crow! That's a LOTTA boat to tow that far. Maybe I missed it in another thread but curious what your weight was (boat + trailer) and how many miles you logged on this journey. Boat looks great! Best of luck to you!

I am reading directly off my GPS log:
3158 km round trip (approximately 1974 miles)
Total time 74.4 hours (49.4 moving)
Moving avg speed 81.9 km per hour (approximately 50 mph)
Fuel consumed: 153 US gallons (12.9 mpg avg both ways)
Truck and trailer performed flawlessly but right now I SWEAR I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!

PO told me boat weighed 13,500 and the trailer was 5,000. I do not believe the weight of the trailer and will be scaling it up in Loren's yard but it is one heavy duty son of a gun. Even the fenders are heavy duty checker plate.

 

[Bugsy24]

Wow! You got "Big Cahonies" trailering that Beast with that Pickup!!!! :wow:

 

[Someday Lady II]

Wow! You got "Big Cahonies" trailering that Beast with that Pickup!!!! :wow:

It was not that bad weight wise. The truck pulled it well, almost effortlessly, the weight distributing hitch may be the greatest invention ever devised for trailering and once the surge brakes were renewed it stopped well.
The problem is the width particularly in construction zones and the difference in permit conditions from state to state. When we questioned the trooper about the logic in restricting permitted loads to 45mph he said that it was to ensure that vehicles would have an opportunity to pass in areas where passing lanes did not exist. When we told him that if I was doing the speed limit no one should be passing me he asked if I would like him to keep my present permit until such time as I could get one that was more to my liking.
I shut up and we moved on.