Lucky's
Active Member
- May 25, 2010
- 1,873
- Boat Info
- 2006 320DA w/Black hull;
(2) 2016 3-up Seadoo Sparks
- Engines
- 350 Mercruiser MPI V drives
I got a call from Mr. Sea Ray Friday afternoon letting me know he was in my neck of the woods transporting a 510 from Merritt Island to Miami and wanting to tie up at my house. After a great dinner Friday evening with Rusty and his co-captain, Shelby from the customer service department who was riding along, we were asked if we wanted to accompany them to Ft. Lauderdale the next day. Obviously, that was a no brainer! So 730 Saturday morning we boarded the boat with some coffee and donuts.
When I got on board I was surprised to hear "alright captain, I'll be drinking my coffee. Get her ready to leave". Although I was a bit intimidated, by being given the opportunity to figure it out, I learned a ton in the first 10 minutes. Once the diesels were purring and the generator powering the essentials, he said "I've got lines, let me know when you're ready". So with a little bump of the thrusters (which I really fell in love with on this trip), we were off. The plan was to take the intracoastal to Palm Beach and then take the outside to Lauderdale. The trip down was uneventful other than Rusty yelling at me every 8 seconds for going too fast in the no wake zones. It was a delicate balancing act of having him tell me how bored he was of going so slow one minute, then slapping me in the head for going too fast the next! Lol.
Here's the takeaways from the journey. Something I already knew, our friend Rusty is one frickin smart man! Every time I'm around him I learn so much. Shelby from customer service really cares and has a genuine interest in what customers think. The 510 is an amazing boat and is in my radar for a 5-7 year out boat. From the Hillsborough inlet to Lauderdale, we were in 5+' seas with a 3-5 second interval. It was like a washing machine and that boat handled those seas amazingly. I was also able to dock her in the pitch dark in Lauderdale and that's where I fell in love with the thrusters!!
So, besides the constant barrage of hand slaps for my heavy throttle hand, a few technical difficulties and that one rouge wave where I stuffed the bow and took about 600 gallons of water over the boat (most of which landed on Shelby and Heather who were sitting out back
, it was an amazing experience. Rusty IS the reason I'm still a SR owner as I was looking to stray when he steered me to the Laguna. He's also the reason I intend to remain loyal to the brand and am now hooked on getting a 510!! Thanks you, ya crusted old captain for another great experience and for all you do for the SR owners and brand.
P.S., sorry there isn't more boat pics. Hard to get them from the helm and I was only away from it to pee!
When I got on board I was surprised to hear "alright captain, I'll be drinking my coffee. Get her ready to leave". Although I was a bit intimidated, by being given the opportunity to figure it out, I learned a ton in the first 10 minutes. Once the diesels were purring and the generator powering the essentials, he said "I've got lines, let me know when you're ready". So with a little bump of the thrusters (which I really fell in love with on this trip), we were off. The plan was to take the intracoastal to Palm Beach and then take the outside to Lauderdale. The trip down was uneventful other than Rusty yelling at me every 8 seconds for going too fast in the no wake zones. It was a delicate balancing act of having him tell me how bored he was of going so slow one minute, then slapping me in the head for going too fast the next! Lol.
Here's the takeaways from the journey. Something I already knew, our friend Rusty is one frickin smart man! Every time I'm around him I learn so much. Shelby from customer service really cares and has a genuine interest in what customers think. The 510 is an amazing boat and is in my radar for a 5-7 year out boat. From the Hillsborough inlet to Lauderdale, we were in 5+' seas with a 3-5 second interval. It was like a washing machine and that boat handled those seas amazingly. I was also able to dock her in the pitch dark in Lauderdale and that's where I fell in love with the thrusters!!
So, besides the constant barrage of hand slaps for my heavy throttle hand, a few technical difficulties and that one rouge wave where I stuffed the bow and took about 600 gallons of water over the boat (most of which landed on Shelby and Heather who were sitting out back
, it was an amazing experience. Rusty IS the reason I'm still a SR owner as I was looking to stray when he steered me to the Laguna. He's also the reason I intend to remain loyal to the brand and am now hooked on getting a 510!! Thanks you, ya crusted old captain for another great experience and for all you do for the SR owners and brand. P.S., sorry there isn't more boat pics. Hard to get them from the helm and I was only away from it to pee!
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