Your first trip on the "new to you boat" was a big/long one

[mrsrobinson]

Most of you probably already know I just purchased a 2001 380DA. My first trip will be to bring her home, 8+ hours from Kent Island, MD to Woodbridge. VA. Half of the trip will be on the Bay, 2nd half will be on the Potomac River.

I have literally had no time on the boat yet, it has not left the slip. Life stuff has gotten in the way. We are scheduled to leave in 2 weeks. I will have one weekend on the boat before then. Backup plan is the following weekend if the weather is bad. If it doesn't happen then I will be playing double slip rent. Not a deal breaker, but I'd prefer to not do that.

I have been planning and planning, creating lists of "what I need on the boat", etc. I have not boated for almost 3 years so I find myself forgetting about things. For example I just realized the boat doesn't have a extending pole/hook, so I just ordered one. Flashlight? Nope, not on the boat, just ordered one. Bumpers inflated? I dunno, will check, bring pump and needle. Do I have enough dock lines? Etc.

I am curious to hear from others who did this: bought a boat and took a big/first trip to get her home. What did you learn? What would you change? Were you prepared? Etc.

Thanks

 

[FootballFan]

From when I moved from a 340DA to the 47DB.

The 47DB we purchased was in North Carolina and we wanted it in south Florida. Had made a couple of trips to the area during purchase and survey.

Wife and I flew to North Carolina to pick up the boat. Spent a couple of days loading up the boat with everything from coffee pot, dishes, bed linens, etc. Not sure how many trips we made in the rented SUV from Bed Bath and Beyond, West Marine, and grocery stores.

I was going from Wrightsville Beach to Miami. On the first day hired a local captain to ride with us from Wrightsville Beach down to Bald Head just to make sure we had no surprises. He was able to catch the ferry over to Southport and get a ride back home.

Big highlight of the trip was @mquiet and @bahamabreisus were at Baldhead. Had a chance to meet them.

Next morning with my two new CSR friends helping us with the lines wife and I left for points south, next night was Charleston. The only time I ever bumped a dock with that boat was that first morning with my new CSR buds looking on...

Made it to Miami over the next 5-6 days. Trying to remember, I think our stops were Charleston, Hilton Head, St. Augustine, Fort Pierce, then into Miami.

I had discussed the float plan with @Capt. Rusty Higgins in advance. I remember coming up on Canaveral area a lot earlier in the day that I had thought - him telling me to make sure I was outside the shoals and "hammer down" to Fort Pierce I think.

Great trip.

 

[Stee6043]

I brought my 400 home via a 6 hour maiden voyage including a Great Lake crossing. I brought a pickup truck worth of crap with me when we took delivery.

The most important items for my trip on my "new to me" boat were plenty of lines, GPS on an iPad (had no idea how to use the installed MFD at the time) and bumpers. Other than that just a credit card for gas and beer

 

[Steve S]

I brought my 400DB from Sturgeon Bay to Winthrop Harbor for my first cruise in May 2018. About 150nm and a little over 7 hours. Didn't worry about much besides making sure we had life jackets available and the radio worked. Had my iPad as a backup for navigation. I did a detailed inspection for items afterwards at my home dock. Also had a experienced boater friend that went with me . It was a fun trip. The only issue was the chart plotter didn't talk to autopilot. So I followed some guidance to go out a couple of miles (to avoid fishing nets) then take a 180 heading to get home. So I did... but there was a westerly wind about 12-15 mph that pushed me more towards the center of the lake as I forgot to correctly "crab" to account for the drift. Figured it out by Milwaukee and had to make a pretty large starboard correction. Other than that... she ran beautifully...

 

[FootballFan]

One other note about our relocation of the 47DB.

We had surveyed the boat very diligently, both general survey and engine survey. Replaced anything that was suspect including new raw water pumps for cooling. There was a fair amount of work done by Marine Max locally prior to our trip, so I had confidence in the boat.

 

[Steve S]

One other note about our relocation of the 47DB.

We had surveyed the boat very diligently, both general survey and engine survey. Replaced anything that was suspect including new raw water pumps for cooling. There was a fair amount of work done by Marine Max locally prior to our trip, so I had confidence in the boat.

Like Football Fan, I had the boat surveyed for both engine and general survey. Replaced items and corrected certain safety items (Like the horn didn't work) before I took possession, so I was fairly confident in the boat prior to departure.

 

[ranger58sb]

I am curious to hear from others who did this: bought a boat and took a big/first trip to get her home. What did you learn? What would you change? Were you prepared? Etc.

Our PREVIOUS purchase/delivery was from Bay Bridge Marina on Kent Island to the marina near our home off the South River. 11 NM. Big whoop. IOW, easy, even if that boat was 10'' longer and 5' wider than the one before that.

This most recent purchase/delivery... not as easy. The boat came from near St. Petersburg, FL and @Capt. Rusty Higgins moved it to Ft. Myers for us for engine rehab work. After two months of that we eventually sea trialed again on a Friday (note: my first time driving the boat, my first day with new-to-me dual-function controls), left the next day on Saturday morning... because we faced a lock closure just on the other side of the Okeechobee which would have added a 5-day delay. 1124 NM, ~$12K later, we arrived at our new slip here. (Some of that cost heavily influenced by weather: a hurricane that passed over as we waited to leave Ft. Myers, and several thunderstorms en route -- the kind where you can't see the bow of the boat. Given all that, we ran faster than I normally would, didn't anchor out like we normally would, etc.)

I mention that "first day with dual function controls" because that was the most difficult thing to get used to. Previously, with separate gears and throttles, I could work everything without ever looking at the controls. With the combined gear/throttle control levers... ummm... let's say it took me a bit to get back in charge. Sorta. And I still can't do it without watching myself -- which means taking eyeballs off the approach -- a lot.

Another issue has been getting used to the airplane runway we have hanging on the stern. Some may call it a swim platform... but it's about 3x larger than what I'm used to... which means the stern extends about 5' further after from my position at the helm... That was easier to get used to, but still...

This boat is also larger than previous: nominally 14' longer and 1' wider. Not an issue. Although my Admiral is still a bit intimidated by the size.

-Chris

 

[Gord]

Most of you probably already know I just purchased a 2001 380DA. My first trip will be to bring her home, 8+ hours from Kent Island, MD to Woodbridge. VA. Half of the trip will be on the Bay, 2nd half will be on the Potomac River.

I have literally had no time on the boat yet, it has not left the slip. Life stuff has gotten in the way. We are scheduled to leave in 2 weeks. I will have one weekend on the boat before then. Backup plan is the following weekend if the weather is bad. If it doesn't happen then I will be playing double slip rent. Not a deal breaker, but I'd prefer to not do that.

I have been planning and planning, creating lists of "what I need on the boat", etc. I have not boated for almost 3 years so I find myself forgetting about things. For example I just realized the boat doesn't have a extending pole/hook, so I just ordered one. Flashlight? Nope, not on the boat, just ordered one. Bumpers inflated? I dunno, will check, bring pump and needle. Do I have enough dock lines? Etc.

I am curious to hear from others who did this: bought a boat and took a big/first trip to get her home. What did you learn? What would you change? Were you prepared? Etc.

Thanks

When we bought our 340, two years ago it was the last week of September. We were starting in Lake St. Clair Mi and were on our way to Grand Haven MI. Roughly 500 miles. When we left home, our pick up was fully loaded. We needed bedding, tools, charts, life jackets, food, warm clothes. I really only had the first night planed. The second night we found out in northern Michigan some marinas were closed for the season so we had to go a little farther. The third day we were in fog most of the day and I was not familiar with the radar on the boat or any other radar for that matter. You can not drive the boat and try to figure the radar out. My wife was doing her best but I could not help her. I estimated we could see about two miles so I kept going. Offshore of Alpena Mi about five miles we had a freighter blow her horn five times at us. We could not see the freighter but it made us very uneasy. We made it to Mackinac Island that day about 4.00 PM.
I wish I had gotten gas before we went there because there is no gas on the island. The next morning we were ready to go to St Ignace by 7.30 AM. When we got there we found out that late in the year the fuel dock does not open until 9.00 am so we wasted 1.5 hours of travel time. The weather was suppose to change the next day so we were going to push it a little bit. It had started to sprinkle a little bit but we kept going. We stopped for gas in Frankfort and decided we were going to keep going. This is when I made a big mistake. Not my my wife but me. I was the captain and I should have said we were going to stop for the night. The days are short in the fall and it was going to get dark long before we would get home. We made it back to Grand Haven at 9.30 PM in the dark. We had a great time but looking back I can find a lot of things we got lucky on.

Good Luck to you on your trip and be careful.

 

[Jeremygavin]

I brought my 520DB from Port Washington NY to Falmouth MA at the end of Oct which is an 8.5hr run with good weather. We were only on the boat for 8hrs during the survey prior to the day we had to bring the boat back. I brought as many spare parts as I could get My hands on ahead of time such as raw water impellers, belts, hose repair material (rescue tape) emergency plugs, small dingy as I don’t have a life raft, handheld VHF, Epirb, life jackets, and a whole bunch of misc parts and supply’s.
I also brought a lot of tools that I thought might be useful.
The weather was really bad that month so we had a short window of time between weather fronts. Our plan was to get on the boat evening before and get everything set as best we could then the next morning the plan was to fuel up at 8am when the fuel dock opened and head out. We got delayed do to the seller delaying the closing by a day so we ended up leaving around 12pm instead of 8am. I decided we would go even though I new weather was moving in that evening just because if we didn’t the boat would have been stuck in Port Washington for a few weeks because of weather and scheduling. That delayed put us in 10-12ft waves in the dark off of the vineyard in a boat I didn’t know that well. That was one of the only 2 moments in my life that I was on a boat that I was saying to myself, we should not be here right now. My point is be prepared as you can but be flexible with your trip to have the best weather possible. Don’t force it because of scheduling and put yourself in a bad spot. If your schedule don’t warrant that flexibility then having a Captian take the boat down for you is a good idea.

 

[bahamabreisus]

From when I moved from a 340DA to the 47DB.

The 47DB we purchased was in North Carolina and we wanted it in south Florida. Had made a couple of trips to the area during purchase and survey.

Wife and I flew to North Carolina to pick up the boat. Spent a couple of days loading up the boat with everything from coffee pot, dishes, bed linens, etc. Not sure how many trips we made in the rented SUV from Bed Bath and Beyond, West Marine, and grocery stores.

I was going from Wrightsville Beach to Miami. On the first day hired a local captain to ride with us from Wrightsville Beach down to Bald Head just to make sure we had no surprises. He was able to catch the ferry over to Southport and get a ride back home.

Big highlight of the trip was @mquiet and @bahamabreisus were at Baldhead. Had a chance to meet them.

Next morning with my two new CSR friends helping us with the lines wife and I left for points south, next night was Charleston. The only time I ever bumped a dock with that boat was that first morning with my new CSR buds looking on...

Made it to Miami over the next 5-6 days. Trying to remember, I think our stops were Charleston, Hilton Head, St. Augustine, Fort Pierce, then into Miami.

I had discussed the float plan with @Capt. Rusty Higgins in advance. I remember coming up on Canaveral area a lot earlier in the day that I had thought - him telling me to make sure I was outside the shoals and "hammer down" to Fort Pierce I think.

Great trip.

Thanks for not mentioning my graceful 1 engine entrance into the basin. Haha.

 

[mrsrobinson]

Great, eventful, adventurous, fun stories that I m sure make for great memories.

My pile of "stuff" at the front door to take to the boat gets bigger every day. Adding a few from this post.

 

[ZZ13]

There’s none better than Boat Guy’s maiden voyage solo from Annapolis to FL.

http://clubsearay.com/index.php?thr...g-an-adventure-the-making-of-a-captain.63915/

 

[ranger58sb]

My pile of "stuff" at the front door to take to the boat gets bigger every day. Adding a few from this post.

Heh... we made two car trips to FL. First, Suburban filled to the gills with the initial load of boat stuff. Second, Admiral and I in a rented SUV, ditto filled to the gills, with the next load.

Then third, stuff we moved on board once we got here. Fourth, stuff hanging around the house that I haven't tried to move yet... since I haven't identified the best storage slot for it yet.

-Chris

 

[Hoplite808]

@mrsrobinson It sounds like you are well prepared and it should be a fun trip. If you are really worried about going alone perhaps see if anyone on here is near your neck of the woods and would like to join you for the cruise with their boat. The only other gear since you say it’s been a while since you’ve been on the water I could suggest is make sure you have an adequately updated chart plotter on board.

 

[techmitch]

Boat US towing or SeaTow.

 

[mrsrobinson]

Heh... we made two car trips to FL. First, Suburban filled to the gills with the initial load of boat stuff. Second, Admiral and I in a rented SUV, ditto filled to the gills, with the next load.

Then third, stuff we moved on board once we got here. Fourth, stuff hanging around the house that I haven't tried to move yet... since I haven't identified the best storage slot for it yet.

-Chris

Ok, I do not feel too bad now I am sure I will haul 1/2 the stuff off in 6 months figuring out I don't need it.

 

[mrsrobinson]

@mrsrobinson It sounds like you are well prepared and it should be a fun trip. If you are really worried about going alone perhaps see if anyone on here is near your neck of the woods and would like to join you for the cruise with their boat. The only other gear since you say it’s been a while since you’ve been on the water I could suggest is make sure you have an adequately updated chart plotter on board.

I feel 92% good/confident/safe at this point. The GF will be joining me, she is not really a "boater" though, but did some boating with me on the last boat. And some of the club sea rayers have offered to meet me along the way.

Honestly, I went "back to Sea Ray" because of this site, the members, the SMEs here; you cannot find this on any other boat website in my opinion, the "virtual" camaraderie.

 

[Hoplite808]

I feel 92% good/confident/safe at this point. The GF will be joining me, she is not really a "boater" though, but did some boating with me on the last boat. And some of the club sea rayers have offered to meet me along the way.

Honestly, I went "back to Sea Ray" because of this site, the members, the SMEs here; you cannot find this on any other boat website in my opinion, the "virtual" camaraderie.

Agreed, I seem to be the lone Sea Ray owner in Hawaii as far as I can tell on this site. Haven’t found any sort of physical community outside of the yacht club which as of late feels less about being on the water than near it. Found this virtual community useful, knowledgeable, and friendly. Just remember a ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what’s ships are for.

 

[Pirate Lady]

There’s none better than Boat Guy’s maiden voyage solo from Annapolis to FL.

http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/over-900-miles…-and-counting-an-adventure-the-making-of-a-captain.63915/

….Then I said… "F' that…let's have an adventure!"

 

[FootballFan]

Thanks for not mentioning my graceful 1 engine entrance into the basin. Haha.

LOL. Actually - given the fact that you were only able to use 1 engine (I think it was a clogged fuel filter) your handling of the boat that day in close quarters, on 1 engine, with the wind blowing showed quite a bit of skill.