More "Get Ready for Cruising" Projects

   


We are roughly 9 months out from our planned Great Loop start. The boat really is as ready as she will ever be but there are still a few items I would like to get done.

    I was never too fond of the 15 kg (33#) Bruce style anchor on Pau Hana. It sometimes didn't set well.

Old 33# Bruce Type Anchor

    I had heard a lot of great things about Mantus Anchors from Mantus Marine. In fact one of the Loopers we met passing through Crystal River also had a 31 Camano Sweet Day They commented that "the Mantus never failed us once". I put off ordering the anchor and as the price started to increase I lamented that I didn't do it earlier. Looking through the AGLCA Forum, someone commented about the spring "Promo Code". I jumped on it and it saved me $82!

Ready for Assembly

The anchor comes disassembled but a snap to put together with a couple 3/4" wrenches. 

New Mantus 35# Anchor

    Still on "Anchor Detail" I found 2 Tow Bridles a friend made for me when I was a TowBoat US Captain. I figured they would make an excellent anchor bridle. 

Tow Bridle

    A few dollars in parts, thimble, some paracord, a shackle and a 3/8 chain hook...Done

Anchor Bridle/Snubber

     Now for some needed maintenance. I have replaced most all of the above the waterline thru hulls as they were plastic/Marlon and after 22 years they were tired.

Inside the Lazarette - Port Side

Port Side

I'll say it again, what I love about the Camano is that everything is accessible. The 4 thru hulls on the port side are easily accessible thru the lazzarette hatch. The size and order I have may not be what is on other Camanos. 

What I thought were the right connectors

Of course, as with any project it can't always be smooth. I ordered 3 of the 90's @ 3/4", when I only needed 1. The other 2 were 5/8". So after getting half way through the project, I had to track down the other 2 - 90's. I was able to find them, they were "freakin' expensive". 


    Once they arrived I finished up and was able to have the AC pumping again. In spite of that, the repair was pretty straight forward as each of the thru hulls came right out. I used some clear silicone for each one on the inside & outside and snugged them up.

Storage

A small project to create some more needed storage was a platform over the shaft behind the engine and in front of the generator.



It took a few trial & errors to get all the little "niches" cut so that nothing hits. This creates a platform to stand on as well and can easily be removed to access the shaft area. The piece of white starboard keeps the storage boxes from sliding forward and interfering with the shifter.

I have seen a few folks with additional seating on the flybridge. I ordered some pontoon seating from Pontoon Stuff made by DeckMate. The units come disassembled for shipping. 


Not only does this give us some additional seating & lounging area, it gives us more storage space. Since the seats are not watertight, I installed some Dri-Dek interlocking tiles so any water that pools in the bottom won't soak our items.


    A few more items done...Let's get this trip started!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Bottom Line

Image
    H ere in the Crystal River area where we keep our boat, underwater fouling is minimal. This is due to the amount of fresh water we have. Our canal is "brackish" with not alot of salinity and the closer you are to King's Bay and the springs the salinity goes way down. Out to the Gulf and further south, hull bottom fouling becomes worse. Go to the Keys and the Bahamas and it is very aggressive.  Wintertime when the water is cold, the growth is minimal, but when the water warms it is alive with billions of tiny organisms ready to cling to something and start reproducing. Now that our boat is in Tampa Bay and the water temperature is moving into the 70's the growth is accelerating.  How do we combat this? The list of ways is endless but the basic method is to apply Anti-Fouling coatings. Bottom paint. There is a whole science and tons of info about anti-fouling coatings so I won't go into all of it but basically there are 2 types of paint. Hard & Ablative. Bot...
Read more

Pre Loop Madness and Monotony

Image
   The build up was huge, the anticipation was killing us. Now we're here, living on the boat in Bradenton, FL for the next 14 days before we "shove off". With everything we think we will need for the trip in the back of our car, we load it onto the boat. Where in the heck are we going to put all of this stuff? Organizing and storing in every nook & cranny, sorting and reprioritizing. Re-looking at something and saying, "Do we really need 3 of these?" "Put it back in the car." After two full days, Beth managed to get it all labeled and packed away, somewhere. This little boat has a lot more storage space than we thought. Now, to be able to find it when we want it. I looked for my work gloves for 20 minutes!  "Where is all this stuff going to fit?"     Meanwhile I'm doing the same for all of my tools and gear, gallons of oil, fluids and filters, spare parts and odd things that we just might need to get us out of a pinch.  A few last mi...
Read more

The "REAL" Journey Begins

Image
TRAVEL DAY 1 - Palmetto to Sarasota February 14, 2023 4.2 Hours/31.6 Miles     Today is "really" the day we start of the Great Loop, as opposed to the "Unofficial Start of the Great Loop" . We felt pretty confident that all the preparation and work would pay off . Well, feelings are one thing, realty is another.     We pulled out of our slip and headed for the fuel dock to top off the tanks with a few gallons of diesel and pump out the holding tank. Of course the predicted wind was not what we got, neither was the air temperature, still it was a decent day for a cruise. We're still in our home waters so we basically knew the way. Our destination was Sarasota and a free anchorage. We had planned to pick up an anchor ball at Marina Jack's but it was full. Free anchorages mean more money for food, snacks and drinks! Out of the Manatee River and around Ana Marie Island     Beth had planned some routes on her Navionics and Aqua Maps apps and was ready to assume ...
Read more