The plan came together - Days 260 to 265 - Annapolois to Chicago

I learned the phrase "I love it when a plan comes together" from Brian McEnroe (brother of "the" John McEnroe) when we collaborated in 1996 on a training program to help dealers maximize vehicle sales profits.  (Note: While the training program itself was a work of Guided Discovery art, I did not like the heavy handed sales tactics that it taught).

That said, Brian's "I love it when a plan comes together" almost perfectly describes the "moving off the 48" project that began on Saturday morning (6/18).

Here's the highlights:

On Wednesday, June 15, Diana contracted with YouCrate for the shipment of our personal property from Annapolis to Seattle.  She arranged to have a W49" x D49" x H80" inch crate dropped off at Petrini Shipyard before noon on Monday.  Total shipping cost: $1,170

On Friday, Outer Reef surveyed and sea-trialed the 48.  Nothing of consequence was found and, as a result, we now had a firm deal.

On Saturday morning, we went to Home Depot and bought 5 large, 10 medium and 10 small boxes, tape, and wrapping paper (along with bubble wrap and blankets that were not used).

Saturday was spent packing our stuff.  Unfortunately, it was hot and humid, which made it easy for Diana to stay below and pack.  I stayed above, endured the heat, and packed an amazing amount of stuff stored under the seats in the cockpit. We packed for a total of 6 hours on Saturday. 

Sunday and Monday were spent packing the remainder of the cabin.  As the process evolved, we discovered that our box selections were not perfect and we returned to Home Depot twice to get more small boxes and return stuff. Ultimately, we used a total of 34 boxes, 3 large, 4 medium and 27 small.

The 48 Sundancer held a lot of stuff.  We estimate slightly over 2,000 pounds.  By the time the process was complete, the port settee and cockpit were completely filled with boxes.

By Sunday evening, I was convinced that the 34 boxes and other stuff (dog crate, dog ramp, stern anchor rode, laundry and folding chair) would not fit in the single crate.  This turned out to be mostly incorrect.  In fact, everything did fit into the one crate (except for 3 PFDs - life jackets to ye landlubbers).  But that was not discovered until we loaded on Tuesday afternoon.

Anticipating that we had more than would fit in one crate, I called YouCrate and ordered a second unit (adding $645).  This delayed delivery until Tuesday, which was not a problem as we need Monday to complete packing.

Monday evening was our last night on the 48.

Tuesday, we finished packing and at noon, as promised, the crates (a total of three - the two scheduled for Tuesday and the cancelled one from Monday) arrived.  Actually, I though we would need the third crate although this would have increased the shipping by another $587 (for a total of $2,403).

Next challenge.  How do we get 34 boxes and the other stull to the crate?  To appreciate this problem, you need to have a mental picture of where the 48 was in relation to the crates.  "Over the river and through the woods" is a good descriptor.  We would have had to carry the boxes over 200 yards of dock then up a steep 150 foot ramp and then across 50 yards of Petrini's parking lot.

No problem.  John Petrini to the rescue.  First, we moved the boat into the Travel Lift bay.  Then Petrini's workers unloaded the stuff onto the dock, walked it 100 feet to a truck and then transported it to the crates (about an 1/8th of a mile due to the shipyard's configuration).  Two hours later (four man hours and $280) the stuff was loaded.  Surprise!  Surprise!  With the genius of DJ (John Petrini's #2) loading, it filled up one crate ($1,232 saved).  I called YouCrate with the news and they said fine, you will be charged for only one crate ($1,170).

Around 4:00 PM, as promised, YouCrate's tractor trailer arrived.  We provided the bill of lading to the driver and left it in his capable, at least we thought, hands. 

An hour later, the driver announced that the crate could not be loaded as it was top heavy (not true).  He the "ordered" me to divide the load into three crates.  FORTUNATELY, Joe, one of Petrini's workers who had participated in the move off the boat drove by and I contracted with him ($50) to redistribute the load.  With Diana supervising, I left for Enterprise (5:45 PM) to exchange our compact for a more comfortable full size Chevy Malibu that would be better for the 730 mile ride to Chicago.

By 7:00 PM we were on the road.  280 miles later (at midnight) we got a room at the Quality Inn and a much needed shower.  After a leisurely morning (breakfast and dog walked), we drove the remaining 450 easy miles to Chicago.  Noteworthy is that we averaged 66 MPH to the end of the Skyway (5:00 PM).  Then we hit Chicago traffic.  The last 10 miles took forever (60 minutes).  We reach home at 6:00 PM.

Bottom line: Except for a few small hitches, the plan came together.  I love it!

Post Script: On Wednesday morning, I contacted YouCrate, told them my tale of woe, and they agreed that the driver was in error (i.e., the crate could be fully loaded).   Further, they did not charge us for the second or third crate and refunded the $50 I paid Joe for redistributing the load.  YouCrate proved to be a stand-up company.

I will be in Chicago until July 6, when I leave for Seattle for three days of training on the 63's operation and systems.

Written by Les.