Sarasota Bound: Favorable Weather Predictions

Note to readers: This article started out on October 28 as a weather update email to Guy and Morgan (this year's crew) and was revised daily with new information as NOAA updated their forecasts.

As of Friday October 28:

While the Hingham weather has been a bit nasty (gale winds and cold) for the last 6 days (this as of Thurday PM) and is forecasted to remain so through the weekend, the forecasted high pressure mentioned in "Cruising Plans" for Monday and Tuesday has not changed.

Below is the offshore forecast for the mid-Atlantic waters. It's showing diminishing winds starting on Monday and continuing through Tuesday. 

This has two implications. The first is near shore wind and seas will be almost flat. The second bodes well for a beeline crossing from Buzzards Bay direct to Ocean City NJ.

ANZ899-290315-  1020 AM EDT FRI OCT 28 2016      .SYNOPSIS FOR MID ATLC WATERS... 

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SE ACROSS  THE NRN AND CENTRAL WATERS TODAY...THEN CONTINUE S OVER THE SRN  WATERS TONIGHT WHILE WEAKENING. A HIGH PRES RIDGE WILL BUILD  OFFSHORE TONIGHT...MOVE SLOWLY SE INTO THE SRN WATERS SAT AND SAT  NIGHT...THEN GRADUALLY WEAKEN SUN INTO MON. ANOTHER COLD FRONT  WILL APPROACH FROM THE NW SUN...THEN PUSH SE OVER THE WATERS SUN  NIGHT AND MON AS LOW PRES PASSES E ACROSS THE FAR NRN WATERS.  ANOTHER RIDGE WILL BUILD SE OVER THE WATERS MON...THEN MOVE SE  ACROSS THE AREA MON NIGHT THROUGH TUE NIGHT.  

ANZ915-290315-  BETWEEN 1000 FM AND 38.5N WEST OF 69W-  1020 AM EDT FRI OCT 28 2016    GALE WARNING    TODAY  W WINDS 25 TO 30 KT. SEAS 8 TO 12 FT. SCATTERED  SHOWERS.  TONIGHT  NW WINDS 25 TO 35 KT...DIMINISHING TO 20 TO 30 KT.  SEAS 8 TO 14 FT.  SAT  NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING W. SEAS SUBSIDING TO 6 TO  10 FT.  SAT NIGHT  W WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. SEAS 6 TO 9 FT.  SUN  W WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. SEAS 4 TO 8 FT.  SUN NIGHT  W WINDS 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING N TO NW 15 TO 25 KT.  SEAS 4 TO 6 FT.  MON  N TO NE WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. SEAS 5 TO 7 FT.  MON NIGHT  E TO NE WINDS DIMINISHING TO 5 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 6  FT.  TUE  E TO SE WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT.  TUE NIGHT  S TO SW WINDS LESS THAN 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 

The second offshore forecast below takes us beyond the Delaware River. Look at Weds. We have favorable (2-3 foot) seas into Maryland.

 ANZ899-290830-  423 PM EDT FRI OCT 28 2016      .SYNOPSIS FOR MID ATLC WATERS... 

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE S ACROSS  THE SRN WATERS TONIGHT WHILE WEAKENING. A HIGH PRES RIDGE WILL  BUILD OFFSHORE TONIGHT...MOVE SLOWLY SE INTO THE SRN WATERS SAT  AND SAT NIGHT...THEN GRADUALLY WEAKEN SUN INTO MON. ANOTHER COLD  FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NW SUN...THEN PUSH SE OVER THE WATERS  SUN NIGHT AND MON AS LOW PRES PASSES E ACROSS THE FAR NRN WATERS.  ANOTHER RIDGE WILL BUILD SE OVER THE WATERS MON...THEN MOVE SE  ACROSS THE AREA MON NIGHT THROUGH WED NIGHT. A LOW PRES TROUGH IS  EXPECTED TO MOVE OFFSHORE INTO THE NW WATERS WED AND WED NIGHT.
   ANZ825-290830-  BALTIMORE CANYON TO CAPE CHARLES LIGHT TO 100 NM OFFSHORE-  423 PM EDT FRI OCT 28 2016    TONIGHT  N TO NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. SEAS 4 TO 7 FT.  SAT  W TO SW WINDS DIMINISHING TO 5 TO 15 KT...THEN BECOMING SW  10 TO 20 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT.  SAT NIGHT  SW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING W. SEAS 3 TO 6 FT.  SUN  W WINDS 15 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SW 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO  5 FT.  SUN NIGHT  SW WINDS 15 TO 20 KT...BECOMING N. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT.  MON  N WINDS 15 TO 20 KT...DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS  3 TO 6 FT.  MON NIGHT  NE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING E 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS  3 TO 5 FT.  TUE  VARIABLE WINDS LESS THAN 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT.  TUE NIGHT  S WINDS LESS THAN 10 KT...BECOMING SW. SEAS 2 TO  3 FT.  WED  SW WINDS LESS THAN 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT.  WED NIGHT  S TO SW WINDS LESS THAN 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT.  

As of Saturday October 29:

The forecast below is for the near shore waters at Cape Hatteras, which as you know is the most dangerous stretch of water on our route (and for that matter, the Eastern Seaboard). Because of the impassable Diamond Shoal, which requires us to go 17 miles out to sea to get around it, and the fact that we traverse these waters at night, calm seas are, shall we say, desirable. NOAA is forecasting 2 to 3 footers on Wednesday, which is as far out as they go as of this moment (Saturday AM). We deal with Hatteras on Thursday. The synopsis show high pressure building over the area mid-week. Seas should remain favorable for us.

   AMZ100-292215-  658 AM EDT SAT OCT 29 2016      .SYNOPSIS FOR EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA COASTAL WATERS...  HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE REGION TODAY WITH ANOTHER COLD  FRONT CROSSING SUNDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY MONDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL  REBUILD OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.    $$

---

   AMZ154-292215-  S OF CAPE HATTERAS TO OCRACOKE INLET NC OUT 20 NM    658 AM EDT SAT OCT 29 2016    TODAY  N WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING SW LATE. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT.  DOMINANT PERIOD 9 SECONDS.  TONIGHT  SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING W 10 TO 15 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. DOMINANT PERIOD 9 SECONDS.  SUN  W WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. DOMINANT PERIOD  9 SECONDS.  SUN NIGHT  W WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT. DOMINANT PERIOD  8 SECONDS.  MON  N WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT.  MON NIGHT  NE WINDS 15 TO 20 KT...DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 15 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT.  TUE  NE WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT.  WED  N WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT.

NOAA's forecast map six days out (immediately below), which takes us to Friday (4 days into our journey) shows high pressure approaching the Carolina's with the isobars far apart. This indicates calm seas and, even better, winds out of the northeast giving us a following sea and a slight tail wind.

Forecast Friday Morning, November

The high pressure to the west bodes well for the weekend as we cross Georgia and Florida waters. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the weather window will be open for 7 days and thus we make Clewiston without a weather incident. 

Weather is definitely less of a factor on the Okeechobee. Baring high winds and pea soup fog, our Tuesday run from Clewiston to Captiva should be easy. That leaves Wednesday on the Gulf Coast as the only remaining weather question but here too we have the Gulf ICW if needed.

So, bottom line, the sea gods heard my request and we have favorable weather. Sarasota here we come.

As of Sunday morning October 30th:

The following five forecast maps take us out to Friday. What this shows is the weather window (high pressure with a isobars far apart) is "open for business."

Forecast Monday Morning October 31
Lousy weather but were still at the dock

Forecast Tuesday Morning, November 1

Forecast Wednesday Morning, November 2

Forecast Thursday Morning, November 3

Forecast Friday Morning, November 4 (As of October 30)

Forecast Saturday Morning, November 5

The Saturday forecast above shows high pressure across the entire country. As a weather junky (I study the weather every morning) I can say this is a rare sight. This is far as NOAA goes as of this writing but it is safe to say that we have a weather window all. The way to Sarasota.

I'm not particularly concerned with the cold front just north of the Florida border, which is most likely to be a dry cold front due to the mild pressure gradient (isobars far apart).

As always, thanks to weather gods Zeus and Zephyros.

Explanatory Note:  Zephyros is the god of the gentle west wind and the herald of spring. He was the husband of Chloris, the goddess of flowers, and the father of Carpus, fruits. ZEUS, the King of the Gods and the ruler of the heavens, is the god of clouds, rain, thunder and lightning.

Written by Les.

Sarasota Bound: Cruising Plans

It's that time again.

On Tuesday morning November 1 at 7:00 AM, we depart for the 1,430 NM voyage to Sarasota. Assuming cooperative weather (attention sea gods) and no mechanical issues, the plan is to run six and a half days direct to Clewiston Florida with a two hour pit stop in Morehead City. Then take two more days to finish the Okeechobee Waterway and run north from Fort Myers to Sarasota.  I'm estimating arrival in Sarasota at 2:00 PM. My ability to make this schedule is pretty good, again assuming no weather issues, as I can increase speed as necessary.

Explanatory Note: When you are running 24 hours a day, a 1 knot increase is speed adds 24 nautical miles or a time reduction of three hours each day. Two days of running knocks off 6 hours. Of course there is a  corresponding fuel penalty. The 63 will burn an an additional 5 gallons per hour to run at 1600 RPMs. That translates into 120 gallons per day. Since we carry 1,300 gallons and will have full tanks leaving Morehead City the extra fuel consumption is not a problem.

Essentially, I hope to replicate what we did last November, when we knocked off an entire day's travel by getting to Clewiston, which is located on the southwest end of Lake Okeechobee, on the seventh day. While optimistic, this plan is doable. The key is getting past the Mayaka Lock before 5:00 PM, when the lock closes. You will notice in the detailed plan below that I'm estimating arrival at the Mayaka Lock at 15:26 (3:26 PM). Again this is based on last year's run. Once on Lake Okeechobee we have clear sailing to Clewiston. The only "problem" is that the sun sets at 17:36 (5:36 PM). This will necessitate running the last 90 minutes in the dark. Considering that the final stretch (see photos below) is well marked, along with our night vision and the fact that I have a programmed route, that I've run twice before, the problem is surmountable.

Besides the sunset, it turns out that there are two more "wrinkles." First, Lake Okeechobee" water levels are high at 15.7 feet. Second, the Ortona Lock is under construction which necessitates limited openings.

Southwest segment of Okeechobee Route 1

The final stretch  is a narrow but well marked channel

The first wrinkle has two implications. The first is good. The water level on Route 1 is 9.26 feet. Last May we noted clearance of only 2 feet at the southern section of Route 1; now we have close to 5. The second implication is that the Clewiston Lock is now operating. Last May, and in fact on all of our previous trips, it was open 24/7. However, this does not pose a problem as long as we are on schedule (7:00 PM arrival). The lock closes at 8;00 PM giving us a 60 minute buffer.

Now to the Ortona Lock, The Okeechobee Waterway website shows a Notice to Mariners indicating that the lock is under construction until October 14. I called to the lockmaster today and learned that the construction will last until November 18. Planned closures are between 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. As indicated by the proposed plan below, we should arrive at the lock at 12:09 PM. Back to the Clewiston Lock. Fortunately it opens at 5:30 AM. Allowing for locking time we should be clear of the lock and on our way by 6:00 AM. However, we are looking at a crack-of-dawn departure from Roland Martins Marina which is located inside the Clewiston Lock.

This year's crew consists of myself, Guy Aries and Morgan Watt. Guy has experience with this trip having accompanied me last year with Skip Roper. Guy is an experienced boater with a captains license. Morgan Watt, who is flying in from Sarasota, is also highly experienced. He too has a captains license along with years of experience as a commercial pilot. This is my most experienced crew to date.

Now to the weather. As of today (Tuesday) we have limited information as NOAA marine forecasts only go out six days. That said, at Day 6, Sunday, NOAA is showing high pressure dominating the east coast with the isobars (pressure gradient) far apart. This makes for light winds. Our Tuesday departure will depend on how fast that high moves off the coast and what fills in behind it. The other critical factor is tropical depressions, storms and hurricanes. At the moment there is no tropical activity in the Atlantic. Obviously this can change but as a general rule, the hurricane season is over by November 30 and storms are rare in November. Our insurance company requires us to stay north of Cape Hatteras until November 15. However, we have "special dispensation" to cross the boundary a few days early. However, that comes with a $200,000 wind deductible.

Finally, we have food. The captain and the crew must be fed. This year, Chef Bernard Kinsella at Good life Kitchen is providing our evening meals. I met Chef Bernard last summer when he had a shop in Hingham. His take out meals were excellent. This year, the chef prepared two of each menu item for me to sample. I've had a ball tasting his fare. I've included the menu. You will find it below the Proposed November 2016 Cruising Plan.

Written by Les.

Proposed November 2016 Cruising Plan

Explanatory Note: The calculation of days miles divided by speed. The ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) is based on log entries from last years run.

FROM	TO	MILES	CUM	TIME	CUM	RPM	KNOTS	DAYS	ETA
Depart Hingham									7:00
Hingham Mass	Morehead City	641.5	641.5	76.4	76.4	1400	8.4	3.18	12:30
Fuel Stop		0.0	641.5	2.0	78.4			0.08	14:30
Morehead City	Fort Pierce Inlet	574.7	1216.2	68.4	146.8	1400	8.4	2.85	7:20
Fort Pierce Inlet	Okeechobee R240	23.7	1239.9	2.8	149.6	1400	8.4	0.12	10:10
Okeechobee R240	Roosevelt Bridge	6.5	1246.4	0.8	150.4	1400	8.4	0.03	11:02
Roosevelt Bridge	St Lucie Lock	8.4	1254.8	1.0	151.4	1400	8.4	0.04	12:00
Locking		0.0	1254.8	0.7	152.1			0.03	12:42
St Lucie Lock	Port Myaka Lock	15.0	1269.8	1.8	153.9	1400	8.4	0.07	15:26
Locking		0.0	1269.8	0.7	154.6			0.03	16:06
Port Myaka Lock	Clewiston	23.0	1292.8	2.7	157.3	1400	8.4	0.11	18:56
								6.55
Depart Clewiston									6:00
Clewiston	Moore Haven Lock	11.0	1303.8	1.3	1.3	1400	8.4	0.05	7:24
Locking		0.0	1303.8	0.7	2.0			0.03	8:06
Moore Haven Lock	Ortona Lock	14.0	1317.8	1.7	3.7	1400	8.4	0.07	9:27
Locking		0.0	1317.8	0.7	4.4			0.03	10:09
Ortona Lock	Franklin Lock	25.0	1342.8	3.0	7.4	1100	8.4	0.12	12:09
Locking		0.0	1342.8	0.7	8.1			0.03	12:51
Franklin Lock	Captiva	33.4	1376.2	4.0	12.0	1400	8.4	0.17	16:51
Locking			1376.2	0.7	12.7			0.03	17:39
								0.53
Depart Captive									8:00
Captiva	Sarasota	53.5	1429.7	6.4	6.4	1400	8.4	0.27	14:00
								0.27
Optimum Number of Days								9.00

Menu Le Bateaux Guided Discovery

Breakfast:

• Bagel Deluxe. Everything bagel with smoked salmon and fixings of your choice (cream cheese, capers, tomatoes, and onion)
• Cascadian Farms Fruit and Nut Granola served with fresh blueberries, raisins, walnuts, and banana
• Oatmeal Supreme. Steel cut oatmeal infused with banana, blueberries and raisins topped with raisins, bananas, blueberries, walnuts and milk
•  Joe Dillon’s Protein Shake. 16 oz non-fat milk, 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder, ground seeds (flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin) and one frozen banana
• Assorted dry cereals and yogurts

Lunch: Deli sandwiches:

• Choice of ham, roast beef and mesquite turkey
• Choice of cheese (provolone, Swiss, cheddar)
• Condiments (mustard, mayonnaise, pickles)

Snacks:

• Hummus
• Assorted cheeses (Blue, St Angel, Brie, etc.)
• Back to Nature Multi-grain Flax and assorted crackers

Dinner:

Salads:

• Avocado Salad: Herb greens with avocado, plum tomatoes, onion, walnuts, pine nuts and raisins with Newman’s Own balsamic vinaigrette (or light raspberry with walnuts)
• Caprice Salad: Tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese over baby arugula greens with Diamond balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Entrees: By Good Life Kitchen

·         Chicken Parmesan with Bow-tie Pasta and tomato sauce

·         Salmon with potato and vegetable

·         Lasagna with Turkey Bolognese

·         Alfredo Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Broccoli

·         Eggplant Parmesan

·         Lobster Raviolis with Tomato Cream Sauce and Mixed Vegetables

Desserts:

• Ice Cream
• Medjool Dates
• Brownies

Beverages:

• Diet Coke
• Classic Coke
• Ginger Ale
• Kendall Jackson 2014 Chardonnay
• Trefethen 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
• Sam Adams
• Cigar City Jai Alai IPA
• Polar Seltzer (Bubbly Water)
• Bottled Water

Hingham Adventures: The Shot Heard Round the World

NOTICE TO READERS. THIS IS A PLACEHOLDER. I WILL COMPLETE SOON

We lost two months of the summer due to the blood clot that emanated from my heart and went down my left arm last July. See "A Brush with Death and Much Discomfort." Hence, our adventures this year have been few.

Now that I have recovered we are taking the opportunity with the time remaining to catch up on our explorations. Last weekend we traveled to Concord Massachusetts to learn more about the "shot heard round the world." It was a beautiful Saturday, with autumn colors and mild temperatures.



Visit to the Emerson House

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882), known professionally as Waldo Emerson, was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.

Emerson wrote most of his important essays as lectures first and then revised them for print. His first two collections of essays, Essays: First Series (1841) and Essays: Second Series (1844), represent the core of his thinking. They include the well-known essays "Self-Reliance", "The Over-Soul", "Circles", "The Poet" and "Experience". Together with "Nature", these essays made the decade from the mid-1830s to the mid-1840s Emerson's most fertile period

Highlight:s of his life:

• Graduated from Harvard College, 1821
• Unitarian Clergyman, Boston 1826-1832
• Started career as a lecturer, 1833
• Settled in Concord, 1833
• Published "essays First Series, 1841

Hingham Adventures: Return to Gloucester

We last visited Gloucester in September of 2011 during our Great Loop adventure. It was the furthest north that we traveled along the east coast. We stayed for seven days, then headed south to Salem. We had fond memories of Gloucester.

Fast forward to 2016 and the trials and tribulations of getting the Caterpillar 1,000 hour performed. We finally found Guy Crudele, a Caterpillar Authorized Marine Dealer who operates out of Gloucester.  We agreed to move the boat to Gloucester rather than have him travel to Hingham. This saved us considerable money.

Explanatory Note: Cat dealers charge time and miles for travel to the boat's location. In Crudele's case, he and his assistant would have had to travel 60 miles through Boston traffic each way. That trip is an hour and twenty minutes without consideration for traffic. Throw in Boston rush hour traffic and it could easily be two hours. The 1000 hour service could take as much as three days. Do the math. Two guys at $100/hr times 12 hours plus miles equals well over $2,400. Cruising to Gloucester used less than 60 gallons of diesel ($120). Dockage cost $480 for the entire week. $600 versus $2400.

Cape May and the Annisquam River

So on Monday, October 3 at 10:30 AM I headed for Gloucester with my friend Skip Roper aboard. Diana and Kodi went by car. The time of departure was not accidental. Our destination, Cape May Marina, was in the Annisquam River just north of the Blynmam Bridge. The Annisquam River is a 4.5 mile tidal estuary that connects Gloucester Harbor to the south with Annisquam Harbor to the north. This tidal river is subject to powerful currents (3 to 4 knots). My goal was to arrive at the Blynman Bridge on the 2:00 PM slack tide.

Important: Hurricane Matthew was turning north just south of Haiti packing winds of 140 MPH. It was predicted to make landfall the following day,

Approaching the Blynman Bridge at slack tide with a vessel exiting

Approaching Cape Ann Marina and Resort

Guided Discovery at Cape Ann Marina and Resort

Tuesday at 8:00 AM, Guy Crudele arrived with his assistant and began the 1000 hour maintenance project. (For details read my article Guy Crudele: A Class Act). That freed us up to go exploring.

We chose to explore the the Eastern Point section of Gloucester Harbor. This proved to be a good decision as this represents the "high rent" district with beautiful homes, a yacht club, a historic lighthouse, a historic home (Beauport Sleeper-McCann House) and great walking on roads with no traffic.

Map of Gloucester

We parked the car at the Beauport Sleeper-McCann House and began our walk to the point. Our first stop was the Eastern Point Yacht. Founded in 1923, this beautiful club overlooks the Eastern Point Light Station.

Eastern Point Yacht Club

View of Eastern Point Light Station from the clubhouse

Next we visited the Eastern Point Light Station. Built in 1832 this lighthouse remains active under the supervision of the USCG. The grounds are closed to the public, which we learned when a "Coastie" politely told us to exit the grounds.

Eastern Point Light Station

Our next adventure occurred the following day when we visited the Beuaport Sleeper-McCann House.

Beauport Sleeer-McCann House

Explanatory Note: Compliments of Wikipedia. Beauport was built starting in 1908 as the summer home of interior decorator and antique collector Henry Davis Sleeper. Situated on the rocks overlooking Gloucester Harbor, the structure was repeatedly enlarged and modified by Sleeper, and filled with a large collection of fine art, folk art, architectural artifacts, and other collectible materials. Sleeper decorated the (ultimately 56) rooms to evoke different historical and literary themes. After his death, Charles and Helena Woolworth McCann acquired the house and its contents. They preserved much of the Sleeper's designs and decorations, but made some modifications, including adding their porcelain collection to the house. Their heirs donated the property to the Society for the Protection of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England) in 1947, who operate the property as a house museum.

56 rooms! We only got to see a few of them on the guided tour. Turns out Henry Sleeper was a prolific collector of antiques who organized his "treasures" in individual rooms, each with a theme. He continued to add additions throughout his ownership of the home to house the stuff he collected. Bottom line. The house was ALWAYS under construction. Here's a few photos of the home.

Adding to the excitement was Hurricane Matthew, which made landfall in Haiti and Cuba as a Category 4 Hurricane and then proceeded north along the east coast wreaking havoc on Georgia and the Carolinas.  The eye came ashore in South Carolina on October 8 and then headed north. I had been watching the storm daily since its formation and especially after we headed for Gloucester. The question was would it make it to New England.  My prediction, highly influenced by NOAA, is that we had a weather window up until Sunday (October 9).

Hurricane Matthew approaching the South Carolina

The 1000 hour maintenance project was completed on Wednesday. However, despite the hurricane, we stayed until Friday afternoon so that I could meet with Guy Crudele and an engineer, Chris Murray, from Soundown to assess a problem with the port engine transmission coupling. The coupling, which deadens vibration and noise where the shaft connects to the transmission, has been shedding rubber dust for the last 300 hours. The question here was the timing of making the repair.

Explanatory Note: A repair of this nature is somewhat complicated. Essentially, before rebuilding or replacing the coupling, you have to ensure that the running gear is completely sound. This involves hauling the boat to inspect the cutlass bearings that encompass the shaft. Since we had a soft grounding last November off Sarasota I felt it essential to check the bearings and the condition of the propellers. The propellers can be scanned by computerized equipment and any deviation can be corrected.  Note: Several divers have checked my propellers and each has reported that there is no visible damage. Once these items are verified, the new coupler can be installed. Then the running gear is checked for alignment.  I purchased a replacement unit which is now carried on the boat.

Back to the hurricane.  The National Hurricane Center predicted that Matthew would make it to Cape Hatteras and then turn east (i.e., a sharp right turn) into the North Atlantic. NOAA got it right. On Saturday October 9, I cruised single handed back to Hinghan or relatively smooth seas.

We felt the effects of the Matthew as it brushed by well south on Monday with winds gusting to 35 knots. 

Written by Les.

Guy Crudele: A Class Act

Readers will recall that early in September I terminated a scheduled 1000 hour maintenance visit with Hansen Marine as a result of that their attempt to overcharge me $600 for a number of engine parts. See my article "Hansen Marine: Lazy Greedy and Stupid."). Noteworthy is that my part price calculations compared Hansen's estimate to pricing from Wheelhouse Technologies, my online maintenance program, who freely admit that their pricing exceeds retail. Hence, Hansen's overcharge may well have exceeded $700. I'm too lazy to figure the exact amount. Hansen's estimate for the project was $7,732, which included 39 hours of labor.

Meanwhile, I obtained an estimate from a Caterpillar dealer in Florida. They came in at just under $13,000. Their estimate consisted solely of a list of the 1000 hour scheduled maintenance tasks. Missing was a list of required parts and their prices, their labor rate and their estimated number of hours. Very sloppy. Oh did I mention that the Cat dealer only services the engines. Hence, the maintenance required on the transmissions and generators would be extra and would need to be performed by another shop. Add at least $1,000 more to complete the project.

The Cat dealer was literally double Hansen's price. Maybe I should have bit the bullet and had Hansen do the work. Unfortunately, Hansen's defensiveness and belligerence eliminated that possibility.

So, back to the drawing boards (i.e., the internet). I researched Caterpillar Authorized Marine Dealers and found Guy Crudele Repair in Ipswich Massachusetts. I reached out to Guy Crudele and two things happened. First I learned that he was very busy and was unlikely to be able to fit me in. Second, his wife and partner, Kim, responded to my request for an estimate with part pricing that was at retail across the board.

Guy called me in response to my desire for a labor time estimate. His position is the labor time is what it is. He records his start and stop time each day and that what you pay for and nothing more. He went out of his way to explain that he does not pad labor time. He listened to my description of how the boat is operated (i.e., 1400 RPM or 30% load) and proposed to borescope the heat exchanger and aftercooler. His position is that there is no reason to spend the enormous amount of time to remove these items if they are in good shape. I ended the call saying I would like to work with him if he could fit me in.

Well he did (find some time). Working with Kim I arranged dockage at Cape Ann Marina in Gloucester for Monday October 3rd ($480 on a weekly - a good deal). So on Monday, accompanied by my sister, Myrna, I cruised the boat north to Gloucester on a beautiful fall morning.

Guy arrived on Tuesday morning with his assistant and went to work. 22 man hours later the project was completed. Guy found problems with a raw water pump on the 12 KW generator and the coolant pump on the 16 KW generator, which added additional parts and labor cost (included in the 22 hours.) Bottom line. $6,032 for the entire job and Guy arranged a meeting with an engineer from Soundown to address a problem with my transmission coupler.

Did I mention that he left my engine room spotless?

Kudos to Guy Crudele and his wife Kim. Guy Crudele Repair, Inc. is a very high class act.

Did I mention that we had a good time in Gloucester? Stay tuned for an adventure in Gloucester article.

Written by Les.