should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

[Thalasso]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

Hi. the boat is 35.5 ft. We are experienced boaters, but our largest boat thus far has been a 22.5 ft. SeaRay SRV with a single engine. the 35.5 ft. boat has twin I/O's. Of course all safety gear and then some would be on board + GPS and charts.
The duration of the voyage is approximately 6 days with the limited operation of locks in the Spring.
The biggest unknown for us would be the first stretch, between Kingston and Trenton, the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario.
Also, have had some tell me I will learn the twin screws quickly enough, while others have said I would be biting off more then I can chew!
I guess I was kind of hoping someone with knowledge of the waters we must travel would respond and tell me that the channels are clearly marked and obstacles to navigation are few.

That body of water can get pretty rough. Been there done that

 

[Thalasso]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

^^^+1

6 days is a little long without knowing all of the ships systems and their current condition. Did you have a marine surveyor go over the boat top to bottom before you bought it? If you got a clean bill of health than take it for a 2 day shake down and then head home if all checks out. 35 feet is a big boat to deal with on one motor if a belt lets go, the alternator or power steering system lets go etc. not to mention having to learn all of the new systems while under way.

Whether by land or sea, congratulations and best of luck!

the 35.5 ft. boat has twin I/O's.

 

[sasto]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

Umm, you bought a boat to, lets see,,, go boating. I can't speak for others but I couldn't begin to guess at how far I have towed a boat just to boat in new waters and see / experience something different. Assuming you had the boat checked out and it's in good shape "I" would be all over the chance to motor it home, see something new, and learn about the new boat.

Agree! Become a member here at www.activecaptain.com

 

[heatz1express]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

Agree! Become a member here at www.activecaptain.com

hi. thanks for the suggestion. I just registered and had a look. should be very beneficial.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

Well, I always find that I have the most trouble with the boat on day one. Sometimes that is no trouble at all and sometimes it is serious trouble. A six-day trip is a bit much if you do have trouble.

I do not think the twin screws will bother you. You will likely not use them to your advantage on day one. I ended up using one engine at a time, when docking a twin screw for the first time, but it worked.

I guess I recommend having it hauled to your house. It is the most conversative option. If it was a 3 hour trip or a one day trip, I would vote to try it. The first trip we took on my friends cruiser was from Freeport NY to Barnegat Bay NJ. It was about a 5 hour trip, and if you take the shortest route you are out of sight of land for an hour or so. I felt pretty confident that we wouldn't be able to miss the entire eastern seaboard of the US, and get lost at sea. As it was I brought as much extra fuel as I could, and we didn't need it.

Good luck with it and after you get her home, plan some day trips, followed by an overnighter and see how it goes.

 

[frantically relaxing]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

I would roll the dice and take it home on the water, especially if you have a marine survey done and it comes back clean. It's a 140 mile trip.

140 miles, is that all? I'm not sure how treacherous a journey it is, but geez, that's just a basic day trip at Lake Powell!

 

[Thalasso]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

140 miles, is that all? I'm not sure how treacherous a journey it is, but geez, that's just a basic day trip at Lake Powell!

How many locks on Lake Powell? None is my guess.Takes time to get through them. Might take hours depending on commercial traffic. How bad can the water get compared to the Great Lakes? My guess no were near as bad.I have yet to see house boats on The Bay of Quinte or any of the Great Lakes. Not to say there isn't

 

[NYBo]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

Unfamiliar waters.....unfamiliar boat and any nuances.......to me that's a recipe for disaster, not adventure.
Have it brought home, put some hours on it, get familiar with all the systems including necessary spare parts and tools on board then do a 6 day adventure.

Mark

I say take a 2 day sea trial local to the pickup point... If all goes well and you feel confident then head home... if not call the transport company.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to check out marinas on the way down if going by car to get an idea of where help is available if you need it heading home.

This is the advice I would take.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

ALSO a membership to seatow or whatever is in the area BEFORE starting the journey

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

I'm voting for taking the trip on the water. There's tons of places to stop and have the boat hauled out along your route if something catastrophic were to happen and you were forced to go over land. It's not like you are crossing an ocean. You'll also have huge amounts of time to address little things while waiting for locks. Bring lots of tools, fasteners, canvas snaps, wire, crimp connectors, fuses, sealer, solvent, etc. so you can fix the niggling stuff in your down time.

 

[bluewaterboater]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

Having it moved by a hauler is no big deal, they do it everyday.....but I would take her home by water. I've done the trent and its beautiful and a leisurely trip with land always in site. As long as you have the time and a credit card I say go for it!

 

[littlerayray]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

it would be a great maiden voyage for your familly i say go for it

 

[CC245]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

I would take it home by water, that is a great trip! Take all the advice above and I would have a captain on standby if needed. If you are having issues and are not comfortable you can have a local captain pilot the boat the rest of the way back.

 

[heatz1express]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

UPDATE!!! the boat, when surveyed, turned out to be soggy and the deal went down the tubes. For what it's worth, I very much appreciated all the great responses to this thread!
We had pretty much determined that we were going to come home on the water. it definitely would have made for an adventure!
So we are still shopping and now are looking at a 34 foot Baja Express with twin 7.4L engines mated to Alpha drives. (please see post
in I/O forum). thanks again guys!

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: should we have her transported or bring her home on the water?

never been a fan of big blocks n alphas.... kinda like a drafthorse w white hooves