Anyone in Marathon, FL right now???

kloudie1 · Feb 22, 2018

great to hear that you are back in the water, Sumner!
Sorry I can't help with the belt..

SFS · Feb 22, 2018

Sumner, I was thinking of this just yesterday, as we are within 2 weeks of casting off, and may be ordering things while underway. On a delivery in December, I had a part shipped to a marina along our route. I called in advance, and explained that we would only be taking on fuel, and they were ok hanging onto a package for us.

Does the US Postal Service still have general delivery? Even for companies that require a street address to ship something, you could give them the physical street address of the post office and still use general delivery and your name.

We are just 10 days to two weeks behind you, and if our paths cross I would love to buy you a beer. We will head south from Tampa, with an eventual stop in Marathon (KW does not interest us) or Key Largo before making longer-range plans (Bahamas vs. Chesapeake).

SFS · Feb 22, 2018

Sending you a PM.

Franklin · Feb 22, 2018

You can have it delivered to Marathon City Marina. They operate the moorings inside the harbor and handle packages.

Franklin · Feb 22, 2018

As for the autopilot, this boat had an st4000 come with it. It is not rated for this heavy of a boat but it would work in protected waters as long as I wasn't pushing the boat hard. It really struggled with wavy conditions. If I remember right, it was rated for up to 12,000 lbs. Mine is 16,400 off the shelf and now about 20,000 loaded down.

My belt also broke and I replaced it about a year after I got the boat back in 2005. Not long later the plastic housing that bolts to the wheel started breaking apart. The sun weakened the plastic over the years (10). I ended up replacing it with a new autopilot system that used the type 1 rotary drive that mounts to a sprocket on the back end of the steering shaft via chain. It is much stronger system and handled the waves much better but it would still get overpowered in gusty conditions.

6 years later I balanced my rudder and now the boat is so easy to steer that even the old wheel pilot would work (if the sun didn't destroy it).

Summary: lbs is not a good indicator of how powerful of an autopilot you need but I guess the best measuring stick they have. In my opinion though, the wheel pilots are not reliable due to the plastic housing they use.

gettinthere · Feb 22, 2018

I have had packages delivered to US post offices as general delivery and they will hold it for you. Only requirement is it must be sent to the post office via US mail, not UPS or others.

Franklin · Feb 22, 2018

City Marina really isn't a Marina. Well, they do have a dock you can side tie to, but their main income is mooring balls and considering this time of year, I doubt there will be any anchoring spots left open inside the harbor. In fact, it is hard to find any in the summer too. It is mostly a mooring field.

31seahorse · Feb 22, 2018

Hello Sumner, I'm glad to hear of your Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island, and Ft Myers area adventures. Those locations bring back many fond memories of our time in Florida. Always a pleasure to read your posts! Best Wishes for your travels.