Help a fellow sailor with a dream

bffatcat · Sep 9, 2009

Catalina 27 from NY Lakes to FL

Its a long way for a small boat. You didnt give us enough info. How old is the boat? What is the condition of the rigging, Sails ect. Is this an outboard or inboard. What is your experience? Are you planning on doing this singlehanded?

Joe · Sep 9, 2009

Jim........ there is a retrofit, upgrade checklist that summarizes Catalina 27 owners' issues with their boats over the years available on the C27 association website. You may have come across this already, but they include retrofitting the spreader brackets and the four lower shroud chainplates... both are kits availiable through Catalina Direct. Can't remember the others off hand but check the site for the list.

Also, in John Vigor's book "Twenty Small Sailboats to take you Anywhere" he discusses a sailor who beefed up his Catalina 27 to go offshore (around the world, actually). Some of the modifications included enlarging the cockpit drains and redesigning the lower hatchboard to act as a bridgedeck, upsizing the standing rigging, glassing in additional athwartship stringers to strengthen the hull, closing off the outboard motor well, caulking the heck out of the hull/deck joint.... etc. Though you're sticking pretty close to shore I still think the cockpit mods are worthwhile.

Finally, I would highly recommend investing in a dodger and an autopilot if you haven't already... Oh, and since you're going to Florida, make sure you invest in a set of "no-see-um" quality hatch screens. Regular mosquito netting will not protect you from these infamous biting gnats (sandflies).

Have a great trip....

Franklin · Sep 9, 2009

I can't help except to say hurry up. I wouldn't have left any later than now. There is always a early fall storm in mid Oct that blows through and you will have to deal with that leaving so late....just be on the lookout for it and hopefully you can make it to port before it hits.

Good luck. Wish I could help though

ggrizzard · Sep 10, 2009

When are you going and alone?

That would determine, in large part, whether you go outside or in the ditch (ICW).
You can do the ditch alone, if you have the time to do about 35 - 40 miles a day (Bridges open on a schedule and daylight is less each day). Marina space for overnight won't be a problem, as long as you get south of Maryland before the ice closes in. You'll need some cabin heat at night in any event, even here in Fla. and money.

You'll absolutely need a GPS, VHF (fixed and hand held), all the charts, a new waterway guide, Q Beam spotlight, head worn light and all safety gear ( harness, jacklines, PFD vest w/ whistle & strobes, 2 different style anchors and separate rope/chain rodes). Along the way, you will be visited by numerous and varied Marine Patrol, EPA, F&WL or Sheriff officers who will want to inspect and test your head (toilet) for any possible discharge and the rules vary by state, county and locality. If they don't like your setup, they will fine you. Did I mention that you will need money?

You must have an "Unlimited" towing policy from Tow Boat US or Sea Tow. You should have a spare bilge pump, water pump impeller, thermostat, nav light bulbs, many fuel filters and assorted hoses and clamps and be able to replace all the above yourself. If you don't do or can't do all the above, you will need lots of money.

I don't mean to sound negative, but I have been there and done that for 30 years, both with and without the proper prep and funds. "With" works a whole lot better.

If you make it to Daytona Fla, email me ahead through this web site (click on my sign-on name above) and I'll put you up at my condo dock for a visit. Keep us posted on your progress.

RAD · Sep 10, 2009

Where are you departing from?

CaptChuck · Sep 10, 2009

Jim - My wife & I made the trip South from Buffalo in 2005. Great trip. Most of the suggestions given are spot on. Not sure I agree with ggrizzard, we were not stopped at all, but his experience may be different. The trip was my lifelong dream so I encourage you to live yours. That said, I would be wary of making the trip on a boat I was not familiar with or one that is not properly equiped. You wil be motoring a lot so the engine condition is important. Shake down cruises will show any problems. You may want to consider putting it off until next year. Spend the summer of 2010 outfitting the boat and solving any problems. As Franklin said I would have left by now. We left Sept 1, 2005. If you can, make it about the journey not the destination. So many great places to explore along the way. take your time and enjoy the trip. I would be happy to e-mail you copies of our ship's logs if you think it would help you. Contact me off site.
Good luck & live your dream
Captain Chuck Dickhut
USCG Lic Master
S/V Obsession
Catalina 320 #114

RAD · Sep 14, 2009

Where does Seneca lake in NY spit you out... Erie canal?

RAD · Sep 14, 2009

Never mind the previous post my curiosity got to me and I looked it up on a NOAA map, I assume you'll have the mast down while going from Seneca canal through the Erie till you get to the Hudson

CaptChuck · Sep 14, 2009

Jim -
Suggest you check Riverview Marina as a place to get the mast stepped. It is in Catskill. Basic marina but very helpful staff.

Mark Major · Sep 19, 2009

To be truly challenging, a voyage, like life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen, who play with their boats at sea- “cruising”, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about

“I’ve always wanted to sail to the South Seas, but I can’t afford it”. What these men cannot afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of “security” and in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine- and before we know it our lives are gone.

What does a man need- really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in- and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That’s all, in the material sense. And we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention from the sheer idiocy of the charade.

The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked with dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it the tomb is sealed.

Where then lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?

Sterling Hayden (1916-1986)

Good luck, and perhaps we'll cross paths.

Allan R · Sep 20, 2009

Here is how one person set his Catalina 27 up for long term cruising and liveaboard.

http://www.boatdiddly.com/Sovereignty/Sovereignty.html

John · Oct 5, 2009

Do you have a stove? You mentioned using clay pots over a light bulb. A friend of mine uses a clay flower pot over the stove burner. He said you have to "cure" the pot by soaking it in water and letting it heat up very slowly over a day or two first. But his method worked great in a Catalina 36, so I imagine it would work even better in a 27.

Franklin · Oct 5, 2009

Jim:

A company here in Texas sells wind generators, very nice powerful ones, for $600 new. I have one but yet to install it....been too busy or lazy or both

I would much rather have that than the generator and cost should be about the same.

At 8 knots it supposed to put out 2.5 amps and at 20 knots it's supposed to put out 23 amps. The blades are a little under 3' and the motor weights 40 lbs but that's do-able on most boats.