A day to Remember

Leaving Ft. Myers early this am, we were all excited to make the 120nm run south to Key West. A light breeze greeted us, and as we eased into San Carlos Bay a following sea helped push us along at a nice 26kt. cruise. 

Today didn't suck, to say the least. 

The only drawback, and I can tell you are all very sorry for me, is that the autopilot died on us. So we had to steer the boat manually. (Saints preserve us, how awful, I know...)

The ride proved to be very comfortable, and gave me a chance to really feel the boat out and compare it to our past love, the 38 Henriques.  

Of course, some made from scratch Bloody Marys certainly helped the situation along.  Overall, this new gal of ours is really growing on me. The out of space we have is just tremendous. The ride in all but a head sea is very stable and dry (wear a snorkel with the head sea!) and the boat ran like a champ. And burned fuel like one too. Ouch.

But it was all worth it. Pulling into Key West on our own boat was a thill, and something I'll always remember doing. It just feels more exotic when you get there yourself, like your a voyager making new discoveries.  

Tonite, it's out to Duval St. and mischief. Tomorrow, on to new discoveries!

So near, So far....

So this weekend is a work weekend.  In Chicago no less.  My Fiancé sent me this postcard from West Palm, where she was vacationing with her mother this week.  Thanks Hun... Here, it's cold, icy, and of course, I have a view over the water, which, albeit, is frozen, still puts me in the mood to be on the boat.  After looking at this for the past three days, I can't help but get a bug for doing the Great Loop as well.

You can see the ice built up just inside the locks at the lower right of the photo.  Outside that, there is ice right up to the seawall just past the pier.  Ugh.  I never think of the Great Lakes as a boating destination.  I have a few memories of salmon fishing on Lake Ontario as a kid, and really it's just the memories of steep, stacked up waves crashing down over the 12 meter Trojan that we had chartered to take us out.  Truth be told, that was a wonderful trip; but that memory sticks out the most.

As the time gets closer to our first leg of the trip, you can feel a crescendo of excitement building.  Texts are being traded, last minute gear ideas are discussed, and tomorrow, the last of the packages of supplies and gear (namely my sat phone and tool box) are being sent off to their new home.  

Well, enough about that.  Its dinner time in the windy city, and every year I look forward to eating at least one meal at The Publican. Pork Belly, fantastic house made charcuterie, and a waitstaff that all earned a spot by starting in the butcher shop next door.  My kind of place.  

Engaged

The Route - Tampa to Pompano

After my last post, you know there is a new lady in my life.  She's big, excitingly new to me, and sadly, its a long distance relationship.  After the dust settled on our purchase of the new Knot Reel Teeth (KRT) the realization of getting her home sunk in.  Several people have all chimed in on what I should do about getting her home.  I have my own plan, but for the sake of discussion, here are the most common bits of advice.

1- Just have her shipped home and be done with it.  That was the first thing that I heard, and for about 9 milliseconds, it made sense.  Pay someone to bring her up to her new home, and Id be ready to jump on and use here as soon as the weather broke.  Pay the captain, pay the fuel, and I don't have to disrupt my schedule or work.  Easy, yes.  Fun? Not a lick of it.  Who the hell would decide to do this??  Its freezing in Rhode Island, I have a boat that I OWN in FLORIDA, and Im not going to take advantage of it??  Surely you jest.

2- Scoot through the Okeechobee waterway, and save yourself a ton of fuel.  This way you can move the boat over to the East coast and have it there to use.  Yep- that idea came up too.  Let me rebut your well thought out plan with this simple sentence.  Yes, you're correct, its cheaper, faster and more efficient; but I have the chance to go to the Florida Keys...  There, debate over.

3- If your going south, at least cut through Florida bay so you save yourself 100 miles or so.  Smart? Yes.  Savvy? Yes.  But I have never been a big fan of skinny water, especially when I don't know it well.  Additionally, I refer you to this point: Key West.  Key West, which I haven't been to by boat, nor will I again in the near future.

Its a trip for the sake of the journey.  To say that we did it.  Im all excited just typing this.  We're taking our boat to the Keys, to fish, cruise and explore.  I don't know when or if I will do it again, so I'm doing it. For the memories, the experiences, and the bragging rights.

But enough about the journey home, there will be plenty of that.  Back to my new Flame!  Now that our relationship is off and running, its all about getting to know one another.  Right now, this gal has the personality of a wet dishrag.  Honestly.  The previous owner didn't change anything (n-o-t-h-i-n-g) on the boat since it was bought new.  And not being the fisherman that we are, we certainly are lacking in that department.

It's tough to tell what a new boat will be like.  Sure, we sea trialed the boat, but that's BS in my opinion.  On a sea trial, you are so excited by the prospect of a new boat, you don't really concentrate on anything.   All you do is look around with A.D.D. and think "Ohh, something shiny!"  So now its time to get to really her.  To see if she farts in bed, or talks with food in her mouth.  Now we see past the veneer.  

We're excited to say the least.  Over the next week, we are shipping gear down. Laying out our route (see the photo at the top of this post) and making marina reservations in various ports.  This is starting out to be quite the romance.

Up for Sale...

As time goes on, things change.  Styles, needs, wants; they all change.  And after six great years with our current boat, its time for a change.  Really it comes down to this.  I need (want) more space.  With our wives using the boat more, our crew growing, and our range increasing, our 38' boat that seemed like the Titanic, now is feeling a bit more claustrophobic.  Which pains me to say.  This boat was my first love.  Sure, we have had other boats before, but they all felt... utilitarian.  Our Henriques feels like a Fighting Lady, a partner in crime.  Its tough to get over that for me.  But, in a very Katherine Hepburn kind of way, the boat is getting a bit older, and its time to move on before I start looking at the boat like its Dick Clark.

So that brings us to boat shopping.  Everyone I talk to says something like "Oh man, buying a new boat, thats gonna be fun!"  Some people may find it fun, exciting even.  I don't.  I think of boat shopping like dating.  Not college bar dating (hooking up).  This is like over 40 dating that has that faint whiff of desperation.  You don't enjoy dating at that point, its a necessity.  You have to wade through other peoples cast offs and hope you find a winner, or at least a fixer-upper that has the potential.  If I were a wealthy man, this wouldn't be happening.  Id go over to Henriques, plunk down my $1.6 million in sweaty bills, and say "Why yes, I will take that 50 footer you have..."  But this is reality, and with prices where they are, for me to get the size I want, I have to sacrifice age, use, and, to an extent, quality.

Far too Many Finches Exist

Boat brokers are all the same.  Think of them like finches.  Im in a Darwinian state of mind, so that works for me.  There are different sizes, colorations, feeding patterns and techniques, and of course, mating rituals.  Some are honest, to the point kind of people.  Others are assholes.  They run the gamut from lazy, too smart for their own good, overbearing, you name it.  The one thing in common is they are all out to sell your boat for you.  Sometimes by concealing the little peccadilloes that make boats "unique".  Our boat is currently listed with what I would describe as a sleepy broker.  Happy to take on your sale, but not really into working it all that hard.  If something happens, great.  I'll take a nap until someone wakes me up to buy it though.  So, needless to say, our boat still languishes on the market.

The problem with your boat sitting, is that opportunities arise, and that puts pressure on you.  In the size I am looking for, 45'-53', there are only a few builders that make "production" or "semi-custom" boats, and a bunch more that make more expensive custom boats.  We looked at Oceans (Buicks on the water), Vikings (nice but I hate MAN engines), Hatterases (pricey gas hogs), a few off brands, one custom (deal died due to the broker) before we came across the Post 50.

Now Post has never been a Jim Smith, Tribute, or a Bayliss, but they have been a long standing New Jersey builder of semi custom boats.  They made boats from the 1940's up until 2004, when a bad economy and a gelcoat fiasco (more on that later) landed them in bankruptcy.  Overall they built well appointed boats, with quality products.  New, this boat would have been around $1.2mil back in 2002, while the competition would be in the $1.2-$1.8mil range.  They stayed on the lower end by leaving out some redundancy, extra bling, and some more modular construction.

But man, what a boat!  Wider than all the others in her size, excellent speed (I can't use the phrase good fuel economy, thats just silly) for her size, a cockpit that is only smaller than the custom boats (all of you who know me know that is my biggest peeve in sport fishing boats) and the larger interior that we were looking to get for our family needs.

So now we own two boats.   Say hello to the new Knot Reel Teeth.  A 2002 50' Post that we purchased in St. Pete Beach, FL.

Much more to come.