Cool...

When we purchased Buddy approximately Six-and-a-half years ago one of the first things I added was a propane furnace to warm us in cool Wisconsin summers. After moving to SW Florida about 4 years ago, I finally decided a roof-mounted AC unit was in order. I considered a water-cooled unit but decided a roof AC unit would better fit our needs. I ended up purchasing a marinized 9200 BTU Coleman Cub. 

After measuring and remeasuring,  I cut the 14" x 14" hole in the roof. I then dug out the balsa core and packed the space with thickened epoxy.

The hardest part of the install was running power to the unit. I removed the conduit I had made for the TV power cord and antenna and fabricated new larger conduit.

In that the AC unit took the space on the roof formerly occupied by a 65 watt solar panel, I devised a way of mounting the panel to the cover of the AC unit using pull pin deck hinges. Using short struts I can raise the rear to the panel when the AC is in use so the air flow isn't restricted.

I am happy to report my 2000 watt generator runs the AC unit just fine! It was over 90 degrees the day I tested the AC unit's output.

 There is still room to carry our 10' inflatable on the roof.

Roofing

I recently installed a new rear cockpit canopy. Fabricated out of 1/2" Divinycell, 18 oz. Biaxial fabric and epoxy, I started by getting the roof curve off the back of the cabin top. I then built a strongback using that curve to form the roof. After laminating the top of the canopy and adding side rails for strength, I removed the top from the strongback and flipped it over to laminate the underside.

I also added rails to the front and back to provide additional strength. Then the fun began as the top and rails had to be faired. After fairing, I painted the top with the most expensive part of the build - PPG car paint that matches Buddy's tan gelcoat.

Once painted I test fit the top to Buddy using a 2x4 frame. I then measured for the support posts.

After I received a bid to fabricate the posts out of 2" stainless, I decided to have the posts fabricated out of equally strong square aluminum that I primed and finished with epoxy paint.

The top was then installed using the same attachment method Rosborough used on the aft end of the cabin top.

The top is lighter, stronger and a bit larger than the factory built top. The side rails also deflect all the rain to the back of the boat.

Home...

After 10 weeks away in Wisconsin, living on Buddy at a marina across the inner bay from our former home, we arrived back home. It was a nasty 1,500 mile tow home as we had trailer tire issues, three tire blowouts, one on the Interstate in Downtown Milwaukee, one on the Tri-State Tollway in Chicago, and the last one on the Interstate south of Chattanooga. 

We learned long ago that if one tire fails it's best to replace all the tires. Problem was we couldn't find replacements when we needed them. If we could have found 4 new tires after the first one failed, we wouldn't have had to deal with two more failures... Bottom line, after towing a 31' Corsair trimaran and now Buddy for the past six years, we have decided to retire from long distance towing. 60,000 miles plus is enough!

A sweetwater summer

While we haven't done much cruising, we've enjoyed our summer in Sturgeon Bay - clean fresh water, pleasant temps and comfortable accommodations while visiting good friends and family.

Back on the road

It's been 2 years since we've taken our Buddy on a road trip. We left SW Florida a week ago and headed North 1500 miles. While refuelling the truck in Northern Tennessee, the car you see in the photo backed into our starboard engine. Didn't even scratch the paint on the engine, but the car sustained a broken taillight and a slighly dented rear lift gate. The driver said she didn't see the boat... Our first "accident" in approximately 60,000 miles of towing. After an hour's delay dealing with this incident, the Tennessee State trooper informed us we would be receiving a written communication from the THP. If we didn't reply to this communication within 3 days of receipt, my driver's license would be suspended!!

We are now in Door County Wisconsin for the summer. We will cruising our old stomping grounds on Lake Michigan and making contact with family that we have here. The weather is a bit different here. We've had the heat on since arriving...

Buddy at Little Marco

We took a one week cruise South last week. One stop was a great spot, after the day crowds went home... This photo is looking West toward the Gulf, over the southern tip of Keewaydin Island.

Fresh Horses!

After owning Buddy for about 5 1/2 years and putting 800 hours on the 1998 Yamaha 50 High Thrust engines, we decided to make a long term commitment to the boat. Those that know me know that I don't normally make long term commitments to boats... But we have.

Buddy works well for us at this point in our lives. This past June we sold our Corsair Marine F-24 after owing it a bit less than three years. We loved the boat and design (we have also owned an F-27 and F-31 besides a healthy assortment of monohulls and racing dinghies), but it was time to move on. We're still very much sailors and almost immediately purchased a smaller trimaran (Weta Trimaran), a wonderful little boat that allows us to still experience a few thrills. Anyone who has sailed a soft water boat over 22 knots will know where we are coming from...  In our past NOrthern life we were also Iceboat sailors and still own one (although I don't know when it will ever be used by us again). Anyway, I digress...

We have re-powered Buddy with a new pair of Yamaha F70 outboards. Although we are still breaking them in, I am happy to report much better performance than the old 50 High Thrusts. Throughout the RPM range above 3200 RPM the boat is about 2.5 knots faster. We are now able to run over 10 knots at 3200 RPM and 14 knots at 3800 RPM. WOT is now over 22 knots. This allows us to actually save on fuel vs. the older engines. While I haven't yet sprung for a NMEA link to our Garmin 740s for fuel management information, I am estimating at least 4 miles per gallon at 14 knots.So far the only unpleasant thing about our decision to re-power was writing the check...

Cape Coral and Home

The next morning it was the same routine. We headed west, planning on dropping the hook in Glover Bight again. We took a slow, uneventful ride this day. When we got to Fort Myers, a passing rain squall gave us a good bath before we dropped the hook.

The evening was almost an exact copy of our time there 9 days previously..

The next morning we took the short cut on the East side of Pine Island. I don't advise going this way unless you are pretty close to high tide as it is quite shallow. We took our time until we passed under the bridge at Matlacha, then we headed home...

We had intended to be out for a couple of weeks but the cruise ended up being 10 days.

La Belle

Again the next day, we got up, started coffee and breakfast and took off across Lake Okeechobee. We stopped in Clewiston to re-fuel and kept heading west. We passed the Moore Haven Docks that are normally very busing during the winter months.

The La Belle City Docks are fairly new, equipped with water, electricity, located across the street from the Library, and close to town. When we had stayed there the previous week we had checked out the depth at the smaller docks that have Lily Pads growing around them. We didn't need power so we took one of them, leaving space for a larger boat. These docks are always busy and they are FREE! (5 night limit).

We wanted to stop again in LaBelle because there is a nice Pub and Grill 3 blocks from the marina. When we passed through the week before the Grill was closed as it was Sunday...  Forrey Grill

Back Track

One of the main reasons we chose to cross the state was to show our friends some of Florida's cruising grounds. We have been to the Keys so many times we now find them a bit boring. With our friends no longer with us we decided to head back home, So we got up, dropped the mooring pendant, and headed back south, having breakfast along the way. Our first plan was to stop for the night at the County docks after locking through the the St. Lucie Lock.  St. Lucie South Recreation Area

We made good time for the day and after locking through we decided to keep going to Indiantown. We had never been at the marina there so we decided to keep going. Just before we got there we passed the only barge that we had seen on the river.

When we got to the Indiantown Marina we were informed there was no power as it had been knocked out by an earlier storm. The dockhands were surprised that we still wanted a dock even though there was no power... We rarely plug in as our 200 watts of solar and twin engines provide for our electrical needs.

We ate aboard as it is quite a walk from the marina to town.

Vero Beach

After we said our goodbyes to Bob and Bev we headed North to somewhere we had never stopped before - Vero Beach. After an uneventful ride we pulled into the City Marina and secured a mooring for the night. We were the only powerboat on a mooring...

After we got settled we decided to walk to the beach. There is bus service that runs from the marina to the beach, but we felt we needed the exercise.

We enjoyed the walk through the streets that have a nice southern feel to them - large live oaks with allot of air plants providing a good tree canopy along the way.

Cathie had to wade in the Atlantic waters at the beach. Then, it being a rather warm day, we stopped for a beer before walking back to the marina.

Breakdown!!

Well, the mechanic showed up shortly after being called and came back the next morning to try again. You can see from the photo, things were not going well...

He was not able to get their engine running, so plans were made to haul their boat out the next day. Bob and Bev ended up renting a car and heading back to their home in Venice. Here we are towing their boat to the launch ramp with our high powered dinghy...

The night before we grilled ashore and enjoyed the remaining time we had together. We have been to the Stuart mooring field a number of times. It's a great place, located in downtown Historic Stuart.

On the Atlantic Coast

Four days of cruising and 150 miles and Buddy is in Stuart. The locks were typical except for one which was quite turbulent. stops included Cape Coral, LaBelle and Clewiston.

We were fortunate to get to the town dock and secure at our stop in LaBelle - we just beat a rather violent thunderstorm squall with 55 mile an hour wind (Buddy has an anemometer).

This lock had the greatest rise - about 12 feet. Our friends Bob and Bev were closer to the gate and got pushed around a bit..

Didn't see that many derelict boats along the way. This one is way past being derelict...

We stopped for lunch in Moore Haven at the City dock. Things looked a bit slow in town...

We then continued on to Clewiston. We re-fueled and spent the night at Roland and Mary Martin's Resort and Marina. They had a nice Tiki Bar/Restaurant on site, but the mosquitoes were REALLY hungry. The Bartenders were serving more repellent than beer! http://www.rolandmartinmarina.com/

The next morning we crossed Lake Okeechobee - a run of 25 miles. Because the lake is so shallow, it is important to to a good weather window as it can get quite rough, very quickly. Mornings are usually a good time as the storm cells don't usually develop until later in the day.

This railroad lift bridge is at the Port Mayaka entrance to the St. Lucie waterway. The sailboat had just gone underneath using 55 gallon plastic barrels filled with water lashed to it's port side.

As we neared the St Lucie lock we saw a tug that has seen better days...

After we locked through the St. Lucie lock our friends developed engine trouble. After idling for 1 hour at the St. Lucie lock, his engine started behaving erratically. We ended up in Stuart taking a mooring at the Sunset Marina and Anchorage. Bob and Bev took a dock, hoping a mobile mechanic would get their boat up and running the next day.

This boat was docked near our friends. Me thinks this is a bit of overkill with the baggy winkles...

Finally, a cruise!

Yesterday we had lift off! It is been a long time since we have actually gone cruising for more than 3 or 4 days. Our plan is to cross the state on the Caloosahatchee River and Lake Okeechobee to cruise up the east coast of Florida. We don't know how far we will get but we will share our little cruise along the way. We spent a nice evening on the hook anchored off of Tarpon Point Marina in Cape Coral. 

Just before we got to the anchorage we passed this bait shop that was anchored off to the side of the miserable mile. 

The miserable mile is a section of waterway coming out of the river in Fort Myers. On weekends, the boat traffic can be miserable. Our friends are launching from Venice this morning and will hopefully be catching up with us by noon as we head east on the river.