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Don B
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USA
317 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/07/2010 : 05:29:30

Hi Sten, I was wondering if you are currently in the Tampa Bay area.

I was also curious as to how the repairs are coming along.

Don B
86FK/SR #5216 "Mighty M"
Southwest Florida

Edited by - on

redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2010 : 07:28:15

Hi Don,

Sorry - I meant to hit you up but we have been busier than I ever would have thought. This cruising stuff is time consuming.

Anyway, we had a great overnight from Fort Meyers Beach. Strong winds, so we put a reef in overnight but we were still doing almost 6 knots! Got to the channel a bit early, so we did a couple donuts. Should have started in. What a long channel it is. Anyway, we are at the Harborage Marina in downtown St. Pete. $484 a month for 8 months on a one year contract. So four months free. We have a pool, onsite cafe with happy hour, nice facilities plus we can literally walk to the Rays stadium or downtown. We are behind a massive seawall and attached to floating docks. There is a C25 at the end of my dock - best bluewater C25 I have ever seen, will post pics soon - anyhow, this place is empty and appears to be a good hurricane hole. Coasty station right next door, which says something...

No bridges or other challenges to get to the bay, just unplug, untie and go. The weather here is astounding. Perfect every day. There is always something to do, art, etc... 25 cent shuttle bus stops right next door at the Dali museum. Life is good.

Upgraded the AC to 9000 btu's 'cuz the "Carry On" drop thru the hatch unit does a great job, but this is a big boat with a blue hull. Learned a couple of things from last year. Might sell the carry on unit. The new one is a vented unit on wheels, so all I need to do is fabricate a means of blowing the exhaust outside via a hatch or port... I also bought a cute fridge with a separate freezer door. Smaller than the fridge on the boat, but with engine driven refrigeration, its a pain to have to shut off power and run every day.

We buffed her sides, trying to look good in the neighborhood, but so far we have done little about the repair issues. The gelcoat is gone down to the matting in one place, and the rubberish rub rail damage is going to be an interesting task. Still have not contacted Boat US - too busy with work stuff. We'll see. Overall the plan is to stay here and refill the cruising kitty. Everything went a little topsy turvy on the economics front as you all know, we wanted to keep going - I guess we maxed out at 3 years. Hopefully we can grab some cash and leave here in a year or so. I'm itching to go thru the canal.

My wife went to KC for 3 and a half weeks, so if you wanna go sailing, let me know. She is bringing back a car, but for the moment all i have are a couple of dinghy's

.

sten

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2010 : 09:59:14

[url="http://marinas.com/view/marina/2431_The_Harborage_Marina_at_Bayboro_Tampa_Bay_FL"]This must be the place[/url]. Looks like they need a pretty blue hull!

Edited by - on

redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2010 : 10:50:42

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Stinkpotter
 [url="http://marinas.com/view/marina/2431_The_Harborage_Marina_at_Bayboro_Tampa_Bay_FL"]This must be the place[/url]. Looks like they need a pretty blue hull!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

That's it.... Funny, all of the other marinas around here have fixed docks. What's up with that?

sten

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2010 : 12:14:39

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by redviking
 That's it.... Funny, all of the other marinas around here have fixed docks. What's up with that?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Much sturdier in a storm. A few weeks ago when the huge storm wreaked havoc in RI and Eastern CT--big floods and wind--the big concrete floating docks in our nicest marina (in Noank) were busted up--almost every section is cracked. They expect to be working on them all summer. The hoop holding the end of my slip's finger dock to a piling (at my condo) was busted off by ice. I couldn't use that slip till the hoop was replaced. And our water lines on the floating docks were busted up by ice flows, too, although that's partly the installer's fault. I'm sure you feel our pain, Sten...

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 05/09/2010 12:15:16

redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2010 : 13:02:57

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Stinkpotter
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by redviking
 That's it.... Funny, all of the other marinas around here have fixed docks. What's up with that?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Much sturdier in a storm. A few weeks ago when the huge storm wreaked havoc in RI and Eastern CT--big floods and wind--the big concrete floating docks in our nicest marina (in Noank) were busted up--almost every section is cracked. They expect to be working on them all summer. The hoop holding the end of my slip's finger dock to a piling (at my condo) was busted off by ice. I couldn't use that slip till the hoop was replaced. And our water lines on the floating docks were busted up by ice flows, too, although that's partly the installer's fault. I'm sure you feel our pain, Sten...

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Those are floating docks attached to wood poles. We have concrete pilings 3 feet square. Almost bullet proof. We don't have ice issues down here, just hurricanes. I think I picked a good hole. Well see next fall. And uh, yeah, New England wintahs suck... Don't miss em...

For the best protection, floating docks rule in my opinion. Lines stay put and you don't have to worry about storm surge making you too lose. Much easier to get off of too. Oh, and I might add that our recent damage was at a fixed dock, they don't give when the weather gets rough.

sten

Edited by - redviking on 05/09/2010 13:07:33

Don B
Captain

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USA
317 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2010 : 07:46:31

Great to hear from you Sten. Sounds like you found a great facility for your stay. You are so correct...so many things going on in downtown St Pete and everything within walking distance. Make sure you take in a Rays game... especially on Saturdays..they put on a concert immediately after the game..John Fogerty, ZZ Top, etc. You will also have a front row seat for the Strictly Sail show (including the Lats and Atts party!) And you only have a 10-15 minute drive to a great airport if needed.

With regards to air conditioning...some of the live aboards at our marina get pretty creative with tarps for shade coverage. I'm sure providing a little shade over the cabin area must really help keep the temperature down a few degrees whereas the A/C doesn't have to work as hard.

Good job in finding a marina with a massive seawall. A few years ago the St Pete marina area took a severe beating. An extended period of strong winds out of the east, whipping across Tampa Bay, and slamming into the fully exposed marinas, really took it's toll...

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/12/Tampabay/Vinoy_marina_mangled.shtml

Thanks for the sailing invite..would definitely love to experience the C&C screaming across Tampa Bay. I will check the schedule and give you a shout.

Edited by - on

redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2010 : 10:50:21

We tarped out last year. Not worth it if you want to be able to untie and go. Scratched the windows on the dodger, not that it mattered anyway since they are brittle and cracking after two years - six months under a tarp. Not having to shut off the power to the AC everyday for running the engine to keep the fridge going has really helped. I'm already second guessing the 9000 BTU unit... Went up to Vinoy, actually we went everywhere in our first 24 hours re-scouting marinas. It's not just a toy nor just a hobby anymore, it's our home. Tough docks.... they all are on this side except this one. The creek is right up the way, so we can get hauled in a jiffy.

My plan is to strip the decks and tie centered all over the place and use the dink to get off. 47% occupancy - nobody in th edouble slip next to me... Good odds anyway. That's the plan anyway.

We only scream when it's a blowing... I like small craft advisories for max fun!

sten

Edited by - on

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3476 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2010 : 11:17:20

And the tides in the Gold Coast are easy, nothing like France...

Or is that the new sign for the marina?

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