ANOTHER NEWB...Cap'n Bill is here!!!

[BadFish]

GREETINGS ALL FROM A DAM FROSTY PITTSBURGH PA!!!

I been rummaging through these forums for a while now, thought I'd give a proper salute.

I'm 26, ex Air Force, do civilian contracting for the military now. Aircraft mechanic by trade. Will be moving aboard my 30' Carver come April, or whenever the hell marina will put it in the water (they're a pain in the ass). It's great livin on the rivers of Da 'Burgh in the summer, but I think I be headin southbound towards more temparate climates next winter. I dream of a trip down the Ohio/Tenn-Tom to the Gulf ( http://www.tenntom.org/images/maps/T...sarterymap.jpg ). I heard Tenessee is good cruisin and that little known state of Florida ain't half bad either. Then Bahamas or bust maybe? Well that's the dream at least.

Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself and thank all those that post here for sharing their smarts.

Bill

[knottybuoyz]

Welcome aboard Bill. Which model of Carver do you have? Nice to see another powerboater around. We are definitely the minority!

Doing anything special to the boat to get her ready for some long range crusing?

[waverider]

Welcome aboard Bill! As knottybuoyz said, there are fewer power cruisers on here. But not to worry most of us sailors also love to get behind the helm of a power cruiser and enjoy the day too.

I myself grew up with both a cabin cruiser 35ft and a Schooner 35 ft. Love to be able to just turn the key and go. But I found a magic in sailing, and I am cheap (like most sailors....lol) so sail won out over power for me.

Anyway welcome aboard and dive right in.


Todd

[James S]

Welcome to the Forum.....I look forward to hearing more about your boat.
As Waverider said lots of us sail guys also like power boats...I recently lost my Riva 34 on the rocks.
Welcome!

[BadFish]

Hey thanks all for the welcome. I sure love my power-b, but would like to have a sailing rig someday too. Can't do it in Da 'Burgh though. Too many bridges in the area, too little area under de bridges, ya know?

Which model of Carver do you have?

I have a Santego 3067. Pretty low hours on the engines, but not sure how the mercs would hang in there for a long cruise. I would think as long as you kept with the routine stuff (oil change etc.) and didn't abuse em too badly they may do ok. Anyone done any extended cruisin in a power-b? I do still need to install a generator though. Got plenty o room for one, just need to muster up the motivation.

Thanks again, cheers!

Bill

[dacust]

A buddy of mine did Chattanooga to Charleston in a 25' single gas engine.

Like you say, maintenance is especially critical for long runs with gas engines. An engine in a boat runs like it would in a car if you had a trailer behind it and was climbing a never ending hill.

You are probably familiar with charts, dams/locks, etc., so I'll skip to something you may need to think about:

Sometimes it can be a long way between fuel stops. It's important that you really know your fuel consumption. By really, I mean you should know how much it burns at varying RPM ranges. How does large waves affect it (can be a lot), how about a stiff head wind (almost none, usually)? How much does that new genset burn?

If yours is like the one I found on the web, it has 150 gal of fuel. That's probably cutting it close. I'm gonna guess that gets you about a 100 mile range. That is, 150 range with a 50 mile buffer.

What that means for you is you need to stop for fuel every day. If you are planning on staying in marinas every night, this is no big deal, but even then it's a pain to sometimes be ready to go, but the fuel dock isn't open, yet. If you plan to anchor, then those daily fuel stops cost you an hour or better each. Also, with that limited range, it means that before you head out in the morning, you should call ahead to the next place you are planning to stop to make sure they are open, got fuel, got enough water for the time of day you are going to be there. (I only drew 30", but one place didn't have even that during low tide!)

It can certainly be done though!

I did 1000 miles on the ICW in a 36' 22,000 lb wood boat with 250 gal of fuel and a 100 mile usable range. It just made the trip a little longer and took calling ahead and planning carefully. I had a fuel stop charted for every 50 miles, and red marks for places that they were further apart.

But when I did another 1000 mile trip in a boat with a 400 mile range, man, it was so much more relaxing.

-dan

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Bill,
Welcome aboard. Most sailors become power boaters as soon as they start their engine. Good to have you here and good luck on your cruise on the Tenn-Tom.
Kindr regards,
JohnL