Greetings from a new user!
My family have been going to the Bahamas (Great Guana Quay across from Marsh Harbour) on a faily regular basis for the last 8 years now. On each trip we have rented a house and a whaler to putt around the local waters diving and go shopping in Marsh Harbour.
We are planning another trip this xmas (we always go there around xmas), and rather than do the usual of booking 6 adult tickets from Richmond, VA to Mars Harbour via Miami, I have been toying with the idea of purchasing a boat capable of making the trek from Florida to Great Guana Quay.
Looking at google earth, it looks like setting in at Jupiter or West Palm Beach would be the shortest distance to Marsh.
I already have an excellent tow vehicle, namely a 2002 Duramax 3500K dually crew cap long bed w/ just 88k on it.
So I'm thinking of getting a 89ish 280 or 300 DA on a triple axle, which will have a beam of 10'6" or 11' respectively.
My folks would still rent a house there, but us younger folks would sleep on the boat. Airfare alone is about $4500 for the six of us, so I'm pretty confident that fuel cost (towing through 4 states and whatever is consumed by the boat) would come in a lot less.
So my initial questions are as follows:
1. Will a 280 or 300 DA have enough range to get us from Florida to Marsh in one go, or will we need to refuled midway (like West End on Grand Bahama). I guess it all depends on the engine config and fuel capacity. Looking at 89s, I belive they both have 144G of capacity (72G x 2?)
2. Can I get away with getting an oversize permit just for the state of VA and throw some oversize signs on the stern and front of the tow vehicle?
3. Will I have have issues at tunnels and bridges coming down I95 (I'll start in Richmond, VA) and pass through the Carolinas, Georgia and of course Florida?
4. Where along the Florida coast should I set in, and can I just leave my tow vehicle and trailer there unattended until we return a week or so later?
Thanks!
My family have been going to the Bahamas (Great Guana Quay across from Marsh Harbour) on a faily regular basis for the last 8 years now. On each trip we have rented a house and a whaler to putt around the local waters diving and go shopping in Marsh Harbour.
We are planning another trip this xmas (we always go there around xmas), and rather than do the usual of booking 6 adult tickets from Richmond, VA to Mars Harbour via Miami, I have been toying with the idea of purchasing a boat capable of making the trek from Florida to Great Guana Quay.
Looking at google earth, it looks like setting in at Jupiter or West Palm Beach would be the shortest distance to Marsh.
I already have an excellent tow vehicle, namely a 2002 Duramax 3500K dually crew cap long bed w/ just 88k on it.
So I'm thinking of getting a 89ish 280 or 300 DA on a triple axle, which will have a beam of 10'6" or 11' respectively.
My folks would still rent a house there, but us younger folks would sleep on the boat. Airfare alone is about $4500 for the six of us, so I'm pretty confident that fuel cost (towing through 4 states and whatever is consumed by the boat) would come in a lot less.
So my initial questions are as follows:
1. Will a 280 or 300 DA have enough range to get us from Florida to Marsh in one go, or will we need to refuled midway (like West End on Grand Bahama). I guess it all depends on the engine config and fuel capacity. Looking at 89s, I belive they both have 144G of capacity (72G x 2?)
2. Can I get away with getting an oversize permit just for the state of VA and throw some oversize signs on the stern and front of the tow vehicle?
3. Will I have have issues at tunnels and bridges coming down I95 (I'll start in Richmond, VA) and pass through the Carolinas, Georgia and of course Florida?
4. Where along the Florida coast should I set in, and can I just leave my tow vehicle and trailer there unattended until we return a week or so later?
Thanks!
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