New boat owner on Lake Erie

I bet you are excited! Nice boat!
 
My boat was delivered to the yard in Florida this morning to be prepared for shipping. It should be up here at the end of next week! Starting to seem more real now.

Are you having it shrink wrapped for the trip?
 
Are you having it shrink wrapped for the trip?
No, we didn't. I was told they weren't shrink wrapped when shipped from the factory and also that if the wrap tears at all that it can actually cause damage.
 
I believe they are shrink wrapped from factory. And yes, *IF* it tears it can do some damage to the gelcoat.
Shippers like to scare you so they dont have to deal with that risk. I think you will be cleaning road grime out of places you didnt know existed for quite a while if you dont
 
That could be, but it's going to be washed and detailed after it arrives and gets put back together, so I'm hopeful it won't be too bad. It's going on the trailer with the stern facing forward, so I'm going to have them tape over the exhaust outlets to prevent water from tracking back that way. I know they have shipped other 510s without wrapping and he tells me it hasn't been a problem. And, frankly, I don't really want to pay to put shrink wrap on that's only going to be there for a few days.
 
That could be, but it's going to be washed and detailed after it arrives and gets put back together, so I'm hopeful it won't be too bad. It's going on the trailer with the stern facing forward, so I'm going to have them tape over the exhaust outlets to prevent water from tracking back that way. I know they have shipped other 510s without wrapping and he tells me it hasn't been a problem. And, frankly, I don't really want to pay to put shrink wrap on that's only going to be there for a few days.

Ohh man...Florida to Michigan...stern first. If it rains or snows during this trip your cockpit is going to be an absolute mess. Get a little road salt residue in the mix and man alive...

For what that boat is worth I can't imagine not throwing another $1-2k at this? I hope for zero precip for you, sir! That boat doesn't deserve that kind of mess :)

EDIT!!!!!!!!!! Hold the phone...your 510 has the solid sliding rear slider/window? I take everything above back Looks like you'll just have a REALLY dirty window/slider and your exterior cockpit area. I was thinking you had an open cockpit like us small timers :)
 
I'd consider taping your engine room vents closed as well. If it rains it'll make a hot mess of your engine room, potentially.
 
Ohh man...Florida to Michigan...stern first. If it rains or snows during this trip your cockpit is going to be an absolute mess. Get a little road salt residue in the mix and man alive...

For what that boat is worth I can't imagine not throwing another $1-2k at this? I hope for zero precip for you, sir! That boat doesn't deserve that kind of mess :)

EDIT!!!!!!!!!! Hold the phone...your 510 has the solid sliding rear slider/window? I take everything above back Looks like you'll just have a REALLY dirty window/slider and your exterior cockpit area. I was thinking you had an open cockpit like us small timers :)
Correct, there is a sliding door that encloses all but the cockpit. I'm sure it'll get dirty, but it's going to be cleaned thoroughly after it gets here and has minor maintenance issues attended to anyway.

That's a good tip about the engine room vents. I'll be sure to mention it to the shipper. I realize it's not ideal for the boat to be on the road for a couple of days, but it is built to be in the elements, and I doubt the few days it's going to spend in transit are any harsher for it than the several years it has spent in salt water.
 
I'm starting to get pretty excited. I launched about a week ago. There's still some minor maintenance stuff getting taken care of and I have a couple of evening sessions lined up with a captain this week. I'm hoping I pick things up quickly, especially around the dock, so I can convince the captain I'm proficient enough to get a letter to satisfy my insurance company that I'm safe to be out on my own! Once that happens I'll be having my first real adventure bringing it over to Toledo from the Catawba area.
IMG_1934.jpg
Some of the cleaning/detailing still needs to be done on the upper part of the hull, but she's starting to look pretty good to me.
20210424_163922.jpg
 
I'm starting to get pretty excited. I launched about a week ago. There's still some minor maintenance stuff getting taken care of and I have a couple of evening sessions lined up with a captain this week. I'm hoping I pick things up quickly, especially around the dock, so I can convince the captain I'm proficient enough to get a letter to satisfy my insurance company that I'm safe to be out on my own! Once that happens I'll be having my first real adventure bringing it over to Toledo from the Catawba area. View attachment 104203 Some of the cleaning/detailing still needs to be done on the upper part of the hull, but she's starting to look pretty good to me.View attachment 104204
How did the trip go from Florida..... backwards ?
 
How did the trip go from Florida..... backwards ?
Well, she's still floating as far as I know, and she traveled from the lift to the last dock under her own power (no more than 500ft), so she's done everything asked of her so far!
 
Well, she's still floating as far as I know, and she traveled from the lift to the last dock under her own power (no more than 500ft), so she's done everything asked of her so far!
I mean about the road rash...dirt....everyone was trying to talk you into shrink wrapping it
 
I mean about the road rash...dirt....everyone was trying to talk you into shrink wrapping it
The glass door was pretty dirty, but the worst of it to my eye was around where it was secured to the truck. You can see it near the port stern cleat. The bilge was dry when she arrived. The boatyard I used in Florida could've done a better job preparing her, but they owned up to it and knocked a big amount off the price of the work. I have no other experience for comparison, but it was a relatively painless experience except on the ol' checkbook/amex.
123_1(3).jpeg
 
The glass door was pretty dirty, but the worst of it to my eye was around where it was secured to the truck. You can see it near the port stern cleat. The bilge was dry when she arrived. The boatyard I used in Florida could've done a better job preparing her, but they owned up to it and knocked a big amount off the price of the work. I have no other experience for comparison, but it was a relatively painless experience except on the ol' checkbook/amex.View attachment 104211
Talk aboard a low trailer .... glad it worked out... good luck

that was a big name... what were they thinking :)
 
Talk aboard a low trailer .... glad it worked out... good luck

that was a big name... what were they thinking :)
I think the shipper told me this was the first or second trip with that trailer, he was pretty excited about it. It extends out to like 76 feet or something. If you zoom in on it you can see where he has it extended a bit in the middle of the trailer. It had pneumatic shocks that he used to lower it even more when they were unloading it.
 
When I got into boating I was told I would use the boat more if it was a 45 minute to an hour or more away. Reasoning: if the boat is close to home and the weather turns bad just pack up and go back home. With the boat being an hour away one would tend to stay on the boat rather than make the hour drive back home because of bad weather. Also lake Erie weather around the islands is way better in the summer where alot of the bad weather goes around the islands. Also the water is by far way more cleaner Around the islands.
 
Doug, my man, who told you that? My boat is 8 miles, 15 mins from home. I often go there at 6am before work, at lunch time at 12, then at 4pm after work. No such thing, further you will use more.
 
I'm definitely very new to this, and I don't know how it'll play out, but I bought a boat because I want to be boating. It'll take a little longer overall to get to the islands keeping the boat in Toledo than it would if I kept it over in Catawba, but I think I'd rather be on the water for that extra time, as opposed to more time in my car. Plus, this way a cruise up to Lake St. Clair is also easily doable. Also, I can easily head up after work and take a short evening cruise. We may end up not liking it this way, but that's why we chose to try it. If we don't like it we can always move.
 

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