Special Edition

 

July 2

We have gotten a lot questions from folks through either email, calls of text asking questions not really covered in the blog.  We thought we would take a few minutes and talk about some of these.  They are in no particular order and please ask more so we can share.  Here is what we have so far:

How we plan our day to day routes?

How is Yudee holding up?

Where are we usually staying (Marinas, Anchor or Dock walls)?

How do "Docktails" come about?

Is the boat performing to expectations?

How are we managing our daily living issues like food, laundry, internet ... bathing

Are we cursing with others or on our own (aka .... buddy boats)

Here we go:

How we plan our day to day routes?

Today's world is simply amazing with all the low cost technology at our fingertips.  We have access to world class software for only ~$25 - $150 per year that literally tells us everything we need to know.  For example, the $25 Navionics product will allow me to select a starting point and an end point and then automatically optimize a route for me.  I can then send that to a product called Active Captain that will interface that route to the boat.  The boat's autopilot can then pick up the route and steer the boat.  Here is an example of our route to Quebec City.

Then I can send the route to a product called AquaMaps.  This applications will tell me everything I need to know along the way like where the Marinas are, where to anchor and how high the bridges are.  It even tells me how much gas prices are and each marina, what the cost to stay over night is, do they offer power, water, pump out and how to contact them.  For example:

With these tools we can easily find the best / cheapest places to stay or fuel up.  Given that the information is so accessible we do it in real time while we are cruising.  Terri simply gets on the phone and starts price shopping.  Google Maps fills in the land issues like shopping etc.

We typically don't plan our destinations more that two days in advance.  There are just too many variables including things like ... we simply like a spot and decide to stay a day or two longer.  That is why we stayed here in Chambly as long as we did.  It is nice, cheap and fun.

How is Yudee holding up?  

In a word, FANTASTIC.  He has adopted to the boat extremely well.  For example,  he loves taking the dingy to shore.  The other day Terri and I were inside and the dingy was tied up next to the boat.  He hopped off the boat onto the dingy on his own and the started barking at us to take him ashore.  He didn't have to go potty, he just wanted to play.  When we told him "no", he laid down inside the dingy and went to sleep.

He has also figured out how to walk to the bow of the boat on his own.  He loves being up front when we are cruising and will often fall asleep.  When we are at anchor, we find him in the darnedest spots.

Here he is using the flood light as a head rest as we cruise .....

But often he is just on watch enjoying the world as it goes by.

In short, he is just fine.  One more funny quip...  He is not allowed in our bed until both Terri and I are awake.  He sleeps upstairs and we are down in the master.  Most mornings we wake up to his head peering around the corner to see if we will let him in or not.  It is really cute.

Where are we usually staying (Marinas, Anchor or Walls)?

The answer is all the above.  We have not anchored as much as we expected, maybe ~10 nights total so far.  The Walls have been fantastic for they offer many of the advantages of the marinas at little to no cost.  With that being said, marinas are the mainstay.  First provisions often force us into shore.  Second, it is easier with the dog.  Third, it is extremely social with other loopers in the marina.  But fourth and most important, it was the only real option for a big part of the trip (so far).  

From the top of the Chesapeake up to the top of Lake Champlain there really were no other options.  The C&D canal was not an anchor friendly area, the Delaware Bay was out, Cape May ...  well, that is just too fun to not be at a marina. NY Harbor, the Hudson, and north were all lacking coves and protected areas.

The marinas have been great.  Our price has ranged from $1.50 - $2.75 per foot.  We are 35 feet (37 LOA) so our price after tax ranges from $65 - $100 per night.  AGLCA and Boat US often offer a 10 - 25% discount so that certainly helps.

How do "Docktails" come about?

Docktails are a never ending Susan and Gene McKeown class micro event.  Loopers communicate with each other via Nebo or Text once we have swapped boat cards.  The message will be something like "Docktails at 5:00 by Jolly Rodger Too!".  Everyone brings their own drinks and some snack to share.  Beverages last for ~60 minutes and then people break off for dinner.  Some go to their boats, some go out as a couple but usually a larger group descends on a restaurant and the festivities continue.  Sometimes the groups are large and sometimes small, but it is always a party.

Is the boat performing to expectiations?

The answer is ABSOLUTELY.  With that being said, it is very humbling to be doing this trip on this boat.  At almost every stop, we are the smallest boat.  Some of the loopers have boats with three stories.  Some have three state rooms.  Some have washers and dryers.  Some have not one or even two, but three or four TVs.  Some have multiple couches and comfy sitting rooms. With that being said,  we wouldn't trade.  The complexity of operating and maintaining those beast are high and typically owned by retired engineers who spend lots of time fixing and adjusting their boats.

Operationally, we love our smaller craft.  We watch some of these big boys in the lock and they are struggling to get it secured with the owners running up and down steps to get it done.  We simply pull in like we do to any dock and poof we are done.

This morning three of us had to help a tall trawler off the dock and out of his slip for fear the winds would catch it and damage his and other boats.  It took ~25 minutes to get him underway.  We just hop in and go.

The boat's fuel efficiency / speed has others around us envious.  One of our Buddy Boats is a new 39' Back Cove with triple 400hp mercs on the back.  Going ~20mph he is burning ~40 gallons per hour.  At that same speed, I am burning ~9.5 - 10.2 per hour.  His boat cost twice as much and he is now telling his buddies that are looking for a boat to look at the Aspens.   His is a little extreme on consumption, but other jumbos that can move fast burn similar numbers.

Being able to go fast efficiently is a really big deal.  Often the current is against us.  On the Hudson, we faced a 3mph current.  at 20mph this is a 15% hit on efficiency.  However, for our trawler buddies with a 6mph max, this is a 50% hit and a 50 mile trip is suddenly all day.  For us, our time doesn't change, just the cost and that is still manageable.  Up near Montreal there are sections with a 6 mph current so the slow boats have to be very conscious of when they travel.

Another area of concern is height.  Some of these big boats simply cannot do segments of the trip for they will not fit.  For example, on the Champlain Canal there is a bridge with a max height of 17'3".  Some boats spend hours taking down their electronics and lights to fit.  Others simply don't attempt this route.  Funny story, for our friends on Jolly Rodger Too to fit under the 17'3" bridge, the canal authorities actually lowered the water level by opening a damn on a 5 mile section.  He fit, but his stress level spiked.  We don't worry about this.

With all that being said, there are a few things we wish were different.  The fresh and black water capacities are such that we can only stay out ~4-5 days before we have to hit a marina.  We carry 50 gallons of fresh water and have capacity for 30 gallons of black.  Interestingly, we have more issues with these capacities than fuel.  Other areas that would be nice would be more lounging space and slightly larger refrigerators.  

Overall, we are on the right boat for us.

How are we managing our daily living issues like food, laundry, internet ... bathing

The bottom line is, no issue.  We have had to learn how to "shop smaller".  All our married life we have shopped membership warehouses and big box stores for that was where the deals were.  Now we have to think how to shop for today and maybe tomorrow.

One disappointment has been that there are very few farmers markets.  Our expectations were that the small towns would all have open air markets we could shop for fresh produce and more.  It might be that we are just too early in the season, but that has not materialized yet.

Laundry has also not been a problem in that most marinas have machines.  We have noticed that our clothing is getting "grayer".  We are using these "laundry sheets" for the soap and that might be the problem.  We will adjust and see....

Bathing has also not been a problem.  We can shower onboard without an issue.  We have to be conscious of our water consumption for we only carry 50 gallons.  This will last 4 - 5 days if we are careful.  If we shower and use the water without thought, we only get ~3 days.  Again, not really an issue for we often hit a marina in that interval.

Internet has been so so.  Verizon 5G is not real strong.  Ideally, we should have put one of our phones on AT&T and the other on Verizon.  That might have helped.  Once we entered Canada, Verizon capped our total bandwidth to 2gb each per day.  That last until about noon incase you are wondering.  Once at the cap,  it drops to low speed so the phones still work (aka, Google Maps) but streaming is out.  Marinas often have WIFI but usually that is like trying to suck a golf ball through a garden hose.  It doesn't yield much success.  However, a bright spot is that our buddy boat Never Home has Starlink and we serve as parasites off that giving us what we need.

Mr,. Lloyd asked how we are getting TV.  When in the states we simply streamed YouTube TV to our laptops and tablets.  In Canada it is restricted so we simply don't use it.  There is this old fashion thing called reading and we are doing more of that.

Are we cruising with others or on our own (aka .... buddy boats)

The answer is BOTH.  All the loopers are going in the same general direction at the same time.  However, most people are not really traveling together.  It is common for boats to decide to take side trips like we did to Quebec City thus breaking off from the herd.  Eventually, you end up on the same course with people you like and boats of similar capabilities.  This becomes your "buddy boat" and it is common to travel with that boat for a period of time.  As it has worked out, we are traveling with Never Home.  Atillio and Kathy are great people and even through their boat far exceeds ours, we can hang with them from place to place perhaps just arriving a little bit later.  Having a buddy boat is actually quite fun for it gives you another couple to do things with.

Well,  I hope this answered some of the questions about how things mechanically work. 

Take care and stay safe.

With love,

Terri and Aubrey