Doryman's Meanderings

Brent,

I saw the 22 at Jeff's today, gave him a check for the balance, and am very excited about this boat. It is set up so nicely, with just about everything I need except perhaps bases for Scotty downriggers. Even a good cover for when it is parked next to my house (now I see that you and Jeff are competing to see who can have the biggest garage.) I hope Jeff has good luck in selling his big ski boat so he can complete the deal and buy something like the 26 that Marc has for sale. I am returning in June to pick up the boat.

We leave for home tomorrow morning. Pray to the weather gods for us. Probably will come in through Portland rather than Snoqualmie Pass.

Warren
 
Before I went up to Kamas to see my new 22, I had a very enjoyable breakfast with Richard Cook (NewMoon). We talked at length about C-Dories (natch), his previous CD22 and current Bounty 26 (think SeaSport with Volvo diesel I/O), extended 3-4 month cruises in Alaska and last, but not least, his new book, designed to be a guide for all you need to prepare for an Alaskan cruise. It will be published next week, and I have already paid Richard for the first copy (autographed, hopefully.) More details on the book HERE.

Warren
 
Warren

Thanks for the link. Made the order and with shipping it cost me $27.62. Sure hope its worth that much. Could have had it for $5 less on shipping, but for that no way to track and if lost in shipping Company said they wouldn't replace.

Will let it be known if it is.

Jay
 
Jay, when the book is formally published (next week, I think), I am told it will be available on Amazon. Their shipping policies are undoubtedly better (I have Amazon Prime -- free shipping for any order for myself and up to 5 family members, for $20 or so a year. Well worth it IMHO for the amount of stuff I order from them.)

Warren
 
Warren, I order lots of stuff from Amazon and just tried to sign up for
Amazon Prime. It's $79 for a year. I gotta go reconsider but thanks for the tip, may still be worth it.

Charlie
 
Charlie, I had to go to my Amazon account to see for myself -- you are right, it is $79. That works out to about $20 for each person in my family who uses it, though.

Warren
 
Hi Warren, Jay, Charlie,

Jay, thanks for the order - hope you like it.

I'm checking my proof copy right now - hope to declare it approved today or tomorrow. Lulu says that it will be 6-8 weeks before the book shows up on Amazon.

It will also be available as a download from Lulu for $9.95.

If anyone would like to check it out a bit, there's a 28-page preview you can look at on Lulu:

http://www.lulu.com/browse/preview.php?fCID=5835870
 
Doryman":5yzutfyr said:
Charlie, I had to go to my Amazon account to see for myself -- you are right, it is $79. That works out to about $20 for each person in my family who uses it, though.

Warren
Click to expand...

Budget shipping usually costs $3.99 or so, will have to go back and see how much I spent last year...

Thanks, was unaware even of the opportunity!!

Charlie
 
Richard, many authors in your situation also offer autographed copies directly, if you are interested in going that route. It is an additional incentive for the buyer...

Warren
 
Warren,

I hope your still holed up in Salt Lake City. Weather looks poor for driving I-84 north for a few days. http://www.weather.com/outlook/driving/ ... nal?reg=us I just came to Loa from Richfield. Snow packed roads most of the way, in 4X4. Forecast is for up to 18" of snow tonight in the mountains above us. We are at 7200 ft elevation. Glad you liked the Kurbit CD 22' Sorry we missed you on your way through earlier in the week.

I think I have Jeff beat on the size of the garage. 5000 sq ft.

Brent
 
Warren, Thanks a bunch for the tip and the link on the "Big Cruise " book. Really looks good.

BTW, They are predicting Spring will be in the Seattle area Sunday. Hope you don't miss it :xnaughty

Harvey
SleepyC
 
We arrived home Friday night after spending Thursday night in Baker City, OR. We had lots of fun (NOT!) getting from Baker City to Pendleton, but the rest of the trip was uneventful, weather-wise and traffic-wise. It is amazing what a micro-climate that Oregon pass is. I have had to deal with localized snow and ice there more often than just about any place I have driven in the west.

Warren
 
Glad to hear you made it home safe and sound, Warren. Sounds like Mother Nature made the trip a challenge for you right to the end. Rest up, then tell us where the next trip will be (I'm guessing to SLC area). :D

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Warren-Thanks for bringing some good weather back with you. I know it took up some valuable space in the truck, but please know we all appreciate it. Welcome home and thanks again for keeping us posted. We stick-in-the-muds enjoyed the meanderings.
 
Home Again

We've been home from our Florida trip for a couple of weeks now, and I wanted to put down a few words summarizing some of the more important lessons learned as well as highlights and lowlights of the trip.

1. Winter is still winter, even in Florida. Although I had been warned by Jim and Bob that January and February were sometimes cold and windy, even in Florida, I was not prepared for what the natives said was an "unusual" winter (why is it that everywhere I go the winters are unusual?) As a result we spent far too much time tied up in marinas and not enough time out on the water.

2. The dog put more of a crimp in our plans than I anticipated. I'm still intimidated by the logistics of using the dinghy, and the thought of having to accommodate two canine potty breaks a day kept us from anchoring out. And the expense of slips, particularly in south Florida, helped make an expensive trip even more expensive.

3. 3500 miles each way is too far. The GMC Duramax is a far better tow vehicle than my previous Dodge Cummins, and the crew cab configuration helped Lori take naps on the back seat (with a foam mattress) when she needed to. RV-ing with the boat should be renamed KOA-ing with the boat, because the KOAs were the only RV parks that would accept our rig. We occasionally dry-camped roadside, but for the most part stayed in motels while in the cold belt and in KOAs once we were in the south.

4. Three months was too long. Although it was nice to have sunshine most every day, and even though the Tom Cat is a fabulous trailer/cruising boat, eventually we tired of the limitations imposed by the size of the boat -- it was simultaneously too small and too large: Too small to really make a home away from home, and too large to get on and off the water without significant planning (is the ramp long/deep enough, etc., etc.) As a result our future plans have diverged in two very different directions. Short term, we want to travel in an RV behind which we will pull a smaller boat (hence the purchase of the used C-Dory 22), and long-term, if and when circumstances permit, we may sell the house and move aboard a 40+ foot trawler for a 3-to-4 year Mexico/Panama/east coast trip. We are still keeping the Tom Cat for Canadian cruising, a trip next summer to Minnesota and the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin, and -- if and when the situation in Mexico improves -- the Sea of Cortez.

5. Despite my grousing about the distance, expense and weather, we are still glad we made the trip. We got to see Florida up close and personal in a way we never would have otherwise. We now know that in general, we'll probably not return to south Florida -- too expensive and the natives are too rude, particularly on the road. We did enjoy the two bays on the west coast (the Naples and Tampa areas). But we really, really liked the panhandle, particularly the Apalachicola-Pensacola area and absolutely plan to return -- but by air, and probably to stay at the Water Street Hotel in Apalachicola and to rent or charter from Marc's fleet.

6. As always, the interactions with the C-Brats we met on this trip were the high spots. In the end, it's the people that make a trip memorable, and the hospitality of the Florida Brats ensured that we will never forget this trip. Thank you, and I hope we will have the opportunity to reciprocate.

Warren
 
Hi Warren,

Timing is everything. If you want to stay in the Continental US and find warm (that's a relative term) winter boating, you have south Florida, south Texas, and San Diego. Of those three, I feel south Florida has the most interesting cruising opportunities. Any of those three can have great weather... or what you experienced. As it turned out this year, I think deep south Texas was by far the best. Checking the long range forecasts (certainly not always accurate), we decided to forgo Florida and had a wonderful winter in the Tropical Tip of Texas. It's a crap shoot.

Having said that, winter in any of the three above just has to be easier than winter in the frozen northland... given the same circumstances. Joan said it best: "If it's going to be crappy and cold, I'd rather be at our home in Texas. We can still go out in the boat any time we want, but if the wind is howling and the temps drop, it's a lot more comfortable in the house than the boat." After bailing out of Florida in November, I completely agree. Living on a small boat (even when it's not permanent, if you are out for more than a couple weeks, it's "living") takes a certain mind-set. Definitely not the same as a summer vacation.

3500 miles is a long haul. You have done RVing... you know there is a REAL difference between a modern RV and using the boat as a camper. We are enjoying being out in our 5th wheel right now - it is downright luxurious compared to Wild Blue... great insulation, lots of hot water, large holding tanks, 50 amp electrical service, satellite TV, a two-stage furnace and a fireplace, huge storage, room to walk around the bed... well, I could go on and on. The C-Dory is a place to sleep on land, but it certainly isn't an RV. There is no good way to handle waste water. You have to climb up and down each time you come and go. And let's face it - the campground neighbors give you funny looks. :wink: It is better suited to being on the water. We try to plan our boat hauling so we can put the boat in the water frequently along the way... not an easy thing to do when hauling to Florida in the winter. Certainly, a disadvantage.

The winter we spent in Florida, we put the boat in once and took it out when we were ready to head home; that eliminated the problems with ramps, campgrounds, etc. The downside is you have no vehicle for land travel while you're out on the boat. Public transportation can be your friend. Of course, being able to pull the boat out for repair/service sure makes the trailer nice. A big ol' trawler would be be comfy, but it's a REALLY LONG haul from WA, down through the Panama Canal (think Florida campgrounds are expensive???) and up around to the east coast. It would be important to get comfortable with some Spanish phrases like: where can we buy fuel, is there someplace who can repair my bent prop, etc, etc.

Our winter in Florida in 07 was also an "unusual" one according to the locals. We wore coats a lot. There were days at anchor when we couldn't get off the boat because of concerns about dragging in the howling wind. Hauling laundry in the dinghy. LOTS of walking. The breaks with warm weather and sunshine made it all easier. We tried to watch the weather and put ourselves in the best possible place considering what was coming. Like you, we were grateful that our Wallas was such a champ.

Traveling with a dog? Yeah, it's probably best if I don't go there, other than to say we have done that. Pat may make fun of our litterbox, but we never had to row to shore because of an impending bladder explosion. :shock: It is easier to travel without a furry family member, but we have been doing it for most of our lives.

We enjoyed reading about your travels... winced on occasion... saw yet another norther coming your way and hoped you were on the south side with some protection. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Warren, thanks for your thoughts! I have yet to HAVE three months to give this a try, a couple of weeks on the boat at a time is the longest we have spent, but I for one have no problem with the idea of months on our 25 - I was not ready to leave Lake Powell, I sure could have stayed all of September and October, had that been possible. As you know, my aspiration is the Great Loop - a year on the boat, and based on the blogs I have been reading, I don't think it will feel too long, but that remains to be seen I guess.

We loved living on the boat, sundowners in the cockpit, having all our meals on-board, nights nosed up or stern tied to the beach. The idea of marinas just does not appeal to us. Of course, we had the lake to swim in fresh water every day. We would probably need some marina stops every few days in Florida, but we would still want to be swinging on the hook as much as possible.

On the dinghy & the dog - get a smaller, lighter dinghy. You know how Baxter "owns" our Alaska Series, and I enjoy rowing it, so it sure has not been a problem for us. Being small and fairly light, it is easy to get on and off the boat without a davit.

Finally, on campgrounds - we bypassed campgrounds and KOAs both ways between here and Powell, opting instead for "Camp Walmart," highly recommended. No amenities of course, but that is how I would cross America. Having the Airhead of course makes that a little more practical. We were never concerned about the little amount of gray water that ran out on the asphalt, but if we got called on it, a hose and a bucket or tank could be easily rigged up, in fact, I think I will do that for future trips.

Everyone has to figure out for themselves what they are comfortable doing, heck B&E spent years between a CD22 and their camper on the back of their pickup - we stayed in that camper at the Chesapeake, and I can tell you, it has less room than the 25 does. Maybe that trawler is just what you need, but like Jim and Joan, for us the 25 is "just right"!
 
Jim and Pat -- Many thanks for your thoughts (and support). I know I would not have been quite so brave as to tackle this trip without my friends here!

I just want to comment on one small part of what Pat said:

Pat Anderson":2thqogej said:
Finally, on campgrounds - we bypassed campgrounds and KOAs both ways between here and Powell, opting instead for "Camp Walmart," highly recommended.
Click to expand...

We had plans to do something similar but after we picked up the boat in Richfield (thanks again, Brent!) the boat was still winterized and in fact we did not de-winterize it until we got to I-10. That meant we could not use the fresh water system or the head (not a problem with the AirHead, I know.) Also as Jim points out, the boat is not an RV and we were most acutely aware of that when we were in the snow/cold belt. You haven't truly lived until you have woken up inside an uninsulated fiberglass tub when the ambient temperature is 15 degrees (we had re-winterized the boat water systems before heading north again.)

Warren
 
Warren, what you said certainly sounds familiar. We've spent a winter in Florida, and yes winter is winter down there, though it's all "unusual.". They have a lot of fronts go through, and you have to wait them out. We did it in a 36' sailboat, and both anchored out and hit a marina when we could. The sights we saw, including the Keys, Bahamas and various towns certainly was worth it, but now we've checked that part of the country off the list. By the way, summer is worse. You think that Bob/thataway is an expert on A/C by mere chance?

Actually, you've been spoiled by one of the best cruising grounds in the US. San Diego has better weather, but nowhere to cruise. The East Coast is great, but the weather is tough. And the northeast corner of Florida is known as Tornado Alley. Enjoy what you have in Washington, without trailering 3500 miles.

Also, I think that spending 3-4 mos on a boat is something at which you have to work. Judy and I will do that with Journey On again this summer. It's a state of mind which various cruisers have achieved, but it's not for all. We happen to enjoy it, and I really love it. You're right, the people you meet make the trip enjoyable. By the way, the C-25 is really easy to tow, given a pickup. And we've never been turned away from a RV park, though we've turned several down.

Give yourself 3-4 months, and you'll start loving the trip, and I hope that you do another, for instance to the Great Lakes. You've certainly learned a lot, and for mature people learning is tough. Leave the dog at home next time.

Boris
 
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