Where's Waldo?

[Dale]

Don, we are in Ortega River waiting for better weather. We will be going down the St. Johns and north on the ICW Tuesday. I remember that spot well; it was very confusing with all the ranges and markers. i was actually out in the St. Johns before I figured out where I was. My Chartpack doesn't show the submerged jetty and my plotter image (C-Map) shows two parallel dashed lines with no description. We reviewed the charts and plotter to learn from your experience. We are happy no one was hurt and you were able to recover your boat. We wish you both a safe trip home. Dale and Carol 89 A27

[joebuz]

Don,
Sorry your trip had to end this way. Really appreciate your honesty, wisdom and willingness to share with and help the rest of us. You always have. Have a safe trip home.

[DesertAlbin736]

Oh my! Hadn't checked this thread in a few days & very sad to learn of your accident. That's any boater's greatest fear, foundering on an unseen submerged obstruction. It's something that's always on our minds, especially up in the Pacific NW where rocks abound & tidal currents can be strong with up to 9 foot tide range.

I can imagine your boat must have sustained significant water damage below decks after beaching on an incoming tide. Will your insurance pay to repair or with they total it? Would think the only good thing to be said was that the prop & rudder weren't damaged & that you were able to beach it and "careen" it at low tide to do the temporary patch on the hull & not have any fuel spills or end up at the bottom of the river. Best of luck to you & glad no one was hurt.

[JT48348]

+1
Glad you and ur family are ok.

"If you can walk away from a landing, it’s a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it’s an outstanding landing."--Chuck Yeager,USAF

[kerrye]

Do you have any pictures of the events, especially the repair you enacted at low tide. I think that's quite an accomplishment and would like to see how you did it. If not, a description of your repair might help the rest of us when we encounter similar circumstances.

[sail149]

Don
I'm amazed you don't seem more upset by the mishap. But your comments about the boat not being right for you after all are interesting. You spent so much time working on her and thinking about her .
I hope the insurance come thru for you and you can have the boat professionally repaired as you sound excited to get on with your trip! It does sound like with a little work it will could a great boat for somebody looking for a little less from their boat. Since it was 15 (?) years ago When you first thought the boat was the one it's not suprizingly your ideas have changed.
I looked at an A27 the owners had just bought an Albin 32 or 32+2. And they increased their holding tank and water I think first on the 27 until they found the 32.
Despite the reason....what fun you get to go boat shopping!
Warren

[Beta Don]

Warren,

We didn't have hull insurance so the loss will be all on us

As to 'liking the boat' I've loved the concept of an A27 since the first time I saw one - Can't think of a small boat with a better use of space, especially once we extended the roof aft 8 feet and enclosed everything with canvas and screens

After using her both on and offshore for 1500 miles, the list of what I don't care for really started to grow. Motoring into any chop at all, we had salt spray going all the way over the boat - You'd be scrubbing her from stem to stern several times a week trying to keep her presentable. Also, in any kind of sea, she doesn't ride very well. We needed to look for days which promised winds of 10 knots or less to go anywhere offshore . . . . or we got beat up all day long

For long tem living aboard, even for just the two of us, she's just too small. We had every nook and cranny packed with everything needed (she weighed in at 11,000 pounds) and digging through the bins under the beds & elsewhere to find what you're looking for was a real pain. Walking the length of the boat from the bed to the head wasn't always a comfortable trip either

Yes, we'll lose a good deal of money and an even greater amount of labor that we had invested in this boat, but she's not right for us - It's probably a good thing we won't be doing all of the 6,500 mile loop in her

Not sure what will become of the boat - Haven't thought through all the possibilities yet. I may part her out and keep the bits I can reuse on another boat, sell some of the things that only fit an A27 and cut up the hull. Just don't know yet

The good news is, we're pretty sure what we want to replace her and shopping for a 'new' boat is always fun!

Don

[Jay Knoll]

Don

I hate to ask but you are sure to know. Is the hull cored? The reason I'm asking is that my depth sounder on my old navstar unit has crapped out. I've been having intermittent problems but I really need a reliable unit as I cruise north. Today I didn't have any depth readings until AFTER I got thru the Ponce Inlet area. I'm sure you recall that. Anyway I'd like to shoot thru the hull rather than pull and install a new tranducer.

Thanks for the assistance

Jay

[Beta Don]

Jay,

I believe the hull is cored where my thru hulls are located, but if you'd like to shoot through the hull in the keel area, it is solid fiberglass. I was using an Airmar P79 transducer which fit nicely in the keel just forward of the engine bulkhead, accessed by the opening under the hanging locker. My Garmin 740s worked very well with that transducer up to at least 100' of water - We never traveled anywhere there was deeper water. In very shallow areas, the thru hull gave shallower readings than the Furuno depth/speed/temp unit did, but from about 15' on up, both units read the same

The P79 mount gets glued to the hull, filled with glycerin and works well. The keel is less than 1/2 inch thick at that point . . . . ask me how I know

Don

[Jay Knoll]

Thanks Don

[sail149]

Don
Thanks for you though on the short comings of the A27 for your cruising style. very interesting.
I guess you have to be carful what you wish for ?
My father sold his last sailboat in the UK,a colvic 37 for a Broom37 Ocean ('76). A TSDY, (Twin Screw Diesel Yacht)
A really solid well made boat.
There was a story of the first one going across the North Sea at 18 knots to the Dussldoorf boat show in the late '70's
Sounds impressive.
But my father found that while the boat could take it the crew could not! To be fair He was in his late seventies when he got it . So he would wait for calm weather for any channel crossings or the like. conditions that the sailboat would have injoyed in comfort he was stuck in port in the motor yacht. Prehaps I'm not saying anything we don't already know.
I did not get to go with him on any "rough trips" only inland cruising in France and holland but it is something that suprised me until I spoke to other boat owners.
Mind you the size and comfort would be nice after a rough trip!

[smacksman]

The waters off the southern US states are very different to Europe. Even the Ijselmeere is deep by comparison! I was amazed to have to be six miles off shore in the 'armpit' of Florida to find 10 foot of water to safely navigate.
And a tidal range of a foot!
For me it has been a learning curve. Initially I didn't appreciate the forcasted wave frequency of so many seconds and just noted the height. I now know that 2 foot waves at 2 seconds intervals is far more uncomfortable than 3 foot waves at 6 second intervals.
I have never regretted my first experience of owning a motor cruiser and thank the day that I chose an Albin.
Roger

seabrook2.jpg

[kerrye]

It's good to hear your lack of regret since my A25 is my first motorboat of any kind. Again, thanks for your videos, I love them. If you're looking for a sailboat in the US, I have a Voyager 26 for sale on a trailer.

[sail149]

Good point Rodger I really haven't spent much time in stormy weather in the US, ( there is way less wind in us, except the big stuff) the short chop of the Belgian coast is another story, quite some nasty stuff there.

[Jay Knoll]

Warren

Just wait until you experience the chop on the Chesapeake when it's blowing!