JoLin
Vice Admiral
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2007
- Messages
- 5,146
The neighbor and I drove Escapade II to her winter marina yesterday. It was chilly (about 50 deg) and a bit breezy, but a beautiful sunny day. A really nice 1.5 hour cruise. I guess it was a fitting end to a pretty great season with the 'new' boat. Made me sad, tho.
Linda and I just love the Vista. Plenty of room for the two of us for a weekend on the hook, and we spent 8 days aboard at the end of July when we made our first-ever 'cruise' to the north fork of LI for the Power Squadron District 3 (all LI chapters) rendezvous. We stayed at 3 different marinas that had all the amenities we needed. On-board air conditioning is very cool (pun intended). It was a really fun experience we intend to repeat next year.
The drivetrain ran flawlessly all season. I spent my 'repair' time fixing a jamming, slipping windlass, replacing the pump on the Jabsco head and getting the alky stove to work properly. Once I found the clogged, millionth-of-an-inch-diameter weep hole and cleared it, it made all the difference. Barnacles were really bad this year and a constant source of irritation. Scrape, scrape, scrape. Sheesh!
Last winter I had the yard concentrate on the motors (manifolds, risers, belts, full tune-ups). This year it's the outdrives and controls. New bellows and water pickup tubes. The trim indicators need to be fixed and throttle cables adjusted. It kills me that I can't do most of that work myself anymore, but c'est la vie.
Plans for next year include adding more cleats (this is my 3rd boat and I've had to add cleats and grab handles to all of them), and a new bimini top and mooring cover. They've both about had it. The enclosure is still in good shape, knock eisenglass...
A couple of things I've learned:
1. OFF! mosquito coils in the cockpit work great! The cheaper coils don't work at all. They do, however, irritate my lungs. Maybe they're designed to keep people off the boat so we won't annoy the insects?
2. Brinkmann makes a cheap and excellent 1-burner propane camp stove (about $20 at Amazon). The propane tank itself becomes one of the 3 legs that make it stable in the cockpit, and it's the only single burner I found that has a built-in wind shield (it works, too). Perks an 8-cup pot of coffee in nothing flat without my having to wake Linda by futzing in the galley.
3. A hot and cold water transom shower is a lot handier than you'd expect. Coming up the swim ladder and rinsing off with warm water feels great!
4. I need to buy a dedicated shore power cord and fresh water hose (for the city water connection) to keep on the boat. They only need to be about 25' feet long, and hauling the 50-footers on and off the boat is a PITA. That 30-amp cord weighs a ton.
Ah, well. Until next season... I guess I'll just be cranky like all the other northerners.
Linda and I just love the Vista. Plenty of room for the two of us for a weekend on the hook, and we spent 8 days aboard at the end of July when we made our first-ever 'cruise' to the north fork of LI for the Power Squadron District 3 (all LI chapters) rendezvous. We stayed at 3 different marinas that had all the amenities we needed. On-board air conditioning is very cool (pun intended). It was a really fun experience we intend to repeat next year.
The drivetrain ran flawlessly all season. I spent my 'repair' time fixing a jamming, slipping windlass, replacing the pump on the Jabsco head and getting the alky stove to work properly. Once I found the clogged, millionth-of-an-inch-diameter weep hole and cleared it, it made all the difference. Barnacles were really bad this year and a constant source of irritation. Scrape, scrape, scrape. Sheesh!
Last winter I had the yard concentrate on the motors (manifolds, risers, belts, full tune-ups). This year it's the outdrives and controls. New bellows and water pickup tubes. The trim indicators need to be fixed and throttle cables adjusted. It kills me that I can't do most of that work myself anymore, but c'est la vie.
Plans for next year include adding more cleats (this is my 3rd boat and I've had to add cleats and grab handles to all of them), and a new bimini top and mooring cover. They've both about had it. The enclosure is still in good shape, knock eisenglass...
A couple of things I've learned:
1. OFF! mosquito coils in the cockpit work great! The cheaper coils don't work at all. They do, however, irritate my lungs. Maybe they're designed to keep people off the boat so we won't annoy the insects?
2. Brinkmann makes a cheap and excellent 1-burner propane camp stove (about $20 at Amazon). The propane tank itself becomes one of the 3 legs that make it stable in the cockpit, and it's the only single burner I found that has a built-in wind shield (it works, too). Perks an 8-cup pot of coffee in nothing flat without my having to wake Linda by futzing in the galley.
3. A hot and cold water transom shower is a lot handier than you'd expect. Coming up the swim ladder and rinsing off with warm water feels great!
4. I need to buy a dedicated shore power cord and fresh water hose (for the city water connection) to keep on the boat. They only need to be about 25' feet long, and hauling the 50-footers on and off the boat is a PITA. That 30-amp cord weighs a ton.
Ah, well. Until next season... I guess I'll just be cranky like all the other northerners.