[Rhodes22-list] FL Sailing Trip

Mon May 11 14:41:33 EDT 2009

Bob,

Looks like a real nice trip.  Western FL in May is usually great weather. 
Glad that you
lucked out.

I agree, the BR is a great addition.  I am budgeting for one.  Is there a 
way to deploy the canopy so that it serves the place of a bimini (under the 
boom)?  I would love to get rid of the bimini but I roast in the sun.

I have been wondering what kind of lighting you have in the BR.  We use a 
battery powered lantern which is nice, but not really bright enough.  I 
would like to use LED rope lights along the BR frame.  Has anyone found a 
good source of rope lights that will run off 12V (rather than use the 
inefficient AC inverter power?)  Art, have you made a BR with an integral 
lighting system?

As far as the ice goes, I freeze water in half-gallon milk containers and 
they last for days, probably due to less surface area than ice cubes.  If 
the container fails, I just toss it in a recycling bin.  I try to find the 
ones with screw on caps so that they do not leak into the fridge box since 
mine is also cracked.  I doubt that it can be repaired, although you may be 
able to place a membrane inside to stop the leaks from condensate.  We also 
freeze Poland Spring half-liter bottles right out of the Costco packing. 
They also last a pretty long time.  For box lunches, we just pack a frozen 
bottle with the lunch to keep it cold and for drinking water at lunch (if it 
is liquid.)

Mike
s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
Nissequogue River, NY

From: "Bob Keller" Monday, May 11, 2009 1:55 PM

Hello All,

My wife and I just returned from a trailersailing trip to southwest Florida 
last week and I wanted to share some findings and pictures with the group. 
We drove from Richmond Hill, GA (near Savannah) to Punta Gorda, FL (100 
miles south of Tampa) on Saturday and it took us 7.5 hours (420 miles).  Art 
Czerwonky and Tom Simpson drove down to meet us at the municiple marina and 
boat ramp called Laishley Park.  It is a great facility and the day we got 
there they were having a redfish tournament with professionals and ESPN 
coverage.  Other than tight parking, it did not impact us at all.  This was 
our 6th trip there in the last 7 years, but the first time we went as late 
as May and we were rewarded with perfect weather - highs in the mid 80's and 
winds were 10-15 knots, mostly out of the south (compared with the typical 
15-25 knots we usually get in April).  We spent 5 nights on the boat, which 
we both agree is our limit.  Went to Tween Waters on Captiva, Cabbage Key 
and Boca Grande which has an outstanding new (since the hurricane of '04) 
marina that is first rate.  All the facilities we visited were rebuilt in 
the past 5 years and were all in great condition.  The sailing was really 
great on this trip because we were able to sail with the poptop up and the 
sails all unfurled which is the first time we have ever been able to do that 
in FL.  That said, let's get to our findings:

This was the first trip we made with the Boom Room and it was the biggest 
upgrade we have made to the trip.   It makes overnighting on the boat much 
nicer for a number of reasons.  First is that it is modular in that you can 
put up as much as you need and a little at a time.  This makes assembly 
easier because you can do it gradually.  Very easy to take down and put up - 
after my second time I was putting it up in 10-15 minutes - the top first 
which is a great sunshade for the cockpit.  Then I would put up the bow 
screens and add the other panels as the sun moved to keep the cockpit 
comfortable.  The side panels are lightweight materials and are very easy to 
work with, ie: you do not break a sweat putting this up.  The other nice 
aspect is that when you wake up in the morning, the cockpit is not covered 
with dew as it used to be.  Doesn't sound like a big deal, but a dry cockpit 
also stays cleaner - after a week the boat was just as clean as when we 
started.  Last but not least, the Boom Room is very easy to stow and store 
and does not take up a lot of space.  The BR is a very nice addition and I 
recommend it if anyone is going to be sleeping aboard for any amount of 
time.
Due to the above, I will be selling my Pop-Top enclosure if anyone is 
interested.  Very good condition - all snaps & screens intact.
I think I got the idea on this list to actually fill up the icebox 
(ice-holder) for the fridge with water and freeze it before going on such a 
trip.  I tried this and actually froze it for a week before the trip and it 
works amazingly well.  The ice lasted for four days compared with 1 day for 
ice cubes!  Amazing in that this would last almost the whole trip.  The only 
problem was that my box cracked on the bottom, maybe due to it being frozen 
or being old, so as the ice melted it got the carpet in the boat wet and 
kept it that way.  Anyone else ever have that happen?  I am going to try and 
fix it with silicone or maybe get a new one from Stan.  I just hope the new 
one won't crack from freezing also...
This was the first time I tried out my new 150 genoa (vs. the old 175) and 
it was a huge improvement.  The boat pointed a lot better into the wind, 
even when furled.  The new sail does not slip over the furling tube like the 
old ones did and I think the new design is much better.  Just having a new 
sail probably accounted for most of the improvement.  Time will tell but I 
expect this new sail will be much better on the coast where I sail since I 
almost always had to furl the 175.
I have given up on a dinghy for the R22.  I had a Sea Eagle (6H) inflatable 
and it was a PITA to carry (bulky) and then inflate once the anchor is down. 
So I tried to tie it off to the stern rail and drag it behind me but it 
really was a lot of drag and it slowed us down quite a lot (I would say by 1 
knot).  Then I had patched a leak (on the seam of course) several years ago 
and tested it out before we left and it was fine.  Naturally when I inflated 
it on day 1 the patch was leaking.  Because of that I could not row it very 
well against the wind at the anchorage.  Finally when we got to the marina I 
gave it away to some unlucky person.  Glad to get that POS off the boat. 
Not sure if anyone has the perfect inflatable for the R-22, but maybe a 
two-person inflatable kayak?  It would have to be light, compact, easy to 
inflate/deflate, durable and of course easy to row.

That is pretty much it for this trip and these findings except that my wife 
and I are realizing that one of the keys is to simplify and take less with 
us rather than more.  We've been taking too much of everything: clothes, 
food and other stuff that are not needed.  The simpler the better.  I now 
have her convinced to keep doing this twice a year, so October is the next 
one.

If I come up with any more "findings" I will post them.

Bob K

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