[Rhodes22-list] FL Sailing Trip

Tue May 12 08:22:07 EDT 2009

Mike,

As Art described, he did provide us with a remote controlled light that attached by magnet to the boom room cover.  This was plenty of light to use for reading on the trip, but we used to use a battery powered lantern/spotlight.  

On the fridge, I was hoping to freeze the ice box and then drink the water as it melts, but I guess I shouold use milk jugs as you suggest.  

Bob K

> From: mweisner at ebsmed.com
> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
> Date: Mon, 11 May 2009 14:41:33 -0400
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] FL Sailing Trip
> 
> 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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