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Old 12-05-2016, 09:35   #16
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

Make sure you have great life jackets. I prefer auto inflatables with built in harness. Then, good tethers and places to attach them, i.e. jacklines. Even in semi sheltered waters things can get interesting in rough seas. Keeping people ON the boat is job one. I echo the great anchor (s) and plenty or rode with chain. These are the basic basics.....
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Old 12-05-2016, 09:46   #17
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

In your spare time sign up for boating classes offered through the US Power Squadron or USCG Aux. In addition to the knowledge gained from the course material, you gain an association with other boaters with a varied level of esperience to answer your questions.
Good advice to sail as much as possible now and learn all the systems - then decide if you need additional equipment.
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Old 12-05-2016, 10:13   #18
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

A Bimini/Dodger with enclosure and a good Autohelm would top my list after the safety issues. If not already there. Congrats & enjoy!
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Old 12-05-2016, 11:22   #19
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

Have a detailed survey done

Check and learn how to operate each piece of equipment

Make a maintenance schedule for each piece of equipment

Learn to manœuvre under engine

Take short trips
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Old 12-05-2016, 12:13   #20
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

The Boat Galley is a terrific resource for all things galley, as well as general cruising.
The book written by Behan Gifford, "Voyaging with Kids".

The Boat Galley — getting the most out of your boat kitchen . . . and more!

Congratulations and enjoy!
Donna
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Old 12-05-2016, 12:25   #21
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

Spend some time searching CF for subjects like anchors, tenders and outboards, and provisioning and cooking. While most folks agree good ground tackle is a must there is no agreement on the specifics. Same goes for choosing a big heavy tender to plane when overloaded or a small light inflatable that is easier to get up on the davits and secure on a passage. Some folks like the ability to store lots of fresh food while others are able to eat canned food weeks and months on end.

There is no right or wrong answer to many choices, just personal choices. As an example I have several extra sets of mask, fins, snorkel sets as well as weight belts for guests to skin dive and spear fishing stuff too. Also have a twin hose hookah for more experienced divers. Along with fishing gear including gaff, net, and fish cleaning gear. Of course many folks never get in the water and never fish so these are not something they would require.

I also have two ready to drop anchors, Manson and Bruce; as well as three other spare anchors. Not to mention reasonable ground tackle for my inflatable. Also have a ladder for the inflatable as it is non trivial for some folks to get in an inflatable if they fall in the water; and to some extent the same goes for getting on the sugar scoop of a cat.

My first purchase for my boat was a couple of hand held VHFs (I got some Icoms that you can drop in the water and they float and blink). When out in the inflatable or ashore for supplies it is nice to keep in touch.
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Old 12-05-2016, 13:52   #22
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

get good safety gear, especially for the kids:

safety net makes sense for the little one. I expect swimming is already mastered.

automatic lifevests with built-in harnesses and automatic LED lights, plus plenty of spare gas cylinders ( you will need them!). Let the kids jump into the water with their lifevest so they know what it does and how it feels. The yuonger one can be frightened because the inflated lifevest can be very tight. Test the lifevests regularly as kids cause more wear than adults (crawling over the pontoon for example).

A MOB notification system (raymarine MOB or similar) will tell you if someone falls overboard.

AIS MOB devices will give you the real-time position of the person regardless of drift, but they are a burden to carry all the time especially for smaller kids.


And get at least two stand-up paddle boards or ocean kayaks to entertain the kids during the day. Happy kids, happy parents.



All the other goodies and equipment can wait until you know what you really need for two reasons in my view:
Even if the 52 is a big unit it should be kept light to achieve good speed. the lighter the better.
Things that break can ruin your cruise (and almost everything will break sooner or later). What you don't have can't break.
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Old 12-05-2016, 18:45   #23
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

Quote:
Originally Posted by LagunaRed View Post
Our new Lagoon 52 has finally made it across the ocean and should be in Ft. Lauderdale on Friday. She is named "Summer Kai" after our two daughters. As this is our first boat purchase, I'm curious what you think we immediately need for the new boat and what things you would get for the boat but later. We plan to weekend sail in the Chesapeake this summer and next year (2017) we'll take off for a year or so in the Caribbean (homeschooling the kids).. Our early list is principally focused on safety equipment like: Coast Guard mandated items, EPIRB for the boat and personal EPIRB's for each of us, Netting for the lifelines (2 children 4&12), SAT phone, etc... We bought the boat pretty well loaded so it's got AIS, Radar, WIFI attenna and such but would love to hear what items you think are must have's right out of the gate... Thank you!

Best,
Christian
s/v Summer Kai
Yours is the dark blue one as far as I remember. Congratulations! She is a beauty!

Please keep us posted. As we are tending more and more to a 52S (buying in about 6 months for delivery mid 2017) we are particularly interested in all the good stuff and the joy you experience with her but also in her shakedown and teething problems.
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Old 12-05-2016, 20:19   #24
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

This is such an amazing list! Thank-you!

The good news is that I've been a racing sailor all my life- just on other people's boats (career got in the way of buying a boat). On one hand this is great but on the other I'm going to have to learn how to slow down! We've been chartering in the Caribbean as a family for the last few years so we've accumulated things like handheld VHF radios, handheld GPS, headsets so we can communicate when anchoring / mooring, etc... I've been preparing to buy the boat for about 18 months but since it's finally here you start to realize that a brand new boat really doesn't have that much.... We did max out the boat with electronics (AIS, etc.), big water maker, air conditioning etc. so we're in a good starting point. We are a family of surfers (we live in Laguna Beach California) so stand up paddle boards will be essential as will all of the other water toys (SCUBA gear, free dive gear, etc.). Agree that a good BBQ is a must out of the gate and the MOB system is another must.

Anyway, thanks for all the great ideas. I'm going to create a list that hopefully the next newbie can use. The captain and crew of s/v Summer Kai look forward to meeting some of you out there!

Best,
Christian (aka Laguna Red... because we love red wine so much)
s/v Summer Kai
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Old 22-07-2017, 00:30   #25
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

Hi Christian, very interested in your posts and congratulations on your L52, we are picking ours up in Bordeaux next week (July 27.17) so have a lot of the same questions. With a year under the hulls would love to hear any wisdom on things to look out for? Current plans: 3 months into Med as shake down then over to Caribbean in December. Look forward to sharing.

Sailing red works for me, of the things we are loading onto boat at reception half must be bottles of red.....

Cheers

Matt

S/V Entelechy
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Old 22-07-2017, 07:48   #26
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

Biggest open inflatable you can carry. This is you car for exploring,diving,getting to surf spots, etc. First timers often get too small inflatables.
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Old 24-07-2017, 07:09   #27
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

Matt,

Congratulations on your new 52! We should trade emails so we can stay in touch as we have issues / ideas etc. Oh, and I’d love to hear why you chose a 52s…. Anyway…

We've had the boat for a little over a year now. It was delivered to Florida on its own bottom in early June 2016. We then had it brought to Annapolis where we flew out several times (we're from California) and spent time in the Chesapeake. In the fall we had it brought to Fort Lauderdale where we spent Thanksgiving in the Keys and made three different trips out to the Bahamas between December and March '17. In January 2017 I retired so we could move onto the boat full time and go for an extended cruise. In May, I sailed the boat from Ft. Lauderdale up to Newport, RI which is where we are starting our big adventure. We have two young girls (13 and 5) who we will be homeschooling for the next few years. Now that you've got the backstory, here are some of the teething problems / things to look out for....

Overall, we really haven't had too many major problems. However, warranty and service is slow and you really need to stay on them. Here are some of the problems that we've had:

1. Condensation from the water chilling system would drip down the mast in the salon. This was especially bad during the hot summer in Annapolis. The way the system is supposed to work is that condensation is supposed to collect near the mast in a collection box and then is pumped to the bilge. The pump wasn’t robust enough and the collection box wasn’t adequate. We had more condensation than usual because they did not insulate the hoses tightly enough. We had a bigger pump installed and a bigger collection box and that solved the problem

2. The Scheiber electrical control system stopped working. We had them replace the controllers and that solved the problem. Recently, the display at the nav station is having a problem where for the house system it doesn’t show that the shore power is working but in reality it is (as you check the electrical panel). This problem is unsolved.

3. We’ve had to replace our solar panels twice because of cracking in the panels. I think it’s the quality of the panels they are using. They are working right now but this is annoying.

4. The house battery banks get hot. Not sure if this is a real issue but it’s something that I’m watching carefully.

5. We had some cracks in the fiberglass near the fuel intake areas. We had them dig them out and repaired. Seemed to be mainly cosemetic.

6. The davits are barely strong enough to pull the dinghy all the way out of the water. We have a 12’4” fiberglass dinghy with a 40 HP motor which is near the weight limit of the davits. In order to make the system more efficient, we added paddies to the dinghy in specific spots to make sure the davits pull as straight up as possible. That’s seemed to have generally solved the problem but I’ve been thinking about getting a bigger motor for the davits. I was thinking of a smaller dinghy to save weight but we really like the space and power of the bigger dinghy.

7. We had a leak in the starboard sail drive so we had to pull the boat and have it resealed. They didn’t cover this in warranty.

Overall, these problems really aren’t that bad and the boat seems to sail much better than I thought it would. There is plenty of space for all of us and we are having a blast. If you want to know more about the boat, and what upgrades I’ve done, send me an email and I’ll shoot you another note.
christian@sailsummerkai.com
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Old 31-07-2017, 00:01   #28
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Re: So we finally have our new boat. Now What?

Why rush to the Med when you can explore the Atlantic coastline of the Basque Country, Cantabria, Austuria, Galicia and Portugal like I did with my new Lagoon 450 in 2012 before crossing in December. You'll have unique adventures nearly all to yourself.
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