Well I did it now!

[a64pilot]

On the shallow thing, he is right, probably 40+ yrs ago but I ran a Robalo 235 cuddy cabin aground off Alligator Point out of sight of land. I was on plane so I guess I drew about 1.5"? Out of VHF range so had to sit there almost all day waiting on the tide, thankfully I didn't run aground at high tide.

[blewett_john]

Originally Posted by Kita

Thanks everyone! I am heading back to the Tampa Bay area for a couple of months and then plan to head down south of Marco Island to kind of hang out for a while do some fishing.

Tampa Sailing Squadron is a welcoming yacht club to stay at. It is in Apollo Beach and it is very basic, no bar, no restaurant, just friendly people. There are plenty of good restaurants nearby, and plenty of shopping.

[Scout 30]

I met a guy last year who bought one & it had a Westerbeke. Bringing it home the electric fuel pump went out & it was a real problem. Before you head out I would go to Napa & pick up an electric fuel pump that you can plumb into your fuel line. It make priming easy in case you have to change filters & if you need it you can run your diesel if your fuel pump cuts out. Just hook it up with a switch & leave it off till you need it.

[smj]

We've made that trip probably 8 times round trip. We've always done the ICW through Louisiana as that will keep you clear of the oil rig city's in the gulf. After that a few rigs offshore of Mississippi and Alabama, but all clear once you clear into Florida. Good luck and enjoy!

[alansmith]

Congrats... your attitude is infectious. Man, we work are whole freaking lives to get to that point where we can do something for ourselves. Please do some shakedown stuff before heading out. Stock plenty of water. Suntan lotion and way to get out of direct sun. Bloody hot. Very happy for you and post up.

[OS2Dude]

Make sure you know your COLREGS and what lights at night mean. My brother was sailing to Key West with a friend. Brother was asleep, friend on watch. Brother's wife saw lights ahead and woke him, he came up and had to grab the wheel and make a hard turn. His friend was trying to sail between a tug and its towed barge....

At least one other person would be helpful. Everyone needs to sleep and 'use the facilities' once in a while...

[Kita]

Originally Posted by OS2Dude

Make sure you know your COLREGS and what lights at night mean. My brother was sailing to Key West with a friend. Brother was asleep, friend on watch. Brother's wife saw lights ahead and woke him, he came up and had to grab the wheel and make a hard turn. His friend was trying to sail between a tug and its towed barge....

At least one other person would be helpful. Everyone needs to sleep and 'use the facilities' once in a while...

Absolutely, plan is not to be in any hurry. Sail all day & be on the hook before dark or as soon after as possible. .not because I am afraid of the dark but this is supposed to be fun & now that I will be living onboard it really doesn't matter how far or fast,just a matter of getting there when I get there...hey I will probably find out how good the dink works as a fishing rig!. ..gonna follow the coast for quite a while. .because I am most likely to be solo... you know how Sailors and schedules don't get along well

[Lance Reynolds]

Why was there water in the fuel ??
You might empty whats in the tank to find its from a crack somewhere and your back to square one .
Take plenty of fliter cartridges and use the type with a water resevoir drain at the bottom , easily installed and if your handy its easy to build an H pattern set of valves (taps) to create a quick change system .

[Lance Reynolds]

Why is there water in the fuel check the tank for cracks and carry spare filters

[Kita]

Originally Posted by Lance Reynolds

Why was there water in the fuel ??
You might empty whats in the tank to find its from a crack somewhere and your back to square one .
Take plenty of fliter cartridges and use the type with a water resevoir drain at the bottom , easily installed and if your handy its easy to build an H pattern set of valves (taps) to create a quick change system .

Thanks, good advice. There is a double filter system that both have a drain that was installed & as to why or how it got in,the previous owner was draining tanks before he would leave it sit for winter,so I am sure some is condensation. .we also belive the plastic fuel caps could have a crack or a bad seal of some sort both of which are being replaced. And just to be on the safe side there is a guy coming in to replace the refrigerator for me because I didn't bring any tools with me and he recommended we have a fuel guy come in and polish everything up. so I'm kind of going to hit it with a shotgun approach to make sure I get that problem taken care of. Thank you all this really is a great community

[maxingout]

No matter what voyage I undertake, I have one or more contingency plans in case challenges happen.

I always have enough fuel for alternate destinations, and I have nautical charts that cover alternate destination if problems arise.

Adventure awaits!

[Taichungman]

Originally Posted by Kita

Absolutely, plan is not to be in any hurry. Sail all day & be on the hook before dark or as soon after as possible. .not because I am afraid of the dark but this is supposed to be fun & now that I will be living onboard it really doesn't matter how far or fast,just a matter of getting there when I get there...hey I will probably find out how good the dink works as a fishing rig!. ..gonna follow the coast for quite a while. .because I am most likely to be solo... you know how Sailors and schedules don't get along well

__________________________________________________

Kita, congratulations on getting the Prout...I have read lots of good things bout them.

I lived and sailed on a cat in the Gulf in the 80's. I was an outcast back then; not many cats around. If I remember right the wind was predominantly out of the E SE this time of the year. So, not sure how much sailing you will do unless you go offshore. There are lots of abandoned oil pipes/rigs and such along the coast and out a 100 miles. Some are lit, some have horns, some are dark and quiet. Whether you go off shore or the ICW you will be motoring a lot so take extra fuel and no where to get fuel along the way. Best thing to do is take someone with you for the trip. Another pair of eyes would be nice. Have fun.

[Kita]

Originally Posted by Taichungman

__________________________________________________

Kita, congratulations on getting the Prout...I have read lots of good things bout them.

I lived and sailed on a cat in the Gulf in the 80's. I was an outcast back then; not many cats around. If I remember right the wind was predominantly out of the E SE this time of the year. So, not sure how much sailing you will do unless you go offshore. There are lots of abandoned oil pipes/rigs and such along the coast and out a 100 miles. Some are lit, some have horns, some are dark and quiet. Whether you go off shore or the ICW you will be motoring a lot so take extra fuel and no where to get fuel along the way. Best thing to do is take someone with you for the trip. Another pair of eyes would be nice. Have fun.

Thank you! Didn't get a prout, bought a Gemini 105mc 2005...the prout boats I looked at I didn't like because of the small hatches & the flooring had alot of up & down stuff & was just tight inside,although everything I read about them would seem to make it a better offshore boat in my research. ..I bought the Gemini because I will primarily be costal but if careful I will still be able to get where I want to as these boats are all over...if I was going to really be offshore alot I would probably have bought a mono hull... but my plans are to do alot of inshore fishing as I move along the coast using the Gem as home base.....

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by maxingout

No matter what voyage I undertake, I have one or more contingency plans in case challenges happen.

I always have enough fuel for alternate destinations, and I have nautical charts that cover alternate destination if problems arise.

Adventure awaits!

Always have a plan B, and for good measure a plan C. Not sure about your tender but if it has an outboard I would suggest installing some type of mount on your aft crossbar/whatever so you could mount the outboard from the tender if worst comes to worst.

[Kita]

Originally Posted by tomfl

Always have a plan B, and for good measure a plan C. Not sure about your tender but if it has an outboard I would suggest installing some type of mount on your aft crossbar/whatever so you could mount the outboard from the tender if worst comes to worst.

You must have been reading my mind! Those are wise words,thank you!