New Forum Member and Live Aboard

[fishin4bogey]

Welcome, Rob.

Sweet boat!! If you don't mind, where are you docked, and what are they getting?? I am in Fort Lauderdale, and pickins are slim on this side!!

[Panama Rob]

Pasadena Marina, $10 per foot plus $150 liveaboard fee.

[fishin4bogey]

WOW!!! That's cheap. Best I've found here is 18 off season, 22 on season, and 150 liveaboard. Thanks for the reply.

[wisegirlz]

Beautiful boat with a beautiful name.
May you enjoy many exotic journeys.

Melissa

[haiqu]

Originally Posted by Panama Rob

Hi All,

I named her Music after the line in the song "Southern Cross", "I have my ship and all her flags are flying. She is all that I have left and Music is her name. Her home is the Tampa Bay area. Hope to see you all around. :-)

Anyone who makes a reference to Crosby, Stills and Nash in their first post is welcome as far as I'm concerned. Must be as old as me!

[D&D]

Originally Posted by haiqu

Anyone who makes a reference to Crosby, Stills and Nash in their first post is welcome as far as I'm concerned. Must be as old as me!

Hear! Hear! There's at least one more CSN fan here...and not so old that the memory's lost the sounds and images of seeing them perform live, brilliantly of course, at the Dane County Coliseum. Just don't ask for the year...

[Panama Rob]

I took her out this past weekend and spent the night on the hook. I've been in power boats with shallow draft for years....it takes a lot of getting used to. I am ok in open waters but my heart races around the docks. She doesnt manuever like I am used to especially when I back her up. I did accidentally stick a perfect dockage when I got her home. I don't know what I did but she started going where I wanted so I went with it...in front of a witness at that. I am solo sailing so docking is stressful. Attached are pics of music and my best friend's Menger tug "Good Gurl Annie". We cruised out to dinner then rafted up at anchor for the night.

[DiverChick71]

I love it! Glad you took her out. Do you have lots of powerboat experience? I just bought my first boat. Some sailing classes and a little growing up. I can zip around pretty well on a Laser. But I'm terrified of taking my boat out. Send some confidence my way!

[Panama Rob]

Originally Posted by DiverChick71

I love it! Glad you took her out. Do you have lots of powerboat experience? I just bought my first boat. Some sailing classes and a little growing up. I can zip around pretty well on a Laser. But I'm terrified of taking my boat out. Send some confidence my way!

My advice is be careful go slow but scare the hell out of yourself....you will never learn and get confidence if you dont take her out. It reminds me of learning to ask a girl out. She wants to go out but you have to overcome the fear of rejection....maybe it would be good if you could find a place to practice docking where there are only pilings and not other boats tied up. It is magic out there. :-)

[DiverChick71]

A guy who works in the harbormaster office, and a guy at the yacht club have volunteered to take us out for the day. :-). That will help. Our dock neighbors also bought a ~40 ft boat for their first boat. They have had it 6 months and are just now getting comfy. Good idea on the docking practice. A club here also offers docking classes and thought about checking that out. Docking is my main fear. My boat displaces 20,000...is a forgiving boat to sail but docking is difficult. :-)

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Panama Rob

I took her out this past weekend and spent the night on the hook. I've been in power boats with shallow draft for years....it takes a lot of getting used to. I am ok in open waters but my heart races around the docks. She doesnt manuever like I am used to especially when I back her up. I did accidentally stick a perfect dockage when I got her home. I don't know what I did but she started going where I wanted so I went with it...in front of a witness at that. I am solo sailing so docking is stressful. Attached are pics of music and my best friend's Menger tug "Good Gurl Annie". We cruised out to dinner then rafted up at anchor for the night.

I solo dock too. In fact, if anyone is with me I beg them to not help.

What I do is I have a double ended spring line running between the dock and a piling. I have already determined the right place to put the carabiner on ie, in a figure-8 loop. I latch it on to boat where I want it when I'm docking, somewhere amidships, and then tie it off to the piling and the dock.

don't ever let anyone change that line.

Then you come in slow, use reverse or neutral to get her more or less where you want her to be, and grab that double-ended line with the carabiner in it. you pull the boat forward or back with the line until that carabiner is where you want it, and latch it on.

Badda bing, badda boom, the boat is secure. It can't drift backwards and It can't go forward and ram itself on the main dock. It would probably LIKE to, because boats love to see us blush, swear and even completely lose it while docking.

So your boat may hate that line, but you will love it.

Then you can take your time with the rest of the lines. Mark each of them with zip ties when you know exactly how tight you want them.

I guarantee you that if anyone else helps, you will have to go back and redo what they did.

This is what I do, and I dazzle people (really) with my docking ability. What dazzles them is no swearing, no tears of frustration, and no boat trying to park itself on land via the main dock.

[Rakuflames]

PS If you have high tides, undo your dockoing line once you’re in. It needs to be pretty tight and your other docking lines may need to be looser. The docking line is only for docking -- not for keeping the boat secure.

[saltwaters wife]

Welcome Rob. Music is beautiful

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Panama Rob

I am ok in open waters but my heart races around the docks. She doesnt manuever like I am used to especially when I back her up.

Ahhh, prop walk when in reverse. You hit reverse and your steering does not answer, yes?

Your prop is pulling you to one side, virtually ignoring the rudder. My boat for example will not back to starboard at all for the first boat length.

The answer, if this is your issue, is to give it some good juice in reverse, get the boat moving, then shift into neutral. The rudder than can then steer as it's not fighting the propeller's propensity to pull the boat to one side or the other, depending on which way it rotates. This is particularly useful in tight spaces and getting in and out of slips.

I can spin my boat clockwise virtually in it's boat length by alternating reverse and forward, but can't do the same in the other direction even remotely. It's a matter of learning what your boat can do. Go find a lonesome nav buoy and buzz it, like you were learning to parallel park as a kid.

[Panama Rob]

All great advice. Thank you all for it and thanks for the compliments on Music. Living aboard is one of the most incredible things I have ever done. I am loving it. :-)