Cruising With Kids ICW First Time

[Azul]

Originally Posted by Amapola

The ICW has many historic and beautiful ports especially in the south. Summer is very hot though. There are also areas of shallow watter and tons of bridges with opening restrictions. Check out Claiborne Young's website Cruiser's Net. He is an expert on the ICW from Virginia through Florida.

The only one in the first 200 miles is Oriental, NC. Nice place for adults but Big Whoop compared to say Annapolis. Little boats will keep you up all night buzzing about in the anchorage, shrimp boats leave at 3 AM. Precious little for kids to see there at 7 pm either. 99% of the time it will be trees as scenery. It got to the point where I was delighted when another boat would pass, I even took pictures of them. Also, you will be making up time from previous days when you didn't meet your quota by suppertime on this leg because it is the easiest of the first 200 miles.

I would like to see someone suggest four 40 mile hops with neat kid activity destinations (or even shore power to run the AC) in this 200 mile stretch. Running a generator for the AC, more noise and carbon monoxide fumes. If you are going to make 1400 miles in 6 weeks you will not be doing any leisure activities. If it rains and blows hard at least you won't have the children being bitten to anemia by ferocious flies that like the taste of insect spray. Can a three year old do anything about the flies except cry? Seriosly, I had to sweep the dead soldiers up with a dustpan at the end of the day from the cockpit floor, I have never seen anything like it.

The point about engine noise is well taken. At times I had to turn the engine off and sail even if I only made 3K for awhile just to get away from the vibration and noise of the engine. It was like heaven, but then the flies would attack in even greater force.

[popeye2818]

The snide remarks were unwarented,we can only do the trip in the summer and I was trying to work around the problems people would bring up,thanks for the input ,we will spend weeks traveling north next year and see how it works out ,boat is not cramped and my kids watch each other for the most part ,there not out of control brats ,we are a tight nit family .my mind was not made up ,as someone stated, I was trying to see if i could combat the problems and bad experiances people had or came up with to do the trip.the ultimate problem becomes not going and later in life wishing you took them but never tried,kinda like cutting the dock lines,thanks for calling my boat an oversized garment bag,were not rich ,cant afford a amel or leopard ,or home school 4 kids ,working with what we have .and trying to make it work,.thanks for the support at the end atleast .thanks for the input from others on cruising north,no thanks for the negative remarks like im not in the same room here.

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by Azul

I guess hyperbole is wasted on you Frank. The OP didn't even acknowledge lighter handed comments. Three year olds drown in family pools with great regularity, even when their parents lock the house doors so the child will have to be watched constantly, and are you sure they will float face up when they go over the side with a preserver on when nobody notices as a barge goes by and rocks the boat? Their parents always say something like "Gee I never thought that could happen."

In a business meeting once, the CEO came in after a trip and started telling a story about how he had to beat his three year old because they were crying in the car. He was trying to make a point (the story was false) about people speaking up when something is just WRONG, yet only one of the underlings raised their hand to stop him and asked if he really was beating the child.

This is like two 17 year olds getting married because they are "in love forever." If sensible people can't talk them out of it they will have to face the consequences.

How is he going to put bug netting around the entire cockpit enclosure? How is he going to block the sun in the early and late part of the day when it angles in from the side after reflected light from the water has already cooked you despite sunscreen the days before?

Being in a marina, doing day trips or at anchor is not what we are talking about here. During my recent trip, six days, leaving before 8 am, I never managed to knock down 40 miles by 3 pm until the final day which had no bridges, snags, fuel stops or other impediments and was under ideal conditions. Maybe the Partridge family under discussion is tougher and more efficient than I am. Three times squalls came through and totally drenched me to the skin for most of the day despite a full bimini, at a time of year when the weather will be similar to a June trip. I did 300 miles of the exact trip being discussed and love to be on a boat, yet it was one of the most boring and tiring experiences I have ever had and I had absolutely no time or energy to do anything at the end of the day except cook and take a shower, and I have not met a teenager that can keep up with me doing boating activities yet. Oh, one night I had to rewire a bilge pump and float switch, that was fun. My comments are not directed at the OP entirely, in fact I think he is hopelessly convinced of the intelligence of his plan or hoping to get his wife on board by soliciting people likely to be cheerleaders for such an ill conceived stunt, but at others that don't realize how uncomfortable a 3 year old child can become on a boat in a single day under ideal conditions- like taking them over to the Outer Banks to see the ponies and swim in the shallow water. You can hear many of them screaming at the docks as the flotilla returns immobilized in their straight jackets, oops Freudian slip. Just like they do when you constrain them in a fancy restaurant or similar venues. Sure, I know people that were raised on sailboats, even circumnavigated as children, even that is not like the drudgery of running the ditch in the summer.

Hyperbole is "Wow that girl's legs go all the way up to her neck, and her smile is as bright as the stars and as wide as a mile." What you are saying is opinion that is being passed off as fact, and based on seemingly little experience. A term more commonly referred to as "********".

Just because you had a lot of flies and what sounds more and more like a crappy time taking your boat down doesn't mean that everyone who makes the same trip will. Nor does it make you enough of an authority to write an "ICW primer", but that's a different topic.

As for bug screens for the entire cockpit, it requires some effort, but here is a fine example of one on...wait for it...an Endeavor 37:

Canvas Mods page 7-a

Day trips of 40nm, stopping at an anchorage or marina is exactly what we are talking about, or at least what the OP is asking about. If you left before 8am each day and didn't make 40nm in 7 hours, then you either had bad luck or there was a learning curve involved with your new to you boat.

As for stopping points, just off the top of my head I would recommend the Elizabeth City via the Dismal swamp canal. then maybe a splurge to Manteo, then the head of the Alligator for a nice anchorage, and then a short day to Dowry Creek Marina, then on to Oriental. But that is without any real planning, there might be some better spots to visit that I am forgetting.

Frank

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by popeye2818

The snide remarks were unwarented,we can only do the trip in the summer and I was trying to work around the problems people would bring up,thanks for the input ,we will spend weeks traveling north next year and see how it works out ,boat is not cramped and my kids watch each other for the most part ,there not out of control brats ,we are a tight nit family .my mind was not made up ,as someone stated, I was trying to see if i could combat the problems and bad experiances people had or came up with to do the trip.the ultimate problem becomes not going and later in life wishing you took them but never tried,kinda like cutting the dock lines,thanks for calling my boat an oversized garment bag,were not rich ,cant afford a amel or leopard ,or home school 4 kids ,working with what we have .and trying to make it work,.thanks for the support at the end atleast .thanks for the input from others on cruising north,no thanks for the negative remarks like im not in the same room here.

Not our best CF effort on being "the friendliest forum on the internet."

I used to be a pilot. My ex-wife would say, "For you it is about the journey. For me it is about the destination."

After that I planned trips that flew 4 hours a day. We would be in a hotel or some place early and enjoy the afternoon sightseeing or doing land stuff. If we had a long day 6-8 hours we would have a lay over day somewhere and chill by the pool, spa or whatever.

If you got some maps, looked at some realistic distances and shore based activities and broke it up you can probably plan a great time.

Picking a destination 1,000 miles away and having the goal to get there in X days is a recipe for non-fun.

All the doom and gloom about life jackets and kids on a boat should be taken with a grain of salt. Even young kids learn their way around pretty quick although being swimmers is certainly a good thing.

Having plenty of distractions (just like a car) is also a good thing. We bought portable DVD players and mounted in the cabin. When kids got bored they watched videos.

[popeye2818]

edeavour 37s have a unique cockpit coming, i am a welder and i know how to sew.Yes it will be completely enclosed with side skirts for rain ,and different for ventilation.stupid question but what is OP.

[Cheechako]

Yeah, always wanted an E37 just to make a big dodger to go on that coaming!! You should have fun, the "ditch" kind of makes you want to just keep motoring, but relax and stop some places, I wish I had stopped places like the Hatteras Seashore etc....

[popeye2818]

weve had our kids overnight on our first boat ,s2 8.0 they were 3 and 6 ,life jackets were not a problem.,im not disregaring anyones input ,just like someone said every one has there opinion and may have not had a nice ride,but i have enough info now so i can plan better..

[Gene :^)]

OP = Original Poster ( you popeye2818 )


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Gene :^)
http://www.Strathbelle.com/

[foolishsailor]

I cant say that i would choose to take the ICW in the heat of summer, but the apocolyptic message portrayed seems a bit out of touch...

...my family has done long passages in the heat, no escape nothing even exciting as trees to look at as the sea miles tick away. The excitement is found within, a well prepared family has the activities, crafts, games, music, etc. We crossed the atlantic with our two year old and spent two years on the hook in Brazil with said child, with interior temps on the boat getting up towards 40degrees with all the humidity you can imagine...

...you deal with it, the child deals with it.

Child safety is a great fear for all of us, but actually very easilly addressed. Skip the life jacket, your primary goal isnt to keep the child floating it is to keep the child on board. Proper harness and thether at all times with good attachement points in the base of the cockpit do just fine. Combine that with netting all around the lifelines and you are sorted.

All the strong languange in this thread is really unwarranted, the ICW is a cake walk and while it may be hot, humid and buggy there are far harsher conditions that many passagemakers have made with young children in which the family has thrived.

[Svanen]

I think the OP would receive a friendlier reception if he didn't seem so dismissive of the concerns people have raised (only in response to his invitation to provide feedback, let's remember). If he took the time to spell properly that would be welcome.

I agree with the comment immediately above regarding harnesses / tethers being much preferable to life jackets.

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

I used to be a pilot. My ex-wife would say, "For you it is about the journey. For me it is about the destination."

After that I planned trips that flew 4 hours a day. We would be in a hotel or some place early and enjoy the afternoon sightseeing or doing land stuff. If we had a long day 6-8 hours we would have a lay over day somewhere and chill by the pool, spa or whatever.

Exactly right. The magazine "Pilot Getaways" was created in acknowledgement of that reality.