Planning a route - Fort Myers to Miami

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by hpeer

You have had about 10 opinions, which you came to solicit. If you did not want the advice why did you come?

Funny how that works, isn't it? But it happens a lot. Someone comes on and asks a question, but they don't really want an answer. What they want is for people to say, "Oh yeah, no problem, great idea!"

Of course, in this case, he wanted someone to lay out a route for him. The fact that EVERYONE here told him that if he cannot look at a chart and figure out a route for himself, then he is NOT ready to make a trip like this by himself, seems to mean nothing at all to him.

Ah well. The sea is an unforgiving mistress. I suspect he will learn that lesson the hard way.

[federalexport]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Well...

There is no reason at all not to travel at night if there are at least 2 of you. The boat and the water can't tell the difference.

Thank you. I will spend today and tomorrow with electronic charts. I already know how to work with paper charts, because i passed my exams on master captain 25 tons and waiting for mmc credentials. I will make a reply to this chat after we make this trip. Its going to be 4 of us, and we also planning to go to Bahamas a week after we get this boat to Miami. Thank you for link.

[federalexport]

Originally Posted by Wolfe10

With zero experience and that size boat, I would not recommend the Okeechobee Waterway.


Single handling that boat in the locks???????????




At night across Florida Bay-- hard to see crab pot/floats. And much easier for a novice to get disorientated.


PLEASE, follow all the advice in this thread. Have someone knowledgeable with you and better, divide the trip into 3 easy, fun days.

Thank you

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by federalexport

Hi. We bought 2020 Galeon 425 hts. Have no experience at all.

Due to no experience at all...

but we have 0 experience...

Originally Posted by federalexport

Thank you. I will spend today and tomorrow with electronic charts. I already know how to work with paper charts, because i passed my exams on master captain 25 tons and waiting for mmc credentials.

Zero experience... and then waiting for MMC?

Did you maybe mean zero experience WITH THIS NEW-TO-YOU BOAT in your first post?

-Chris

[Be Free]

Originally Posted by federalexport

We decided not to hire a captain. Everybody can do it with the captain. Its not interesting. I found the spot on Marathon island. I think we will go there for a night after first day. Also friend of mine gave me navigation app and its very helpful.

[federalexport]

Originally Posted by ranger58sb

Zero experience... and then waiting for MMC?

Did you maybe mean zero experience WITH THIS NEW-TO-YOU BOAT in your first post?

-Chris

You can own any boat to show sea time to get 25 tons captains license. 25 feet boat has 3.2 gross tons and Galeon 425 has 14.8 tons. Thats huge difference.

[Scubaseas]

251 gallons of fuel is probably not going to make a 240 mile trip (2X370HP on a 30000# boat) so add docking skills to your burden. Hire someone.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by ranger58sb

Zero experience... and then waiting for MMC?

Did you maybe mean zero experience WITH THIS NEW-TO-YOU BOAT in your first post?

-Chris

Originally Posted by federalexport

You can own any boat to show sea time to get 25 tons captains license. 25 feet boat has 3.2 gross tons and Galeon 425 has 14.8 tons. Thats huge difference.

Yes, sure.

Sounds like your first post maybe misled folks, though... so some of the responses assumed (based on your first post) that you didn't even know how to board a boat, let alone operate one.

So you have boating experience. Good. You've figured out how to plan a likely route using charts. Good. You've discovered (via friend) that there are electronic charting apps like Aquamap or Navionics or whatever. Good. Presumably you've figured out how to work those. If true, good. You've got crew, so you're not single-handing your first repositioning. Good.

If your insurance company approves making your first run without a hired captain... can't say good, but at least maybe acceptable... if you're OK with the risk. And if you don't like people to show you how to do stuff, would rather muddle through by yourself.

Seems to me like doing it the hard way, but it's your boat.

Enjoy. And then maybe you can file an after-action report here... so others can learn from your findings.

-Chris

[Scubaseas]

At least practice docking and setting/retrieving the anchor before you set off. Any new boat is going to be a learning experience. And look up how much your engine will burn and plan accordingly. Boat US towing insurance would be money well spent in my opinion.

Aquamaps is great for anything on the ICW.

[carlosproa]

I have seen worse. About 10 years Buddy of mine called me on a Friday afternoon to help him move on Saturday a 35 ft Searay from Sarasota area to Miami. It went very well as a powerboat is much flexible on taking routes than a sailboat. Non stop day and a half fueling after 7 mile bridge and then getting to Coconut Grove at 9 AM the following day. We only had about 30 min of squally weather. So no big deal

[mvweebles]

Why the aversion to hiring a captain? Tiger Woods has a coach; Muhamed Ali had a coach. Smart, competent people hire advisors/coaches all the time. Ships are required to have locally knowledgeable pilots aboard when they enter defined navigational areas.

I was a delivery skipper for about 5-years specializing in trawler/motoryachts. Much of my work was with owners aboard, some were fairly experienced (one had owned a marine-based company with a dozen workboats on the Hudson River for over 40-years). You will learn about weather, optimizing fuel economy, route planning, reading water, minimizing sea effect of sea conditions such as afternoon winds or crossing wakes, rules-of-the-road, and so much more. Money well spent.

Please don't 'hate' on the CF'ers who responded and didn't heed your 'don't want a captain' intro. Frankly, your original post was shocking in the ignorance of the most basic marine terminology. The responses are really saying to you "Hey, you don't know what you don't know." An online Intervention makes sense. Your assumption that there is a magic route that you can plug into your equipment to keep you safe is either ignorant or arrogant (perhaps both). The route you're seeking would have 100s/1000s of waypoints. This could easily cost you dearly as I'd guess your boat has exposed props and could easily sustain thousands of dollars of damages and a couple weeks of time. And that's at the better end of possible outcomes.

To further add to my head-scratching, you reveal you somehow managed to snare a captains license. I have worn a swath of baldness reconciling that tidbit.

Obviously, you've been told by many people before you posted that you should hire a captain. Obviously you know better - you use Google Maps to drive your car, how hard can it be, right? I really hope it goes well but you are stacking the deck against yourself. If something doesn't go right, please don't go into victim mode. BTW - some charting packages have an Auto-Route function similar to Google Maps on your smart phone. I kiddingly suspect it's sponsored by SeaTow to keep them in business.

Good luck. Keep a healthy limit on your credit card. You may need it.

To all you sailors who will invariably use this example as fodder about powerboaters. This is an incredibly rare example of hubris, arrogance, and ignorance - more dollars than sense [cents]. The vast majority of newbies in powerboats (at least trawler types) are self-depricating and are eager to learn.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

To further add to my head-scratching, you reveal you somehow managed to snare a captains license. I have worn a swath of baldness reconciling that tidbit.

Personally, I don't believe it. How can you get a captain's license if you can't look at a chart and figure out a route from point A to point B? The answer is, YOU CAN'T! Not without, somehow, cheating the system; that's for sure!

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Personally, I don't believe it. How can you get a captain's license if you can't look at a chart and figure out a route from point A to point B? The answer is, YOU CAN'T! Not without, somehow, cheating the system; that's for sure!

That’s for sure!

The test is pretty exhaustive of navigation skills. Way way back when I first got mine, I had to even had to know dead reckoning with current set and drift. They may not do that anymore. But the chart reading is quite thorough. However, route planning is not included from what I remember.

[Bill Seal]

I think he wanted suggestions on things like where to hang out for the night, best passage through the keys, stuff like that; not YOU are going to DIE!!!
Sheesh.

[Manrico]

Originally Posted by federalexport

Hi. We bought 2020 Galeon 425 hts. Have no experience at all. We are going to drive it from Fort Myers to Miami on june 9. It is about 240 miles and should take 2 days. Due to no experience at all we cant drive in night time and we have to stop for night at some island. Can anybody give me idea of our course, where can we stop for a night and where is the passage that we need to find to get through these islands that goes from miami to key west. Boat got navigation and everything that needed for 2 days traveling, but we have 0 experience and decided to do it by ourself without hiring captain. Please dont advise to hire captain. We just need course and we can do it. Thank you in advance.

Go by the ICW, only care is with Okeechobee lake, bad weather is really bad on the lake.