Looking at sailing a 45' Sloop from Maine to Annapolis

[rhhmadry]

Thoughts and suggestions welcome.

[rgscpat]

On a boat you own with auxiliary propulsion in what condition with what sort of crew during what time of year and remaining in Annapolis or later continuing further and in a hurry or interested in stops along the way for how long?

[rhhmadry]

On a boat I have purchased. A 45' Sloop with an auxiliary diesel that was designed to be capable of water sailing">blue water sailing. Mast is 63' tall, draft is 5'6" with board up, 8' with board down.
Crew will consist of myself with moderate sailing experience, but never off shore, an individual who owns a 48 Jeaneau Trinidad with extensive off shore sailing experience and an owner of 36 Dickerson with extensive sailing experience.
Tentative departure scheduled for second week of August.
Need to get to Annapolis sooner rather than later, we all work for a living.
She will stay in Annapolis.

[skipmac]

Some random thoughts and suggestions, in no particular order.

1. Peak of hurricane season so pay attention and have a plan. Don't get too far from a refuge.

2. Per #1 make sure you have really good ground tackle, snubbers and dock lines in case a hurricane hits the fan.

3. You can go inside LI Sound or outside. Inside more things to see and places to stop, protected water, but longer route and trickier navigation: tidal currents, occasional rocks, Hell Gate on the East River. In a hurry go outside.

4. In a hurry then round Cape Cod (or through the canal) and set a direct course south.

5. You can enter the Chesapeake or Delaware Bay. To Annapolis I think its slightly shorter (maybe not faster) to enter DE Bay and cross that canal to the upper Chesapeake and south.

6. If you do take the direct, offshore route don't forget #1.

[who_cares]

Probably doesn't belong in the monohull sailboat discussion category, but... my advice would be to bring a bunch of diesel, especially if there are time constraints. assume you'll have to motor all the way up the delaware, through the C&D, and then back down the chesapeake. Once you get here, if you need crew give me a holler.

[rgscpat]

Just odd thoughts, someone who knows this coast better should chime in, but maybe as a crude starting point --

Maybe after a shakedown cruise, depart with clean fuel and tanks, spare filters and impellers, go south via the Cape Cod Canal (maybe 24-hours-ish from Portland, slight chance of one rr bridge being temporarily in the down position at the south end), watch weather before leaving Buzzard's Bay for a dash down Long Island and New Jersey (approaching 400 nm, 3 nights-plus-ish, with back-up plans in case you need to duck in somewhere), duck into Delaware Bay for a break/marina fix as desired/needed, then finish the last bit into the Chesapeake. (Assume going around the cape is vastly much quicker than doing the C&D canal dance, which I believe has just one bridge that would have to raise for you.)
It all depends a bit on how much you trust the boat/engine, how soon you get tired of going to weather, how you feel about watches -- lots of finicky watchstanding with all the big commercial ports and their traffic and traffic lanes. Got radar just in case, and an AIS receiver? Assume 45' bluewater boat means plenty of fuel capacity for a trip like this in case winds take a couple of days off or are slow coming up each day or come up your nose and add miles to your trip, or waves decide at some point to get short-period and nasty.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by rmadry

Thoughts and suggestions welcome.

Have a good trip. The winds this time of year are normally SW so plan according.

[rhhmadry]

Excellent suggestions and thanks to all.

1. It is hurricane season, so I will probably stay near the coast instead of heading due south of the Cape Cod canal. Will probably take the C&D canal for the same reason rather than go around Delaware.

2. She will be surveyed prior to the trip.

3. Good point about the diesel fuel. She has 100 gallons of diesel in the tanks.

4. She has radar and AIS, but the point about watches and shipping channels is well taken.

5. She has a 40 pound Bruce on 100 feet of 5/8s chain and 180 feet of line. Also has a 45 pound Danforth with similar rode, but 1/2 inch chain. I will have to check on the snubbers.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by rgscpat

(Assume going around the cape is vastly much quicker than doing the C&D canal dance, which I believe has just one bridge that would have to raise for you.)

The lift bridge is the lowest... at 130' low lift, and it's only lowered when train traffic is approaching. Lots of heavy ship traffic through the C&D, so height shouldn't be an issue. And not so much ship traffic to cause angst, especially since you have AIS.

I have no clue which route might be faster, but I second the thought about fuel. Often there's not much wind in the Chesapeake in August. Plenty of places from Delaware City down to Annapolis to easily get more fuel, though, if that's the chosen route. Probably similar coming north from Cape Charles.

-Chris

[rgscpat]

Maybe pay for fuel polishing if you don't know how long the diesel has been in the tanks? Also, is it possible to inspect the tanks visually just to be sure there isn't crud in the bottom? (The idea is that an ocean voyage with some bouncy bits might stir up the tanks in a way that normal day sailing wouldn't.)

[rhhmadry]

Good idea on the fuel polishing and tank inspection.
I will add that to the list.

Thanks

[deluxe68]

What is the make/model of the boat?

[PaulSommers]

I have done that trip in a 30' sailboat. S end of Cape Cod Canal to Cape May, NJ and the entrance to Delaware Bay during settled weather would be my recommendation, than take the C&D Canal. The S coast of Long Island and the NJ coast have few ports accessible for a deep draft vessel, do just look for a good weather window and make a dash for Cape May. It took me about 40 hours - you should be able to make it in a bit less time since your longer vessel will sail or motor faster. There is no point in heading for the entrance to the Chesapeake since Annapolis is way up the Chesapeake. Do Cape May/Delaware Bay/C&D to Cheseapeake. You only need sufficient fuel for the leg from Cape Cod Canal to Cape May - there are plenty of places to buy fuel along the rest of the route. The whole trip will be reasonable day sails except for the 2 day offshore hop to Cape May. 100 gallons should be plenty of diesel, but the fuel polishing suggestion is a really good idea. I did that when I got my boat in Nova Scotia because it had been sitting for 2 years before I bought her.

[rhhmadry]

She has twin fuel filters on the fuel line. Is that sufficient to "polish" the fuel?

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by rmadry

She has twin fuel filters on the fuel line. Is that sufficient to "polish" the fuel?

Can you clarify twin filters? Most boats have two filters in series, a first stage that is a water separater (usually has a clear bowl on the bottom) and a second stage on the engine that is the final, very fine filter.

A better option is one that has two first stage filters (with still the single, second stage on the engine) and a valve that lets you change from between the two primary filters. So if one gets clogged you can immediately switch to a second that is already primed, bled and ready to go.

Even a single filter/separater will "polish" the fuel IE filter and clean the fuel going to the engine as you run. However the concern here is how old is the fuel in your tanks and is the fuel full of algae, water and crud. If the fuel is really dirty then as soon as you get in the ocean and start rolling around all the crud sitting in the bottom of the tanks gets stirred up and can clog a new filter in minutes. A really bad load of fuel all stirred up you could run through filters by the case.

So if you have no idea how old and how clean or dirty the fuel is in the tanks you really need to check that. Hopefully the fuel tank (tanks?) have an inspection port or some way to access the inside. Worst case scenario go in through the hole for the fuel gauge sender or even the fill hole. Get a hose into the very lowest point in the tank and pump some into a clear glass jar and take a look. If it has water and lots of black gunk then you should deal with that before leaving. That is what polishing is about. If you have bad fuel then set up a system to pump it out, through the filter and either into another tank or recirculate through the one tank.