Davits...Finally!

This post is to summarize the journey to finally have davits installed and operational on Sandrobber. We spent a considerable amount of time researching this addition to our boat, as it was something that would be a "permanent" installation...and once they were installed, we knew that this decision was not reversible.

First off...really quickly...some of you might ask "What's a davit anyway?". Simply put, a set of davits is the mechanism that we employ to attach our dinghy and motor to the mother ship. For dog management, as well as fully being able to enjoy our cruising experience, we have known that a dinghy was something that we wanted to be able to have with us everywhere that we travel. It allows us to "walk the dogs" during our travels, without needing to pull into a marina every 4-5 hours for this reason alone. And then wherever we decide to anchor out for the night, the dinghy expands our ability to explore places that we can't go in the boat.

There were really 4 options for what we could do with the dinghy:

1. Just tow it behind the boat and be done with it. This really wasn't a long-term solution for us. There were safety concerns with this, and also towing a dinghy really makes going through locks very difficult at times.
2. Install a crane on the upper deck and store the dinghy up there on a set of chocks. This was not only quite expensive, but for our purposes, this was not a good solution. We didn't really want to add weight and sail area up top, and given the space available, we didn't like this direction.
3. Use some tip-up style davits. One side of the dinghy would be attached to the back of the swim platform at the water level, and then the dinghy would have to be rotated up, until it was stowed on it's side in the vertical position. We know some other tug owners who have successfully performed this installation, but we still had some concerns about the stress that this would put on the swim platform.
4. Install traditional style davits that anchor to both the swim platform and the transom, and allow for the dinghy to be hung from the back of the boat in a horizontal position.

We chose #4, and settled on davits manufactured by St. Croix. And here is what the final installation looks like:

And here is what it looks like when we add the dinghy:

 So basically, we pull the dinghy up along side the back of the swim platform, attach the dinghy to the davits using the lift rings that are built into the dinghy, and then simply use the block and tackle mechanisms to lift the dinghy into it's stowed position. We will have a couple of other straps to secure that aren't shown, which keep it from swinging around while underway. But the bottom line is that this installation was exactly what we expected, and we feel secure knowing that we have a great permanent solution.

And these also rotate out of the way when the dinghy is in the water. We were concerned that we would lose full use of the swim platform as a result of adding davits, but this solution has proved to be not very intrusive at all. It has added only a very minor inconvenience, and we are not at all concerned about any access or use issues.

For those of you with an interest...here are a few close-ups of the brackets themselves:

The handles that were installed at the top of the transom, to anchor the top of the davits, are through-bolted through the transom and extremely secure. The plates at the bottom of the davits are bolted through the swim platform, plus we added some substantial backing plates (of aluminum) to the underneath side of the platform for stability and to spread the stress out a bit. Here is a pic of the backing plate underneath the swim platform...it is roughly 12"x18":

So that's the end of the story with our davits...probably more than anyone really wanted to know!

Some Boat Projects

This post is just for those of you who might be interested in a few things that we are having done to the boat at present. Any boat owner knows that maintenance never stops, but there are some projects that we choose to not do ourselves (and frankly we can't do most of these). So, last Monday, we pulled the boat out of the water to get a few things accomplished.

For those of you who might be wondering how you pull a 20,000 lb boat out of the water, it is actually quite simple...if you have a marina with the right equipment. In this case, our marina has a 44 ton travel lift that makes it a piece of cake. We simply drive the boat up to the loading area, they slip the slings under the appropriate lift points and away we go. Once they have it in the slings, they can "drive" the crane around to a spot on the yard where they basically just put the boat up on blocks for the maintenance tasks. Here we are hanging in the slings:

So what are we getting done? Here is the laundry list:

• Bottom Job - basically sanding off the bottom paint (the black paint), and re-applying 2 fresh coats. This paint protects the bottom and inhibits algae growth. In fresh water, we don't have to worry about barnacles, but we would were we in salt water. The paint we applied is designed for use primarily in fresh water environments. It will last at least a couple of years.
• Prop tuning - we decided to pull the propeller and have it re-tuned to factory specs. This is something that needs to be done every so often, and we also found a couple of small dings that will be fixed. This thing is a beast...26" in diameter and it weighs a "ton"...not something that any of us would want to try to lift. Here is a pic of our bright shiny tuned prop:

• Dinghy davits - we finally are having our dinghy davits installed. This will allow us to take our dingy with us on our travels, and will make dog management a whole lot easier. In simple terms, this is a set of brackets attached to the transom and swim platform at the stern of the boat. The dinghy will hang from these brackets...we'll have pictures of this in a later installment.
• Fuel Manifold replacement - one of the original manifolds that serves as a junction point for getting fuel from the tank room, through a bulkhead, and into the engine room needed to be replaced. The original factory manifold was prone to leakage, and ours indeed did leak...so this will be replaced, and this nuisance item will be off our list to worry about.
• Anode replacement - there are a number of anodes (commonly called zincs) on our boat. These are necessary chunks of metal that sacrificially corrode so that the important metal parts of our boat don't corrode. As they are sacrificial, they need to be replaced every so often, so now is the time. We will be replacing the main shaft anode, the bow thruster anodes, and adding a new anode to the rudder shaft. The 2 shaft anodes will be magnesium, and the bow thruster anodes will be aluminum. Again...in salt water these would be different...they all would be made from zinc. Here is a picture of the one that is on the main shaft, just in front of the propeller.

          And here is the replacement anode and refurbished prop:

There are a few other minor items that will also get attended to, but these are the major items that will put us in primo shape for the time being. The list never ends, but having these done makes the list a whole lot shorter!

Sandhill Cranes for Thanksgiving?

Don't worry...we ate turkey for Thanksgiving dinner!

In fact, Sandy made a wonderful turkey roulade for Thanksgiving dinner, which we enjoyed on the boat. The weather forecast was OK, and we had decided that we wanted to spend Thanksgiving on the boat...and it worked out great. There is a wildlife and bird refuge about 25 miles upriver where the Hiawassee River flows into the Tennessee. It is a beautiful area to cruise, and we had been there earlier in the year.

However, we had learned that a massive population of Sandhill Cranes migrate through this area during the winter months, and we were excited to see if they had started arriving yet. So, we combined this with our Thanksgiving plan to be on the boat, and headed upriver.

The short version of the story is that we had a wonderful time...we saw thousands of cranes, and at least 6 bald eagles. We spent one night at Blue Water Marina in the Dayton, TN area, which worked out great. And although the weather was a bit cool, and cloudy off and on, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. These birds are magnificent, and their calls are distinctive and exotic. What an absolute treat this was...we'll probably go back up again before too long to do it all again.

Here are a few pics that Sandy snapped, although it was a challenge to catch them in flight!

For anyone interested to learn more about Sandhill Cranes, try here: Sandhill Cranes

A Small Adventure - Fall Colors Tour!

We had targeted Halloween weekend as possibly being the perfect weekend to take a Fall Colors cruise. Sandy prepared some Halloween goody bags for the "neighbor kids" who are all over the place these days.Friday afternoon, we made a quick door-to-door visit to drop-off the treat bags...so at least our closest neighboring trick-or-treaters would know we didn't just skip town to avoid sharing candy with them!

Our plan was to get out of town by mid-afternoon on Halloween, with a goal to leave the dock by 6 pm if possible. Our grand plan was to drive about 10 miles upriver to Shady Grove Harbor Marina, and spend the night there on Friday. This would position us to venture further upriver on Saturday, and see some parts of the river that we have not yet seen. We also had a reservation at another marina for Saturday night another 20 miles or so further upriver.

The only snag in our plans?? The weather was bordering on dreadful. The forecast earlier in the week wasn't too bad, but it deteriorated as we got closer to the weekend. We were certainly game, and the boat can handle just about anything that we might encounter on the river in terms of weather. After only a small amount of deliberation...and after having already delivered the candy...we grabbed the dog sweaters for the pups, threw in an extra blanket, and hit the road.

It was cool and heading for cold. By the time we left the dock (at about 6pm) it was in the 40's and dropping. And the expected northerly winds were picking up...probably in the 20 knot range (a knot is 1.15 mph for those of you with a calculator). We had daylight for the first 2/3's of the trip, but the last 1/2 hour or so, we were driving by radar. We passed (or rather were passed) by only a couple of bass fishermen, but otherwise no one else was on the river.

We were warm and cozy in the pilot house, and only had one tricky channel to navigate on the way into the marina. We have been into this same channel a number of times, and had the route already plotted on our chart plotter, which it made it much safer. But, it was a good challenge in the dark, and we managed just fine. Sandy about froze when she had spotlight duty outside on deck as we made our approach, and the spotlight actually reflected off of a few snow flakes! Yep...it was a small flurry as we made our docking...temps were in the low 30's.

The wind howled all night, and 3am puppy walking duty for Rob was a bit nippy, but other than that, we were all snug and warm with no issues. After sleeping in (well, sort-of) we debated continuing on upriver, but the weather just didn't look to be improving until Sunday. And the colors were plainly disappointing. We think that bright sunshine would have made a huge difference in terms of making the colors pop, but it was not to be. So, we decided to make a shorter trip of it, and headed back to our home marina. Temps never got out of the 40's on Saturday, and the wind didn't quit until Saturday evening sometime. By then, we were home watching TV.

Picture opportunities were limited...here are just a few to give you a sense for why it didn't turn out to be the gorgeous Fall Color Tour we imagined...but we had a fine small adventure none the less!

Fun Times in Chattanooga

Over the weekend of October 3rd-5th, we had the pleasure of meeting up with Rob's sister and brother-in-law (L&C) in Chattanooga. The weather attempted to dash our plans for the weekend, but with a little flexibility, we had grand time!

L&C drove down from Philly for the wedding of one of their best friends sons in Chattanooga, and it was the perfect opportunity to spend some time with them and have them be our first "official" visitors on Sandrobber. We were going to take a cruise on Friday, but the weather was rather unfriendly, so we left the boat at the marina, and drove to Chattanooga to meet-up at the Aquarium...we might have surprised them by hiding in the bushes as they came around the corner...

Surprise!

The Chattanooga Aquarium was really great. We have been to the Atlanta Aquarium a couple of times, and we were pleasantly surprised by the experience here. They have done a wonderful job of offering a more intimate experience, and as well a much more comprehensive presentation of the fresh water exhibits...which makes perfect sense. We toured the salt water exhibits first, took a lunch break at a nearby pub, and then returned to see the fresh water exhibits. All in all a great experience.

Tennessee Aquarium from the river.

By mid-afternoon, it was time for L&C to get ready for the rehearsal dinner (up Lookout Mountain) and we headed back to the marina to bring Sandrobber down to Chattanooga for the weekend. By now, the weather had cleared through, the lock was wide open, and we were safely tucked into our slip at the Bluffs dock in downtown by about 6:30pm. While L&C were partying at the rehearsal dinner, we walked around downtown (with a mandatory stop at the Moon Pie store) grabbed some dinner, and headed back to the boat. As the Three Sisters Bluegrass Festival was playing on the waterfront, we piled on another layer of clothes and headed over to check it out. Not really our cup of tea, but it was fun seeing the festival in action and all of the people gathered having a good time. It didn't take long for us to be ready to head back to the boat and call it a night.

Tucked in for the night.

Saturday morning was gorgeous, albeit a tad cool (in the 40's to start). But it was a perfect day for a cruise down the river from the comfort of the pilot house. We had the river to ourselves...hardly anyone out. We traveled about 13 miles downriver, enjoying the company and the beautiful scenery. No real change of color out yet...probably a few weeks too early for this. But a beautiful and enjoyable cruise.

Sadly...and way too quickly, it was time to part company in the early afternoon. L&C took off to get ready for the wedding, and we ended up just crashing on the boat and taking a nap! Later on, we ventured out and walked across the river on the pedestrian bridge and checked out the North Shore...a nice cozy boutique area with some unique shops. Then we decided to go to a movie for the first time in about 6 months. It was fun just having a good old fashioned "date night".

Our thanks to L&C for making it a fantastic weekend...it was terrific to meet up and enjoy time together. We are so glad that you guys decided to make the journey to Chattanooga!

Sunrise on Sunday

The Delta Queen directly across the river from our slip...in a bit of disrepair.

Early morning fishin' on the Tennessee

Our boat-warming gift from L&C...awesome!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend was hot, sometimes sunny, and sometimes rainy (stormy actually). But we had a great weekend. On Saturday, we just decided to poke around as the weather was a bit sketchy...we found a really nice anchorage just off the lake where we stopped for a swim and just to kick back and relax. It was a very nice relaxing afternoon.

On Sunday, we decided to take a trip downriver, through the Chickamauga Lock, and on to downtown Chattanooga. We are thrilled that Rob's sister and brother-in-law are heading to Chattanooga in early October for a wedding! Our plan is to meet them on the riverfront and spend the day cruising the area. So....we decided that we would take a reconnaissance mission down to see where we could meet them. And, since we brought the boat up from Pickwick Lake back in April, we had not been back through a lock, so this was a great excuse to head that direction. Here is a quick picture of us approaching the lock...we got busy with locking through just after this, so not a lot of action shots to share.

We'll save the description of the locking process for another time, but we had no trouble at all...a piece of cake. This lock is not huge by river standards, being only 60' x 360', but it does still manage a fair bit of commercial barge traffic. But on this fine morning, we had it all to ourselves, and it was a painless trip - a total elevation change here of 53'.

Downtown Chattanooga is only about another 5 miles down river from the lock, so we were there in no time. We found the free dock wall, where you can dock for up to 4 hours at a time...this will likely be where we meet up in October. There is great access to downtown form this spot, and there is overnight marina space nearby as well.

 

 

 

After our pit-stop here for the puppies, we ventured off further down river for another 15 miles or so of very nice cruising. The weather started chasing us back by mid-afternoon, and we stopped back here for another pit-stop (just after a real gusher of a shower) and then headed home for a late dinner at our home dock. All-in-all a great day and a bunch of fun!

Finally Some Decent Photos

We had a beautiful day on the river on Saturday, and finally remembered to take our good camera with us. For some reason, it ends up back at the house most of the time, and all we usually have with us is our phones. The stars aligned and we had great weather, our camera, a clean boat, and plenty of time on our hands. So...here are a few shots of Sandrobber for your perusal. Thanks to Sandy for taking these great pics!

The able crew stands at the ready!

Amateur Video Time...

OK...we figured out how to get a couple of videos off of our phones into this here blog...so here you go. First a few specifications on Sandrobber for those who want to know:

Overall length - 36' 6"
Height above waterline - 15' 2"
Beam - 13' 3" (this is the width of the boat at it's widest point)
Draft - 3' 5"
Displacement - 20,000 pounds
Fuel capacity - 400 gallons
Fresh water capacity - 150 gallons
Engine - 330 hp Cummins mechanical engine

 

 

 

                                    

                                     

 

                                    

 

 

                                     

 

 

                                    

 

Alright folks...that's all for now...

 



Never thought we'd be blogging!!

Well, we've now had Sandrobber for almost 3 months...it's really still hard to believe! We feel very blessed to have the opportunity to enjoy this great vessel, and look forward to many wonderful adventures both grand and small. So, now that we have 3 months of getting to know her, we figured that we'd try a blog...it is however not at all clear how often you'll see a posting, but it's a start!

We have had many friends and family members "inform" us that we need to send them pictures. So, we thought we'd take it one step further and offer up this blog as a means to keep anyone who has an interest up to date on what we and the boat are up to.

This entry is more or less just to get the ball rolling. And as we are new to this, we'll get more polished with time...and the first order of the day is to figure out how to post a picture, so here goes:

OK...so it's not that exciting to you, but it is to us. This is our new dinghy! It is a 10 ft long RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) with a 10hp outboard on it. The bottom of the boat has a fiberglass V-hull, and as well, a second flat bottom inside the boat for comfort and safety. We haven't named it yet, but it will largely be used for puppy-shore transport when we are out and about for extended periods of time.

All for now...test is now complete and it looks like this blogging thing is doable. Not sure when you'll hear from us next...

And yes...we'll post some more pictures...that'll be next.