What worked & didn't; advice & learnings

Here's a list I have been compiling about things we have learned.  In no particular order. Some of this may be interesting and/or useful to you --

1. Weather & other conditions – "it is what it is".  We have a schedule to keep up with, sort of.  And the weather forecasts are – well, you know – sometimes accurate.  So we just go and deal with the wind, rain, waves, heat, cold, or whatever gets thrown at us.  [But we do hang out in shelter when it is supposed to be really bad.]

2. Infrared Heat Sensor (Heat Gun).  Bought one in Houghton, MI.  Invaluable for monitoring and measuring temperatures for the diesel engine, refrigerator, etc.  $100 but well worth having aboard.

3. Wireless "Walkie-Talkie" Headphones.  We use these all the time, especially when anchoring, docking, or locking-through. Ilona at the bow or rail, Bob at the helm. No more yelling obscenities at each other.  "Marriage Savers". Get some.  From Cruising Solutions on the Internet.  These are literally marriage savers.  Invaluable.  Reduces tension to almost nothing.  One of the best purchases.  We can talk normally.  And understand each other.

4. Binoculars. We have a good pair with an internal compass.  Very handy for Ilona spotting obstacles, buoys, other boats, swimmers, etc. – then giving me a bearing so I can check the binnacle compass and know where to look.  [Or maybe a Pelorus. A what?]  Squinty eyes.  Feel strange without them.  Vision changes big.  Steiners Observers.   Worth the $600.

5. AIS – Automatic Identification System.  Expensive, and we don't use it much. But it might come in handy as we cross shipping lanes. Was useful in spotting lakers (big ore carriers on the Great Lakes, and especially around blind corners in the St. Mary's River.)  Nice to have, but not sure it was worth the work, or the hassle in installing and debugging it.

6. Radar – we don't use it much (it sucks too much power from the Service Battery if we are not motoring), but it could be very useful if we encounter fog.  Worth having, I think, even if we never need to use it. [Same thing might be said about the EPIRB.] And a real pain in the butt to install, debug, and deal with its own mast.

7. EPIRB – expensive, probably (hopefully) we will never need to use it.  But glad we have it.

8. Chartplotter, with good electronic charts AT THE HELM.  Absolutely MUST have this. It saved us when we pulled anchor at night in the North Channel (see previous posting), and I have been using it continuously for route finding.  Can't live without it.  But, yes, we do have and use paper charts.  Ilona does the paper, I do the electronic, we both look – sometimes they tell us the same story.  [Sidenote:  I had Garmin sell me the best charts for Canada before we left home, but they sent me a chip of the U.S. only, and we spent a week anchoring ½ mile inland in Canada (!) until I saw someone else's correct chip and had to buy and download it over shitty WiFi in Little Current.  Glad I have the right one now.  All is forgiven, Garmin.]

9. Jacklines, harnesses with attachment-rings, and tethers.  Have only needed them a few times (well, nobody fell overboard, so I guess we really didn't need them …), but am very glad we have them.  Jacklines are installed on deck at all times.

10. Dinghy – We rarely tow it.  We crossed Lake Superior with it lashed on the foredeck, then tied it up sideways across the stern [sort of on the swim platform] for the rest of the trip (so far).  Stern seems to be favored.  Will not tow it again in open water.

11. Oil change. Almost impossible to find a mechanic who will change oil.  Absolutely impossible to use the small orange "made in China" pumps to get the oil out through the dipstick.  Get a GOOD pump, with a reservoir to collect the used oil. Test it at home before leaving on a long trip, like we didn't.

12. Non-availability of supplies and mechanics.  The places we have been have been only slightly better than the Lake Superior North Shore in obtaining things we needed.  Hard to e-mail order stuff and have it shipped ahead.  We needed to do a better job of carrying EVERYTHING we might need. Like MANY spare parts for the engine and everything else.

13. Cell phones & Internet.  For an extra $20/month, our Verizon iPhones do voice in Canada just like we were in the U.S.  When we can get a carrier, which is pretty often.  Internet was too expensive to use our Aircard in Canada ($2/MB !), so we rely on Internet cafes and marinas for WiFi.  Most of the time the WiFi is really slow here, if it works at all.

14, Charts; consignment; swapping.  We have been pretty fortunately to borrow or trade charts and cruising guides, so far.  We hear there are consignment shops all up and down the ICW where people going north trade or sell used stuff to those going the other way, & vice versa.

15. Local knowledge.  We have been able to make general plans for our trip, and get detailed information from lockmasters, other boats, local people, etc.  Really helps a lot in finding routes, anchorages, supplies, and nice places to visit and camp at (and to avoid).

16. Ad hoc "flotillas".  We have been meeting and re-meeting other boats heading in the same other direction.  Boaters are great people, and we are starting to like powerboaters too (now that we are one.)  But we are now pretty much with just us.  Two minute exchanges with lock personnel who on the whole have been great.  Very few boats on the water.   Saw 5 total today.

17. "Go Small and Go Now" – Great advice from the Pardees, or was it Karen & Jerry of Good Old Boat?  Our 30' boat seems about right for the two of us – a little tighter for the few times we have a third hand aboard but do-able.  And we are learning a lot as we travel, and should have gone sooner (when we were younger?).  It is okay, Bob.  Need to relax more.  It will be okay.

18. Money – the boat cost is the least of it. Figure on maybe another $100K over budget, or more! We have been paying more for marina fees and doing a lot less anchoring than we had figured on.  But we are so exhausted that we need to do this for safety, supplies, meeting people, and making good time.

19. Boat cards & blog.  We are glad we have printed cards with our contact info and blog URL to hand out (trade) with other boats. Most cruising sailboats have them.  Sort of like the old CQ cards the hams used to use.

20. Extra crew – Superior; Jersey shore.  We sure are glad we had Jim Kimmet help us with the Lake Superior crossing, and are looking forward to having Tom Cronmiller help us on the New York City to Chesapeake crossing, since there is no ICW in New Jersey.  The two of us are making it on the more protected areas, and sure can use (need?) the help for the long crossings.   We have become lockmasters       for the 44 on T-S Waterway.  39 new ones coming up on the Erie Canal.

21. Buoys move; charts vary.  Very often the buoys are not where the charts say they are, or there are extra ones not on the charts.  Get current charts, then keep a good watch at all times.  When in doubt, trust the buoys, not the charts.

22. Bikes.  We have two Dahon folding bicycles in a locker.  We have not used them much.  Probably should not have brought them, but we may use them more when we are not trying to cover so much ground.

23. Netting.  We put netting across all the open shelves, to hold things in place when heeling.  They work great, and were pretty inexpensive.

24. LEDs. We replaced all of the interior lights with LEDs, as well as the running and anchor lights.  And those inside are red or white – good for night travel as well as parties.  Saves energy, much brighter.  Was a good idea.  marinebeam.com gives excellent products, support and service – better than the inferior Dr. LED at West Marine.

25. Antenna and cabling. Another nightmare – hard to get the co-ax connectors on right.  Wish we had an SWR (standing wave ratio) meter; will get one next time we get somewhere.  If you get the connectors working, take the deck apart for the thruhull wires if you have to, but don't remove the connectors from the coax!

26. Water, waste, diesel, propane.  First needing pumpout is the holding tank.  We get about 6 days without needing a pumpout with our 24-gallon tank.  Can't wait to get out to sea so we can dump it ourselves.  The water – 40 gallons – lasts well over a week or more, no showers though.  Our 10 lb propane tanks (for cooking) last a month each; glad we carry a spare.  Diesel seems to be about 2 hours (12 miles of motoring) per gallon, about the same as our camper van.

27. DeLorme InReach.  This satellite tracking / short messaging / system was something we bought just before leaving home.  We spent an entire day with their Tech Service, and the thing never did communicate with a satellite.  They did let us out of our 1-year contract (no trial period!), since it didn't work.   Boat US was pushing this as a great way to reach TowboatUS from anywhere, but they didn't have it when we were in a West Marine in Toronto. Did they figure out it was junk and discontinue it?  The DeLorme Tech Service people were very helpful.  Glad we no longer have to deal with this. A good idea, if it had worked.

28.  You need an Ilona. With her reading the paper chart, scanning for obstacles, and relaying what is going on, I was able to concentrate on the helm, engine and chartplotter, while not watching out at all times.  Everyone should have an Ilona aboard.  [Ilona adds: AND a Bob at the helm.]

29.   People ask me what we eat.  The same as at home or in the camper.  Have two burners and an oven and a BBQ.  And grocery stores.  Go 4-5 days before shopping for fresh food.  Have back up food in storage.  Eating less because less hours of motion.  Still learning about the oven.   Slowly cooked, marinated chicken is good.

30.  Here in Canada, marina fees are based on boat length, not total length with the mast down.  So, we pay for 30', not 43.

31. We are always figuring out the next step.  Not relaxing but fighting dementia is good.