Great Loop Chronicles Part 13
Marine
- Sponsor
- OPTIMA Batteries
- Location
- Iuka, MS
The Great Loop Chronicles will be an ongoing series, following the travels of OPTIMA Batteries staffer, Jim McIlvaine, as he travels America's Great Loop, a 6000+ nautical mile journey around the Eastern United States.
We are a week into our journey and we have finally made it onto the 6,000+ mile route known as the Great Loop, stopping last night at Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht marina in Iuka (not Luka), Mississippi. The math works out to about 60 miles per day, which is a bit above the average 30-50 mile days that many Loopers refer to, but we have a timetable. We're trying to get to Pass Christian in time for me to take a rental car over to New Orleans for OPTIMA's Ultimate Street Car series and hop on a plane the following weekend to Springfield, Missouri, for the Major Leage Fishing Redcrest tournament.
We stopped at Aqua Yacht, because it was a highly recommended full-service marina, that could tackle just about any job needed. Our survey recommended replacing the propellor shaft seals and cutlass bearings, which would require pulling the boat out of the water. Arriving on a Wednesday night, I had hoped they'd be able to fit us into their schedule (they did know we were coming) to pull the boat and order the necessary parts before the end of the week.
The following afternoon, I found myself slowly guiding the boat onto a massive sling that would lift it out of the water. I've never done that before, but I managed not to hit anything, so I'd call it a success! With the boat out of the water, they measured the tolerances on the cutlass bearings (that is where the prop shafts are cradled below the hull) and found then to be nearly dead on. A call the surveyor indicated he found them only to be out of spec by a few thousandths of an inch.
The shaft seals were a different story and it seemed like we changed those out at just the right time. These are wear items, so we were told to expect good service from them for at least the next two years after replacement. While we had the boat out, they noted the same very small knicks on the propellors that the surveyor had also noted. It's hard to really know if such minor flaws could cause cavitation, vibration or any other issues, but since we had it out of the water, it seemed prudent to pull the props and have them cleaned up.
The boat went right back into the water and they suggested I man the bow thruster to assist their push barge in moving the boat into a nearby slip. I indicated that I've never captained a boat with no propellors, using only a bow thruster and surely, someone on their staff would have more experience. I'm glad I deferred, because the wind picked up as they attempted to move the boat and I'm glad I observed the outcome from the dock.
When you pull into a marina like Aqua Yacht, as you are preparing for a long journey, it's a good time to address any other issues that might be outstanding. I asked them to take a closer look at the air conditioning units, as the four units didn't seem to be working all that great. As it turns out, the unit in the master berth needed replacing and the aft salon unit had two leaks, which were subsequently repaired.
I had been communicating with barges and lockmasters with my handheld VHF radio, but those generally don't offer a good signal any further than you can see. The VHF radio on the boat looked original to 2002 and seemed very difficult to operate- the screen was faded and hard to read, so it seemed prudent to upgrade at least the flybridge with a new unit that tied into the much taller antennae mounted on the top of the boat.
Our Guntersville anchorage also convinced me to buy a stern anchor, although no one in the area had a 30-lb anchor, which seemed to be the appropriate size for our boat. I did settle on a 24-pound anchor with plenty of line. I also hoped they'd be able to place an engine mount on the transom for our dinghy engine and we were trying to figure out where the dinghy stanchions were (top braces for securing the dinghy).
Between the seven OPTIMA batteries I had in the swim platform locker, the two spare props and the Mercury outboard on the aft deck, the boat seemed to be a bit weighted down in the stern. I figured the batteries would need replacing before the end of the trip, so I felt it smart to bring at least some of the replacement with me. I didn't think a few hundred pounds in the stern of a boat that large would make a difference, but I'm believing otherwise now and plan to make some changes.
Scott Dixon had also generously given me a water pressure valve to put onto our shore water. These are apparently a common thing for boats and RVs and are designed to prevent high water pressure from shore water from blowing out the lines inside your boat or RV. I promised Gwendolyn we'd be eating out plenty on this trip, so we did just that, dining at the Spotted Cow in Iuka (no, they didn't have any Spotted Cow beer). We spent some time in a nearby park, so the kids could get some exercise and restocked over at the local Wal-Mart.
Fortunately, Aqua Yacht had two courtesy vehicles available for use and they only asked that you bring it back with a full tank. A nearby bridge was out, so having access to these vehicles proved to be very valuable and they were actually very nice vehicles. Aqua Yacht also had a covered pickleball court, basketball hoop and swimming pool (it wasn't open yet) and showers at both the pool and adjacent to the restaurant on the water. A week into this thing and I still haven't showered on the boat and probably won't, just because it's so small in there. The docks are very long at Aqua Yacht, so any thoughts about not getting enough exercise would be paused until we were back under way. For now, I was glad to be parked at a dock at a nice marina and would patiently wait out the parts needed to get us back on the Great Loop.
How long would it take? Find out here!
We are a week into our journey and we have finally made it onto the 6,000+ mile route known as the Great Loop, stopping last night at Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht marina in Iuka (not Luka), Mississippi. The math works out to about 60 miles per day, which is a bit above the average 30-50 mile days that many Loopers refer to, but we have a timetable. We're trying to get to Pass Christian in time for me to take a rental car over to New Orleans for OPTIMA's Ultimate Street Car series and hop on a plane the following weekend to Springfield, Missouri, for the Major Leage Fishing Redcrest tournament.
We stopped at Aqua Yacht, because it was a highly recommended full-service marina, that could tackle just about any job needed. Our survey recommended replacing the propellor shaft seals and cutlass bearings, which would require pulling the boat out of the water. Arriving on a Wednesday night, I had hoped they'd be able to fit us into their schedule (they did know we were coming) to pull the boat and order the necessary parts before the end of the week.
The following afternoon, I found myself slowly guiding the boat onto a massive sling that would lift it out of the water. I've never done that before, but I managed not to hit anything, so I'd call it a success! With the boat out of the water, they measured the tolerances on the cutlass bearings (that is where the prop shafts are cradled below the hull) and found then to be nearly dead on. A call the surveyor indicated he found them only to be out of spec by a few thousandths of an inch.
The shaft seals were a different story and it seemed like we changed those out at just the right time. These are wear items, so we were told to expect good service from them for at least the next two years after replacement. While we had the boat out, they noted the same very small knicks on the propellors that the surveyor had also noted. It's hard to really know if such minor flaws could cause cavitation, vibration or any other issues, but since we had it out of the water, it seemed prudent to pull the props and have them cleaned up.
The boat went right back into the water and they suggested I man the bow thruster to assist their push barge in moving the boat into a nearby slip. I indicated that I've never captained a boat with no propellors, using only a bow thruster and surely, someone on their staff would have more experience. I'm glad I deferred, because the wind picked up as they attempted to move the boat and I'm glad I observed the outcome from the dock.
When you pull into a marina like Aqua Yacht, as you are preparing for a long journey, it's a good time to address any other issues that might be outstanding. I asked them to take a closer look at the air conditioning units, as the four units didn't seem to be working all that great. As it turns out, the unit in the master berth needed replacing and the aft salon unit had two leaks, which were subsequently repaired.
I had been communicating with barges and lockmasters with my handheld VHF radio, but those generally don't offer a good signal any further than you can see. The VHF radio on the boat looked original to 2002 and seemed very difficult to operate- the screen was faded and hard to read, so it seemed prudent to upgrade at least the flybridge with a new unit that tied into the much taller antennae mounted on the top of the boat.
Our Guntersville anchorage also convinced me to buy a stern anchor, although no one in the area had a 30-lb anchor, which seemed to be the appropriate size for our boat. I did settle on a 24-pound anchor with plenty of line. I also hoped they'd be able to place an engine mount on the transom for our dinghy engine and we were trying to figure out where the dinghy stanchions were (top braces for securing the dinghy).
Between the seven OPTIMA batteries I had in the swim platform locker, the two spare props and the Mercury outboard on the aft deck, the boat seemed to be a bit weighted down in the stern. I figured the batteries would need replacing before the end of the trip, so I felt it smart to bring at least some of the replacement with me. I didn't think a few hundred pounds in the stern of a boat that large would make a difference, but I'm believing otherwise now and plan to make some changes.
Scott Dixon had also generously given me a water pressure valve to put onto our shore water. These are apparently a common thing for boats and RVs and are designed to prevent high water pressure from shore water from blowing out the lines inside your boat or RV. I promised Gwendolyn we'd be eating out plenty on this trip, so we did just that, dining at the Spotted Cow in Iuka (no, they didn't have any Spotted Cow beer). We spent some time in a nearby park, so the kids could get some exercise and restocked over at the local Wal-Mart.
Fortunately, Aqua Yacht had two courtesy vehicles available for use and they only asked that you bring it back with a full tank. A nearby bridge was out, so having access to these vehicles proved to be very valuable and they were actually very nice vehicles. Aqua Yacht also had a covered pickleball court, basketball hoop and swimming pool (it wasn't open yet) and showers at both the pool and adjacent to the restaurant on the water. A week into this thing and I still haven't showered on the boat and probably won't, just because it's so small in there. The docks are very long at Aqua Yacht, so any thoughts about not getting enough exercise would be paused until we were back under way. For now, I was glad to be parked at a dock at a nice marina and would patiently wait out the parts needed to get us back on the Great Loop.
How long would it take? Find out here!