Great Loop Boat Log
August 11, 2010 – Present
May 11, 2011. Is it OK to start the engine? A question that I wanted to ask since March 15, 2011 when we ordered the Mercury 115 HP EPI outboard. Go ahead, she is all yours, replied Pat my friend and Offshore Performance mechanic. With a turn of the key, the engine came to life and just hummed like no other outboard engine I have ever heard. Wow, was I excited and ready to go on the sea trials.
As we pulled away from the ramp my spirits were high and my mind was running away with so many thoughts of past and future events that soon would take place as I attempt to navigate the 6000 mile Great Loop ICW from Ft Myers to Ft Myers or out the back door and into the front door in 4-5 months.
I drifted back in time and recalled that this challenging experience and opportunity all started in our Team Room in Baji Iraq Iraq
On July 21, 2010, I handed in my R&R (resignation and retirement) papers to the VA, retired on August 5, 2010 and on August 11, 2010, Mr. Mark Renney, sold a 1992, 26’ Palm Beach pontoon boat, in “as is condition” for the sum of $2000.00. As in condition met that from the pontoons up the boat was a piece of junk and a fun restoration project that would take me until today and some $16,000 to complete and as most of you know with a boat your project you are never complete.
Where did the time fly? For the past nine months I have been working on the boat project. I striped the boat to the pontoon tubes, cleaned each tube, and I beam cross members. I sand blasted each I beam and painted all 12 of them with rubberized under coat paint and then aluminum rust oleum paint. Next came the new floor and carpet. We cleaned and painted the side railing, which were in great shape and put them back on the boat.
Today’s sea trials went very well and more that expected. We tried several props and found that the stainless steel prop was the most efficient and economical giving me 1.9 gal per hour at 10 MPH and 2.2 gal per hr at 15 MPH. I shouldn’t be traveling more than 15 MPH most of the time because of the now wake laws. Great news in this current economy with gas prices ranging around $3.85 per gallon.
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Well, after another minor set back, flooding in NYS, and my friends at Mercury put on my new engine and a back support beam on the pontoon cracked from the weight! Well, they introduced me to Jeff Sears, a welder, to help with the problem. Together, sweating like we were in a sauna, we put in a new support beam and forward and side braces and were good to go. This afternoon, Pat, a mechanic from Offshore Performance, the Mercury dealer, and I took the Patriot out for sea trials. Well, all is A-OK and I am getting 1.9 gal per hour at 10 knots and 2.5 at 15 knots. Much more than expected. We even got the boat up to 38 mph and could have gone faster, but much more than I will ever do. Great people and support at Offshore.
I spent Thursday and Friday getting the Patriot ready for the Saturday ship off date. Can’t imagine how many little things there are to do getting ready. I was up at 0430 on Saturday morning packing out the boat and getting more thing ready for the 0900 launch.
