Fort Myers To Chicago On A 55C

[Sparky1]

Nah man, they're made by a commercial ship builder up north as I recall.

 

[Sparky1]

Stop at Johns Pass and I will let you buy us a drink at Bubba Gumps!!

I've been thinking about your offer, but I'm thinking you've got the drink buying thing bass ackwards. Unless, of course, you want to give the 55 a last, quick lookover before we head across.

Speaking of heading across, does the municipal marina at Clearwater still have the best fuel prices in the area? I'm thinking we'll need to top off again to check our fuel burn after filling in Ft Myers (I assume) to make sure we're not getting too ambitious with our target on the other side if we run on plane.

I ate at the Bubba Gump's in Gatlinburg last summer and was not impressed. I didn't drink anything though, so maybe their drinks are good. Is it near the restaurant where we ate last time I was down? I remember they had plenty of boat parking there, but I don't remember the name of the place.

http://www.johnspass.com/dining.cfm

 

[yachtsmanbill]

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache...rinette+shipbuilding&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinette_Yachts

Two WAYYY different companies!! We're heading to the VBC as we speak... have fun and let us know how your trip planner is doing LOL... ws

 

[Sparky1]

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache...rinette+shipbuilding&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinette_Yachts

Two WAYYY different companies!! We're heading to the VBC as we speak... have fun and let us know how your trip planner is doing LOL... ws

Yeah, the Marinette thing was an inside joke between me and Sky. Sort of like his YachtWorld comment.

I'm rounding up my charts as we "speak", so I should have a plan worked out this afternoon. I just have to wait for word on how much fuel the owner wants to burn.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

YB,
I never really realized that Marinettes were not built in Marinette since it is a big boat building area.

Although I've done the loop, most of my boating experience is in the Great Lakes and Florida. Seeing that name, and knowing the yards in Menominee and Marinette, I made an assumption. You know what happens when you assume. If I had spend more time in Tennessee, I probably would have figured that one out. At the time, though, I was just too busy looking for a fiberglass Broward so Sparky could trade up.

 

[Sparky1]

YB,
I never really realized that Marinettes were not built in Marinette since it is a big boat building area.

Although I've done the loop, most of my boating experience is in the Great Lakes and Florida. Seeing that name, and knowing the yards in Menominee and Marinette, I made an assumption. You know what happens when you assume. If I had spend more time in Tennessee, I probably would have figured that one out. At the time, though, I was just too busy looking for a fiberglass Broward so Sparky could trade up.

If you had "spend" more time in Tennessee, you could talk more better too.

BTW, I made an offer on one of those fiberglass Broward's on YW pending verification of construction. They haven't gotten back with me yet.

Back on topic, seems there is an issue with a turbo on the 55, but the mechanic thinks he can have it fixed by Wednesday morning. If not, then we'll just have to see how things progress. Meanwhile, if it works out that we'll be in Fort Myers for an extra day or so, who wants to get together for dinner and/or drinks? No, I'm not buying.

 

[Sparky1]

Correction, blower issues, not turbo issues.

Now that I've cleared that up, I found this article on the brochure archives here on this site and was wondering if these speed/MPG/GPH figures look about right. I won't name names, but the last time I referenced such a test from the archives, SOMEBODY claimed they were way off. Speaking of way off, anybody heard anything out of Pascal lately?

http://www.hatterasowners.com/Brochures/55X/55CA-1080.htm

 

[Sparky1]

Here, this will make things easier. Looks like 1,750 is the sweet spot for on-plane cruising.

 

[Sparky1]

I realize I'm talking out loud here (to myself), but I figure you guys will catch up later. Looks like it's approximately 130nm from Fort Myers to Clearwater, so that should make for a good first day's run at ~17 knots.

Then it's going to be an all-dayer running from Clearwater to Panama City. Seems like that was around 250 statue miles as I recall, so there's about 12 hours at the same speed.

My charts end with Florida, but it looks like Panama City to Mobile Bay is about 121nm. My chartplotter will show it, but does anybody know how far it is from the entrance to Mobile bay to Dog River Marina?

That should be doable from Panama City in daylight hours easy enough. Then comes the fun part.

 

[captddis]

Yes Clearwater municipal has the best fuel prices, usually better than the truck. Stop in Clwtr and we will drive up, of course dinner is on you since I have to drive.

For what it is worth. I have a 55C that I ran often, has the 650 HP 12v71's. 18kts@2000 ish and 60GPH . As fuel is used it would creep up to 20kt.

 

[Nonchalant1]

Randy,

You probably already thought of this, but if there has been any real rain up north, before you get to Mobile, start watching the river flood stages from NOAA here: http://www.weather.gov/ahps/ Just click on the Mobile spot and then follow the rivers from Coffeeville to wherever you're going.

You probably don't want to be running upriver at or near flood stage because of all the flotsam and waterlogged logs coming down at you. Just ask Yachtsman BIll.

Also, you have to be able to get the 55C air draft down to 19 ft. or less to get to Chicago. The controlling fixed bridge max height is the 19 ft. 1 in. fixed bridge at mile 300 of the Illinois River System on the Cal-Sag. No way around it.

Doug

 

[yachtsmanbill]

At least theyve missed the spring thaw past the Cape and Kaskaskia L&D. The Muddy was at 22 feet ABOVE flood and a real mess. the saving grace was running at displacement speeds... that pushed the houses and football field sized piles of trash outa the way!! ws

 

[Spellbound]

Similar to Captddis #'s our 55' 650hp was 18kts @ 2100 rpm 55-59 gph. crept up to 19.5 -20kts as fuel load lightened. 250 miles is indeed a long day. Get an early start!!!!

 

[Boatsb]

My guess from Randy's previous planning is about 250 miles or 220 NM.

That's still 12+ hours on a good day.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Since I am new here LOL, can someone tell me the difference between series I and IIs?? The spec sheet FB showed from the archives is identical for both with a 17-6" beam. I thought the I's were a 15-10... ws

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Since I am new here LOL, can someone tell me the difference between series I and IIs?? The spec sheet FB showed from the archives is identical for both with a 17-6" beam. I thought the I's were a 15-10... ws

Maybe you're thinking of the 53C. That has a 15'10" beam.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Just kinda curious... The archives here list both and states a 17-6 beam. There is definitely a style change between the two and the older one looks skinnier. ws

 

[Sparky1]

Randy,

You probably already thought of this, but if there has been any real rain up north, before you get to Mobile, start watching the river flood stages from NOAA here: http://www.weather.gov/ahps/ Just click on the Mobile spot and then follow the rivers from Coffeeville to wherever you're going.

You probably don't want to be running upriver at or near flood stage because of all the flotsam and waterlogged logs coming down at you. Just ask Yachtsman BIll.

Also, you have to be able to get the 55C air draft down to 19 ft. or less to get to Chicago. The controlling fixed bridge max height is the 19 ft. 1 in. fixed bridge at mile 300 of the Illinois River System on the Cal-Sag. No way around it.

Doug

Thanks for your input Doug, but I honestly hadn't given much thought to river depths/currents on the Tenn-Tom. It's been pretty dry in Alabama and Mississippi for the past few months, so I doubt we'll have any issues. This is one of those, "when you gotta go, you gotta go", deals, so we'd just have to make do anyway unless we wanted to go up the Mississippi from New Orleans.

YB has talked to me about bridge height issues which the owner is well aware of. In fact, he's had some modifications done to the tower (as in removing it) with this in mind. If the sub fit under that bridge, I'm sure we'll be fine too.

 

[Sparky1]

My guess from Randy's previous planning is about 250 miles or 220 NM.

That's still 12+ hours on a good day.

I was thinking about my crossing vs the one we'll be doing on the 55C, and I'm not sure we can do it in 12 hours. Granted, Steve and I didn't run a perfectly straight course from Clearwater to PC, but it took us 30 hours non-stop at around 8 knots. You do the math. I can only hope we have the kind of seas we had then.

That reminds me, I think Steve made mention on the "Former Member Needs Help" thread about how much fuel we used on that crossing. For whatever reason, I forgot to reset the odometer on the chartplotter when we left Clearwater.

 

[Sparky1]

Yes Clearwater municipal has the best fuel prices, usually better than the truck. Stop in Clwtr and we will drive up, of course dinner is on you since I have to drive.

For what it is worth. I have a 55C that I ran often, has the 650 HP 12v71's. 18kts@2000 ish and 60GPH . As fuel is used it would creep up to 20kt.

So is 2,000 about the top of the safe cruising RPM on TI's?

I'm thinking this boat has been propped differently from it's original set-up, so we'll have to see what kind of speed numbers we get to better guesstimate fuel use until we get a chance to check it for sure. No doubt it will make the crossing on plane with no fuel concerns, and that's the way we plan to do it.

As for dinner on me in Clearwater, you got it. Just bring your mechanic hat to see if you can spot any glaring defects before we head out the next morning. Maybe you can talk Roger into joining us as well. It would be rather nostalgic for him and me both.