Bimini 2014-June 22

[tim h]

60 DAYS until we arrive in Florida !

So much to prepare....

 

[upperdeck]

@tim h we need to plan our caravan. I REALLY want to stop at the corvette museum on the way down in KY. They have ALL 8 vettes that fell into the sinkhole on display. I'd also like to stop at the Jack Daniels distillery in TN for a tour again!

 

[tim2808]

@tim h we need to plan our caravan. I REALLY want to stop at the corvette museum on the way down in KY. They have ALL 8 vettes that fell into the sinkhole on display. I'd also like to stop at the Jack Daniels distillery in TN for a tour again!

I live just off I65 south of Nashville. Maybe we will see you guys on the way through but we are leaving early Saturday and possibly driving straight through to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

[tim2808]

So how risky is this trip with an SX190?

I am taking my ar192. This will be my first ocean experience but hey, you only live once right?! We will be safe and follow the directions of the experienced guys but I'm sure it will be fine. Fuel though is definitely something we are watching closely. The last conversation I had with my crew we decided to bring 20 gallons of extra fuel JUST IN CASE we really so burn as much as we think we will. It's cheap insurance. We have 4 square fuel jugs they use for dirt bikes/atv's. They have a 18" long flexible filling neck too. We will be testing out the refueling in the next few weeks to see if we need a longer fill neck.

 

[Bruce]

The last conversation I had with my crew we decided to bring 20 gallons of extra fuel JUST IN CASE we really so burn as much as we think we will.

My estimate is that if conditions are the same as last year your 192 will burn 46 gallons on the trip to Bimini. 30 gallons in the boat and 20 in fuel cans would not be enough to make me comfortable! There is a real possibility that anyone who runs out of fuel may never see their boat again. As Upperdeck has said, no one will be left behind but if we are running low on fuel it is unlikely that anyone will have fuel to tow another boat in safely.

 

[PreciousMetals]

What kind if extra fuel tanks are you bringing?

 

[Bruce]

If I needed to carry extra fuel I would consider something like this Moeller® 14 Gallon DuraMAX Portable Fuel Tank on sale for $150

Or this 24 Gallon Topside Fuel Tank for $280 plus some sort of pump to transfer the fuel.

I predict that I have more than 10 gallons in reserve for the Fort Lauderdale to Bimini crossing but if It looks like we will have space I may bring along an extra tank.

 

[BoaterGuy]

I'm bringing an extra 5 or 10 gallons with me. I think have both tanks. I will sell on the open sea for 50 and 100 dollars respectively. Shore gets a 40 percent discount.

Hopefully the 19's will be somewhere in the middle of the pack instead of the end of the line on the way over.

 

[upperdeck]

Hopefully the 19's will be somewhere in the middle of the pack instead of the end of the line on the way over.

@tim h and I were discussing this today. How to organize our caravan that is. We have a technique that we use snowmobiling that will work well for our flotilla. No worries!

 

[Bruce]

@tim h and I were discussing this today. How to organize our caravan that is. We have a technique that we use snowmobiling that will work well for our flotilla. No worries!

Organize? I thought it was a race!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DieselCamel]

mmmm... how many extra gallons should i bring 3.5@28ish 44gal tank

 

[Bruce]

mmmm... how many extra gallons should i bring 3.5@28ish 44gal tank

With 3.5 MPG at 28 you have almost the same fuel consumption as Upperdeck's 212X. He burned 35 gallons on the way over in rough water last year.

 

[Andy S]

If someone does happen to run out of fuel they should be close to bimini and worst case me or someone else will get to the Sands as quick as possible refuel and then come back to get the stranded boat and tow you back in. Plus @tim h now has a big ass boat which can also help out. Going with a big group is some of the best insurance going.

 

[upperdeck]

Organize? I thought it was a race!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If the seas are calm, it will be a race!

 

[Zeus2013]

Would love to join this trip, but with a 4month old and a 19month old, I am not sure I would be too comfortable making the trip. Maybe next year. Has anyone else taken young children on the trip?

 

[justason]

@tim h and I were discussing this today. How to organize our caravan that is. We have a technique that we use snowmobiling that will work well for our flotilla. No worries!

@upperdeck I was actually going to ping you on this subject today, last year we had the benefit of seeing everyone, what's the plan you're formulating?

@Bruce

file photo, but I put one of these on the 212x last year......it'll be etched with your image in it this year...

 

[Bruce]

Would love to join this trip, but with a 4month old and a 19month old, I am not sure I would be too comfortable making the trip. Maybe next year. Has anyone else taken young children on the trip?

I have taken a 2 year old and a 6 month old out to Ship Island in the Gulf. It is an 11 mile each way trip with rougher water. So on those days the kids traveled about a third as far as we will crossing over to Bimini. My son loves boats and beaches so he enjoyed the two trips that we made while he was two. My six month old nephew was not upset by the trip even when we came back in the roughest water I have boated in. But his mother was very upset and scared as we bounced through the chop.

My biggest concern in taking such young children would be supplies for them. I know that when our kids were that age we would fill the truck bed with supplies and accessories for a weekend trip. Now we take about half as much with a 4 and 7 year old.

 

[Zeus2013]

Thanks @Bruce ..good to know..I am sure in an SX190 it would be a lot more rough...

 

[Bruce]

Thanks @Bruce ..good to know..I am sure in an SX190 it would be a lot more rough...

The trips to Ship Island when my son was two were in a LX210 which is similar in size and weight to the SX190.

 

[jcyamaharider]

One BIG difference between the LX210 and the SX190 is the hull. The LX210 has a flat hull towards the back and the SX190 has a vee hull which handles MUCH better in chop. I had my XR1800 on the lake of the Ozarks and it was one of the roughest waters that I have ever been in on that boat and I got next to a SX190 and it looked like it was just gliding across the water.