JetBoaters.net Bimini Fling July 10th to 15th 2017

[Speedling]

Your boat did not come equipped with those? Id take it back to the dealer and complain.

I bought it used. Someone must have ripped them off. So disappointing.

 

[Hamp]

Hamp has registered to captain Island Girl with a crew of 3 adults and 0 children. They hail from the home port of Riverside Marina, Birmingham, Alabama.

The crew is described as: Three close friends. One of which grew up around the harbor on the water/marina working on fishing boats with me as a child. One other frequent deep sea fishing and holds a vessel license. The last is new to boating but has been out on the lake and in gulf with me.

You can register for the event using the form at https://jetboaters.net/forms/bimini-2017-registration.6/respond

 

[Julian]

My State Farm policy covers all of the Bahamas.

I'm still shopping for a marine radio and antenna....since I'll likely only use it for this trip, I'm not sure if I'll make it a permanent mount. Any thoughts? We have a handheld portable one already. Also thinking I might connect its audio output to the aux in on the stereo to get better sound?

A porta potti might be a good idea too?

 

[Julian]

I wonder if we shouldn't create a bimini trip (and Shelbyville) sub forum for different topics like:

1. Lodging
2. Food
3. Insurance
4. Marine radios
5. Customs

 

[Bill D]

It's all pretty well covered in the Preparing for Bimini forum as long as we keep it up to date.

For a radio, if you're looking for something temporary, I would buy a good handheld like the Standard Horizon 870. You could also use a headset like @MrMoose did to hear better.

 

[Bruce]

My State Farm policy covers all of the Bahamas.

I'm still shopping for a marine radio and antenna....since I'll likely only use it for this trip, I'm not sure if I'll make it a permanent mount. Any thoughts? We have a handheld portable one already. Also thinking I might connect its audio output to the aux in on the stereo to get better sound?

A porta potti might be a good idea too?

This is the antenna that I decided upon https://jetboaters.net/threads/vhf-antenna-what-do-you-use.2081/ . I suggest the Standard Horizon 1700 VHF radio as it has built in GPS and DSC automated distress signals. I use an external speaker attached to the VHF.

@MrMoose has used a handheld VHF with an external antenna. The external antenna improved range some but not nearly as much as a fixed VHF.

As @Bill D pointed out most of this is covered in https://jetboaters.net/threads/preparing-for-bimini.3800/

 

[Bruce]

I wonder if we shouldn't create a bimini trip (and Shelbyville) sub forum for different topics like

The Preparing For Bimini Thread fills this need but I have thought this would be a good use for a wiki. If we created a sub forum the many topics could be split into separate posts making it easier to find relevant content but more difficult to read it all. A wiki or perhaps some add on to allow anchors in posts would allow for an index to skip (link) to the relevant portion.

 

[robert843]

My State Farm policy covers all of the Bahamas.

I'm still shopping for a marine radio and antenna....since I'll likely only use it for this trip, I'm not sure if I'll make it a permanent mount. Any thoughts? We have a handheld portable one already. Also thinking I might connect its audio output to the aux in on the stereo to get better sound?

A porta potti might be a good idea too?

If you really think a fixed marine radio is something you will only get use out of on this trip I wouldn't spend the money or time on one. You really will be ok with a handheld and if you need to get a message to someone who is outside of the handhelds range usually it can be relayed by other boats in the group.

 

[Bruce]

If you really think a fixed marine radio is something you will only get use out of on this trip I wouldn't spend the money or time on one. You really will be ok with a handheld and if you need to get a message to someone who is outside of the handhelds range usually it can be relayed by other boats in the group.

Some of us choose to be more self sufficient than others. I would encourage everyone to install a fixed VHF. Planning to rely on others is not a good plan. Especially where safety is involved.

Every boat and every person that makes this trip need to be invidually prepared for the trip and all possibilities that could occur.

 

[Bill D]

The real limiting factor in radios is antenna height. Higher wattage will increase the ability to push through obstructions like clouds and static, but very simply, the higher the antenna, the farther you can transmit/receive.

Other than this trip, I have only plan to use my radio for close range communications. Other boats, lock operators, and listening for distress calls. A 6w handheld, like the 870, would work perfectly fine for all of that. However, I chose to install a fixed radio and a 4' antenna. Mounted on my tower, it is roughly 10' above the waterline, giving me a transmission range of roughly 4nm. For comparison, a handheld at 4' above the waterline would have a transmission range of 2.4nm.

 

[Bruce]

The real limiting factor in radios is antenna height. Higher wattage will increase the ability to push through obstructions like clouds and static, but very simply, the higher the antenna, the farther you can transmit/receive.

@MrMoose and I discussed this last year. He added a very nice external antenna to his handheld. He even emailed with some manufacturers for advice. Even with a nice handheld and the same type of antenna that would be used with a fixed radio mounted high on his tower he was range challenged compared to those of us with fixed radios.

My best explanation is that low frequencies bounce while high frequencies need line of sight. VHF frequencies are considered to be line of sight but are on the low end of line of sight frequencies. I believe we experience some bounce.

My opinion is that if you are going to add an external antenna to your handheld you should go ahead and spend $160 more (after rebate) for a GX1700 to have 25 watts of transmission, built in GPS and one button DSC distress signals.

 

[robert843]

Some of us choose to be more self sufficient than others. I would encourage everyone to install a fixed VHF. Planning to rely on others is not a good plan. Especially where safety is involved.

Every boat and every person that makes this trip need to be invidually prepared for the trip and all possibilities that could occur.

I actually agree with most of this statement. Where safety is involved damn the cost in fact I spend over $500 per year just to keep a satellite phone and about another $100 per year to keep a inreach just for these trips and I only use them one week a year. From my prior two Bimini trips and my Exuma trip experience there was never a time I was out of hand held range from help if it was needed. If you plan to cross by yourself or venture out by your self outside of handheld range from everyone yes I would agree you will want a fixed marine radio but I would also argue at that point you need some type of satellite communication as well either a phone or inreach. Sure there will be people who do go off on there own and if those are things you plan to do get a fixed vhf and satellite communication but 95% on this trip will break off into small groups and do things everyday with other boats at least that has always happened in the past. The biggest limitation to a marine radio is not the radio it is you. If you travel on this trip and have a fixed marine radio or a handheld with a range 2-25 miles and you decide to travel outside that distance away from everyone from your radio's capability with out satellite communication you have put your self in danger not the radio. I would imagine almost everyone on this trip though is planning to rely on each other for safety though and I think that a great plan not a bad one. That is usually the advantage to a group crossing is help is there if it's needed in an emergency. Just my thoughts though but I do agree everyone needs to be prepared.

 

[Betik]

apparently I have been evicted from the cool kids' building ( 7) and now I am assigned to 20E.

I look at the bright side though, my own beach, stalking position for enters the marina, a workout on the way to the pool, no stinking fish on my boat and most importantly my kids & nanny are flying in to Bimini

 

[Rob9550]

What are the nightly rates/expected costs for the Condos? Trying to determine if we want to do this trip or a lake home this summer.

 

[Betik]

What are the nightly rates/expected costs for the Condos? Trying to determine if we want to do this trip or a lake home this summer.

go to page 1 of this post. there is an excel with details on lodging cost.

 

[Speedling]

apparently I have been evicted from the cool kids' building ( 7) and now I am assigned to 20E.

I look at the bright side though, my own beach, stalking position for enters the marina, a workout on the way to the pool, no stinking fish on my boat and most importantly my kids & nanny are flying in to Bimini

Was about to like your post... but now you're not in the cool condo.
Anyone picking up that spot?

 

[robert843]

What are the nightly rates/expected costs for the Condos? Trying to determine if we want to do this trip or a lake home this summer.

Do this trip over the lake house. It will be something you and yours will remember forever.

 

[MrMoose]

What are the nightly rates/expected costs for the Condos? Trying to determine if we want to do this trip or a lake home this summer.

@Rob9550, do the lake home trip first. If you do Bimini first, anything else (other than another exotic saltwater vacation) will seem inferior.

 

[Betik]

Was about to like your post... but now you're not in the cool condo.
Anyone picking up that spot?

I don't know, I assume it is available.

 

[MrMoose]

For the 2015 Bimini trip, I used a 6W handheld. For 2016, I added a headset, and a removable 4 foot antenna to my wake tower, and connected it to my handheld. I can't really comment on whether it made a real difference or not. One observation was that Bruce hailed me when I was about 15 miles away from him. I could hear him, but he could not hear my response. The headset was extremely convenient, and it worked really well during the crossing. While in Bimini in 2016, I did not use my headset, nor my 4 foot antenna. I kept the antenna packed under one of the bow seats in case I wanted to hook it up.
For 2017, I'm going to install a fixed vhf radio, somewhere to the right of the captain's seat, below the throttle levers. I'll use the same removable antenna as last year. I modified one of my wake tower flag holders so that the antenna screws onto it when I want to use it.
For the crossing, I'll have my 4 foot antenna installed, and hooked up to the fixed vhf. Unfortunately, my fixed vhf doesn't have an optional headset, so I'm tempted to use my handheld with the headset for listening during the crossing.