Meet the new La Rea!

LaRea

Yesterday was a long day.  We're still hustling to catch up with the rest of the Looper fleet, as most of them are already up in Canada.  We had a good weather window for running offshore, so we motored from Lewes Delaware all the way to NYC at 23-24 knots.  Then went about 40 miles up the Hudson. 

The 6-hour offshore run was awesome!  Heavy fog for the first hour.  Wind was 15 knots at our back the whole trip, with gentle swells at 2-4 feet.  The boat is perfect for that kind of cruising.

GMSLITHO

your going to love the view of West Point from the Hudson 

Ian

It was an absolute pleasure for Tania and I to meet Chris and Diane tonight on their beautiful vessel LaRea at Shady Harbor Marina. After 11 years on the forum it was great to finally meet one of the family.

LaRea

Such a great time -- awesome to meet you and Tania in person!  And thanks for outfitting our Aussie boat with the Aussie wine and tea towel.  We'll see you again next year!

raybo3

Absolutely great picture...... 

aero3113

Great picture!⚓️

YYZRC

@larea I still owe you a bottle of Hendricks. Let me know when you are going to pop out of lock 45/Port Severn into Georgian Bay!

SimcoeRinker400

@LaRea if you plan to stay at the Port of Orillia, Ontario let me know meet up have few drinks before you do the run up the Trent to see @YYZRC

LaRea

Remember those brand new trim tab rams I installed a few months ago?  One of them failed in a really strange way.  The top fitting buckled -- it just bent up, making the ram a little bit shorter.  



The starboard side was leaking hydraulic fluid, so I hauled the boat to investigate.  The outboard ram was leaking from the bottom.  When I started taking it off, we realized the top had buckled.

aero3113

Strange, but looks like the weakest link. That area should be a lot beefier for your size boat. Wonder if you hit something when the tab was down.

Dream_Inn

What would cause this?  Too much force or underrated?  I know my boat there is a little warning (I hate all those sticker warnings) that says leaving tabs down at high speed could cause damage.  The part that bent in the picture sure looks pretty small to hold those tabs down as you are getting on plane.

Liberty44140

Wow, never seen that before but honestly I've always wondered how there are not more failures at the top and bottom of rams as there are some pretty thin plastic pieces considering all the force..... and doing the loop your putting force on it ALL DAY LONG

I'm sure Bennett will be very supportive in helping you get a replacement but I know time is your variable..... Good luck! 

captkevin

That's not right. Defective steel? Should not fail.

Grahamu

I wondered why you were held up in Brewerton, looks like all is repaired as I see you on the move.

LaRea

@captkevin -- it's plastic!  I'm thinking we hit a submerged object.  
@Grahamu -- yes, we're almost ready to head towards your neighborhood!

Other pix from our 5-day stay at Ess-Kay in Brewerton:

We finally got to clean out all the Potomac River mud and "marine growth" from the garage!  Now it looks like new (and you can see the geometry of the rollers for the tender).

LaRea

I also got "up close and personal" with the grey water system.  Turns out the float switch got gummed up.  The showers, galley sink and laundry were discharging into the bilge for about a week, and it was ... not fun.  Took me five hours to diagnose and fix the problem, then scrub the bilge.  But now I have a clean, dry bilge with no more odor.

Ian

Ours got stuck too a couple of weeks ago but then found the hose into the box was cut short and just hanging on so have to replace. Lucky I have some left over from the holding tank hose replacement done a few years ago.

captkevin

Wow i can't believe that part is plastic. Doesn't seem right.

LaRea

Looks like I'll get to meet @mvn in person sometime in the next week! 

We're in Clayton NY.  Tomorrow will be a weather day, then Kingston ON for a couple days, then heading up the Trent-Severn Waterway.  A boy could get used to this lifestyle.  

If you ever find yourself in the doghouse with the Admiral, this could be your ticket out:

Here in Clayton, there's a jewelry store called The Golden Cleat (thegoldencleat.com).  I bought my Special Somebody a cleat necklace in 2016, and several other pieces over the years.  We've never been here in person, so she got a nice ring today.  It's a 2-piece band with the outline of the Thousand Islands shoreline.  Such a cool store.  

(image deleted)

mvn

There's a Rinker somewhere in the middle photo! 

We had the honour and privilege to finally meet up with Chris and Diane of @LaRea during their Great Loop adventure!!  Photos do not do justice to all of the hard work they've put into this amazing vessel!

It was a very special treat!  Thank you both.

Mark 

Ian

We met them in person a few weeks ago too, great couple and yes, the work that has been done resulting in a beautiful vessel is amazing.

LaRea

@mvn and I share a lot in common besides our love of Rinkers ... it's surprising we've never crossed paths in our professional lives.  But the nicest part was just sitting on the boat for a while, chilling with somebody I've known forever and never met before.  Totally awesome!  

Dream_Inn

@LaRea I had to do a second look in that picture!  I see the doll made it over to the new boat

LaRea

@Dream_Inn -- good eye.  Yes, the boat mascot is "Baby" is Looping with us!  



Here's another interesting thing from the pictures @mvn posted:  a $200 fender that got punctured coming through one of the locks!  

YYZRC

YYZRC

LaRea

Hilarious! We got here after 9 hours underway, and cracked a couple cold ones to watch boats loading into the Big Chute Railway. Some rando comes up right next to us, so I waved. He says “Chris?” I was thinking “lucky guess” but the rando says “YYZRC from the Rinker forum!”

YYZRC

To be clear, I said “Chris!” - there was zero doubt. 

aero3113

That’s Awesome!
Two Randos on the forum!! 

YYZRC

So slight hijack but I took a friend and his son along with my son on a "boys day trip" up the Trent from Georgian Bay to a cool little restaurant called The Waubic. Our friends had never been through the locks so they got to experience a traditional lock (Port Severn #45) as well as the marine railway (Big Chute #44). We took the jet boat, which turned out to be a good decision.





Around 2:45 we were enjoying a late lunch and I looked over and saw @LaRea going by! I jumped up from the table and snap a pic (first pic I posted above). Everyone at the restaurant thought I was nuts (not wrong) and were commenting on how beautiful Chris and Diane's boat is. We finished eating at about 3pm and high-tailed it back to Big Chute as the locks close at 5:30 sharp. We had to make it back through both Big Chute and Port Severn and I knew I was cutting it close. We caught up to @LaRea just before Big Chute (second pic).

We waited in the queue at Big Chute for 2 hours, only to be told that they were done for the day. We were first in line at that point. Frustrating! A bunch of other day boats got stranded as well. 

I called a friend (superhero) and he grabbed my trailer and hauled us back to the marina. Day saved, lots of laughs, and met some great people. And Chris and Diane, too!