Meet the new La Rea!

LaRea · August 8

We're traveling with a Looper boat from South Carolina, so we're both thousands of miles from home. They said "Wait, what? You randomly ran into somebody you know ... HERE?!?"

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020499/uploads/editor/pr/8o6stwuwkn22.jpg

For those who have never visited this part of the world -- do it! You won't regret the trip. The Trent-Severn Waterway is just magnificent.

Dream_Inn · August 8

@YYZRC That is a great story! Definitely sounds like something I've done and my wife would just hope there is nobody around she knows. Glad you got to see that Rando Maritimo that keeps showing up!

Grahamu · August 15

Our paths finally crossed as we were southbound and LaRea was northbound at Henrys Fish Restaurant in Georgian Bay. We spent an hour or so talking about stops on the loop in GB and the the North Channel. A visit on board LaRea and looking at the fabulous work Chris as done. Safe travels as you continue Chris and Dianne on your journey around the loop.

LaRea · August 15

It was great to meet a couple of Rinker celebrities and spend time together! We've already visited two of the places Graham and Sacha recommended: Black Bass Island and Bad River.

At Black Bass Island, we were befriended by more Canadians. We were stumbling around looking for a place to anchor, not far from a 3-boat raftup. They called on VHF and said "drop the hook behind us."

They are from the same marina in Midland where @YYZRC is moored, and they treated us like instant family. It was Rob on a beautiful Neptunus 56, Doug on a Meridian 440, and another boat (sorry I can't remember names but we enjoyed talking to their daughter). We spent the entire evening with them, trading boat tours and telling sea stories.

Here's the crew coming over after dinner ... hope they don't mind me posting the photo.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020499/uploads/editor/qa/kdbf5p7rr280.jpg

LaRea · August 29

Yesterday we visited Lake Superior -- the farthest north we'll go by boat this year, and around 1300 miles from our starting point. To commemorate the moment and prove we really did go there, I decided to to trace out the boat's name while recording the GPS track. It worked!! It was MUCH harder than I expected, mainly because of 3-foot waves tossing us all over the place. Here's a screenshot from the Nebo voyage tracker. Each letter is about 200 yards tall.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020499/uploads/editor/hw/uftpyxoaay1p.jpg

Liberty44140 · August 29

Cool! Stopping by Isle Royal?

LaRea · August 29

Nope - we spent less than an hour in Lake Superior. Now we're already at Drummond Island.

captkevin · August 29

Saw where you were on your website. We snowmobile in Munising area most years. Some beautiful scenery.

Dream_Inn · August 29

LaRea said:

Wonder how much gas it took to write that! LOL! (yep, small when compared to the rest of the trip). Pretty cool!

LaRea · August 29

We ran on plane for most of the trip, so I'm guessing that piece of artwork cost me around $250!

aero3113 · August 29

@LaRea , now you need to print and frame it, hang it up somewhere on your boat ⚓️👍🏻.

captkevin · August 29

pretty impressive work

Ian · August 29

LaRea said:

Yesterday we visited Lake Superior -- the farthest north we'll go by boat this year, and around 1300 miles from our starting point. To commemorate the moment and prove we really did go there, I decided to to trace out the boat's name while recording the GPS track. It worked!! It was MUCH harder than I expected, mainly because of 3-foot waves tossing us all over the place. Here's a screenshot from the Nebo voyage tracker. Each letter is about 200 yards tall.

Typical engineer…

LaRea · August 30

So true.

I plotted the waypoints on my laptop the night before, and hand-steered it while staring at the chartplotter screen. I doubt I'm the first to do it, but I've never heard of it before.

davidbrooks · August 30

I did that in the snow onetime....but the letters weren't 200yds long and they were yellow. Didn't need a GPS either.

LaRea · September 1

So, how has our boat performed during the first two months of the Loop? She's everything we dreamed about for the past five years!

Our first two months, by the numbers:

1,411 nautical miles traveled

38 travel days

171 hours underway

372 hours running generator

The 372 hours on the generator might seem high, but it's normal for this boat. Any time she's not connected to shore power, the genny is usually running. Natural ventilation isn't great on this boat, so we're usually running the air conditioning. Even when we don't need air, we need to power the ice maker and cockpit freezer. Over the boat's life, she has three times more hours on the generator than the mains.

Our 16-month obsession with preventive maintenance seems to be paying off. The list of equipment failures is remarkably short for a boat in her teenaged years:

* Fresh water pump - pressure switch is starting to fail (Yes, I installed a brand-new pump only 13 months ago.)

* Swim platform - need to rebuild the hydraulic cylinders (The platform moves up/down just fine, but will not stay in position. I had to improvise two custom chocks from pressure-treated 2x4 lumber to hold it up when underway. Looks dumb, but it's temporary!)

* Trim tabs - one actuator is leaking (Yes, I installed a brand-new one only a month ago, and now it's leaking.)

* Steering - a loose hose fitting was leaking hydraulic fluid (This week I finally found and fixed that leak.)

We spent 31 days in Canada, and found that you can't just get boat parts any time you want. Most of our stops were small towns that don't have good marine supply stores. Shipping typically takes a week, and we rarely know where we'll be a week in advance. Heck, most days we aren't certain of our next destination until we arrive there!

When the boat is underway, I can best describe the handling as "solid and planted." Sometimes the ride can be uncomfortable at 8 knots with big waves, because she tends to roll in beam seas. One can always stay put and "take a weather day" but we're fortunate to have an alternative: go faster! We ran up Lake Huron in 4-foot seas that would have been miserable at 8 knots. We sped up to 22 knots, which made the ride comfortable and short-lived.

Now that we've docked/anchored the boat about 100 times and navigated 76 locks, we feel totally confident in our close-quarters boat handling. Teamwork is a big part of it, and Diane always seems to anticipate what I want. The cameras I added give extra confidence. But the major factor making her easy to dock is the huge propellers with lots of torque.

And of course, it's nice having so much space on the boat. When we need privacy or alone time, finding separation is easy. A couple nights ago we had 10 Loopers on the boat for happy hour and it didn't feel crowded.

Bottom line, LaRea has turned out to be exactly the right boat for us!

Rich_ · September 3

LaRea said:

So true. I plotted the waypoints on my laptop the night before, and hand-steered it while staring at the chartplotter screen. I doubt I'm the first to do it, but I've never heard of it before.

I did something similar when my friend got a new boat and I ran it back for him. I turned off the plotter so there were no connecting lines went into the middle of the bay right out of the channel and drew a limp phallic symbol. Was hilarious when he went out the first time to see the puzzled look on his face

Sounds like an awesome adventure

tricountytrail · September 5

Could you also share your fuel data. just wondering what efficiency your getting with a vessel of that size?

LaRea · September 5

Was hoping nobody would ask!

My original projections were pretty close. With the genny running:
600 RPM, 7 mph, 2.6 mpg (only when required by law)
800 RPM, 9.5 mph, 1.9 mpg (80% of the time)
2000 RPM, 26 mph, 0.5 mpg (when I want to splurge or need to outrun weather)

To be honest, I have grown to love the long passages going 8 knots. It's just me and Diane chilling at the bridge -- peaceful, quiet and calm. We talk and enjoy the scenery. On longer legs, she reads or writes and I can usually work on my laptop (billable hours when I can, or planning the next day's trip). It's a different style of boating from when i was working full-time.

captkevin · September 5

Sounds amazing to me

Grahamu · September 5

As a comparison on our Mainship 390 trawler on the loop, a single Yanmar Diesel 370 HP running at 1750 RPM, 9.5 MPH, our average for the whole loop was 0.44 GPM. We ran at this speed for at least 95% of the time and agree with @LaRea it becomes an enjoyable way to cruise.

LaRea · September 19

Update on the swim platform.

After much discussion with Stella Marine in Australia, they just don't have good records of my build. (It's a semi-custom build, and they acquired the product line from Fleet-Hydrol years ago.) They could build new hydraulic rams for around $6000 (gulp), but can't guarantee they would fit. The only reliable way ahead is to ship them my rams for rebuild.

Even with shipping, it will be cheaper than new rams, and they'll provide spare parts for the next rebuild. The real killer is that our floating home will be out of the water for 2+ weeks, but I really want to get it done. Just need to find the right yard to do it.

LaRea · September 19

One more update. We're almost to Chicago, which means we'll need to transit the LOWEST BRIDGE on the Great Loop!

The bridge clearance is 19' 6" which is exactly the height of my anchor light mast. Can I clear the bridge -- well, I don't know. I'm going to ballast the boat with max fuel and water, then re-measure the height. Maybe I won't need to remove the mast.

And, I'm hoping to see @TonyG13 this weekend!

mvn · September 20

LaRea said:

Update on the swim platform.

After much discussion with Stella Marine in Australia, they just don't have good records of my build. (It's a semi-custom build, and they acquired the product line from Fleet-Hydrol years ago.) They could build new hydraulic rams for around $6000 (gulp), but can't guarantee they would fit. The only reliable way ahead is to ship them my rams for rebuild.

Even with shipping, it will be cheaper than new rams, and they'll provide spare parts for the next rebuild. The real killer is that our floating home will be out of the water for 2+ weeks, but I really want to get it done. Just need to find the right yard to do it.

Can't you just send the rams to a hydraulic shop States-side for rebuilding rather than sending them to Australia?

Msrk

Ian · September 20

I’d have thought that too, @LaRea if I make a trip over there I’ll let you know. Hopefully not at short notice like the last trip.

LaRea · September 20

A local rebuild would be a roll of the dice. I'd probably need Stella to make the parts anyway, which they can't do without seeing the rams. If anybody's going to Queensland and doesn't mind taking a rather heavy carry-on, let me know!

Grahamu · September 20

Lake Michigan is 3" lower than this time last year and we had no problem clearing with antennas down on Oct 09/23, If rainfall is normal the level will continue dropping.
Are the seals gone in the ram?

LaRea · September 20

@Grahamu - yes, seals are gone. The platform goes up and down but won't stay level or hold position.

When I haul the boat and take off the rams, I'll get the yard to fabricate a couple temporary struts to hold the platform up. Then I can splash the boat and use it until the rams come back from AU.

TonyG13 · September 22

The wife and I had the honor and privilege today to meet the man, the myth, the legend that is @LaRea and his wonderful wife.

If you are anywhere near @Larea's route along the Great Loop a stop to visit and meet them and see their vessel is a must-do.

Also, the rumors are true - and I can confirm - you can eat off the floor of the engine room -- it is that immaculate! And that was after he just did over a 120 gallons of oil changes yesterday! And the rest of the boat looks like it just came off the showroom floor with almost 2000 miles into the trip! (Ours looks like a tornado hit it after a ride around the harbor.)

He definitely has us daydreaming about doing the Loop in the future!

Ian · September 22

We also had the pleasure of meeting Chris and Diane on their way up the Hudson and I can also attest to all claims of their beautiful vessel.

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