Great Loop Cruise Video

Jacks of all trades tend to be masters of none. I'll do emergency repairs and trouble-shooting, but why would I spend a day changing the oil on a boat, etc. when I get paid more to run them? Plus a guy who works as a mechanic all day every day can do any mechanical job in 1/4 the time it'll take me and he'll probably do it better. Other than emergency repairs my job is facilitator. I could have spent 2 days working on our plumbing problem. Instead I got a plumber here on Saturday night and he was done in a couple of hours. To look at the manifold on the shower I wouldn't recognize it as a Moen. and it wasn't marked. So how many taxis to Home Depot and how many hours would that have wasted. Today I got a mechanic to leave the job he was working and jump on ours. How long would it have taken me to hunt down a Baldwin B95-SS oil filter, then go get it by cab? The mechanic called his supplier here in Cleveland, hopped in his car to get it and his part of the job was done in 3 hours. I had enough work with getting the boat in safely, getting the right people on the job, and 3 hours of cleanup. I have no intention of trying to be all things for all people. I do one job and I do it well. As my daddy used to say "Every man to his trade".

Things you see that make you wonder.

As we pulled in yesterday we were deafened by a stereo that was being installed on the boat next door. Like standing behind a jet taking off from a carrier. Could you imagine getting forward to work lines in a hurry and smashing your head on these or falling overboard because the hand holds were consumed by them? This is on a 36' Sea Ray'. So you know how skinny the decks are in this area.

But see you own the business. Also, because jobs would take me longer and someone who does it every day will (should) do it better, I'd be doing a disservice to my customer. I also make way more as a captain than I ever would as a mechanic.

"Most jobs I prefer to do myself because I know it's done right and done to ABYC standards." This does kill me however. I so prefer to at least be there to supervise the work being done. That plumbing job is a prime example. The shower manifold was one story, but I also had them replace the faucet washers on the sink. They were set to replace the guts until I told them that I'd done that job several times, and it's just the washers that need changing. So that part of the job was probably $10. I'm not about to break a sweat for $10 when they're already there, but I probably saved my boss $100 by supervising. It should also be noted that I do not charge for anything but captaining. Any mechanical work I do is just part of my day. I'm not certified, trained, licensed nor insured as a mechanic. If I were even perceived as doing damage it would be trouble. Also if I charged I'd be in a whole different category, and one the marinas wouldn't like since I'd be taking work away from them. I depend on marinas to send me work as a captain.

We all do what works for us and our clients. My people have been satisfied with me for almost 30 years, and I've enjoyed my work. If I wanted to do something else I'd have stayed in the collection business where there was serious money to be made. Smiling faces are more important to me than scrounging out every last available dollar. As you might imagine, I did not get into this business for the money.

One thing that has to be remembered is that on most small boats the captains are not employed full-time, but instead come on board with the owner who expects to be cruising while aboard. Hopefully they employ a service such as captain J's that manage the boat, but even that's not common. More times than not they'll simply hire the captain who is available at the time they're ready to cruise, and put their boat in for service twice a year. Otherwise they just fix things as they break. So a quick check of the engine room before cruising is all they get.

This is a thread about a cruise, and what happens during that cruise. In the last day its been hijacked by those wanting to discuss engineering and maintenance. I'm partially responsible for allowing myself to get drawn in.

Let's get back to cruising. We had a real nasty storm blow through last night with winds near 60 mph. There's currently a line of questionable weather stretching all the way to the Pacific. Plans will be changing day to day and hour to hour. We're currently thinking about forgetting 90 mile stretches, and cutting back to 30-40 runs.

That's exactly what we're finding with the weather up here. Much less predictable than on the coast.

Engine room checks are SOP. We had no problem on the run from Erie and everything was fine when we pulled out yesterday (after the first E.R. check). Problem happened fast when we were about 10 minutes outside the inlet, and was caught immediately (hence we still have a transmission).

BTW, thanks for the heads up on the AP. Never had a need to adjust them before. Studied the manual, made the adjustment and we're running straight as an arrow now with 20 mph winds on our beam. Never too old to learn new stuff, and there's always something new in this business.

Next stop Sandusky Ohio about 1330 today. No video this morning. Sorry. Problem with the server. We're trying to get it resolved. Hopefully it'll be back up by the time we dock. Nothing much to see out here anyway. We've only passed one other boat, the Grand Caribe, a small cruise ship.

Coming into Sandusky. Bow cam is working.

Yeah, they tend not to push boats like this real well, and 20 mph winds make it a little wet for the small powerboat crowd. It's a sail day.

We're secured at the Sandusky Y.C. Nice and well located it appears. Getting in was a little tight, but that helps keep the heart rate up and reminds the boss why I'm here. Not much dockage up this way for over 45'.