More Exploration Of The Middle Keys

After a couple of fun days anchored at Little Crawl Key, it was time to return to Boot Key Harbor. We had made a commitment to give a presentation to cruisers at the Tiki Hut located at the City Marina so we pulled up the anchor and headed back early on Tuesday morning. We really like the opportunity to share our experiences with other boaters and they always go away satisfied that they had just a little more knowledge than they came with. What a difference from our trip east to Little Crawl Key. Hawks Channel was flat calm and we had a pleasant motor back to the Harbor. It was one of those warm sunny days that remind us why we are here this time of year. In about an hour and a half, we were back at a friend's dock and tied up. So far we had tied to our friend's dock, anchored in the harbor and sat on a mooring for a few days. It's nice to try and experience it all. You can view our vessel tracklines for our last 2 cruises at, http://argus.survice.com/vessel_tracking/images/trackline-MarinaLife.html

The presentation went well and we met some new friends. That's really the good part. But after about a week, we were getting the itch to get out and explore more. That was a promise we made to ourselves before we even left Goodland. We would not let Boot Key Harbor latch on to the bottom of the boat and hold us there as it seems to do to every other boat that enters the harbor. It usually does it to us every time as well. The weather forecast was a bit squirrely and the winds were predicted to come from every direction over a 3 day period. Two more fronts were due over the next several days, a weak one on Wednesday and a strong front near the weekend. If the winds are consistent, you can plan to cruise Florida Bay in south winds and Hawks Channel in north winds, keeping in mind that the Middle Keys the islands run east and west. But when there are a couple of days of brisk northerlies and a couple of days of southerlies then a couple of days of northerlies and a couple of days of southerlies, it makes planning tricky. That was the forecast and we have to keep in mind the the weather service is often not accurate and they can change the forecast, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. 

So with reported southeasterly winds, we left the harbor, headed west to Moser Channel and crossed under the 7 Mile Bridge to the Florida Bay side, um, right into northeasterly winds. Fortunately they were light and the swell that is constant in Hawks Channel is absent on the Florida Bay side. There are quite a few shallow banks and narrow passes between coral patches to negotiate, and the ever present and ever abundant trap floats make navigation fun around the Keys this time of year. They completely blanket the water for as far as the eye can see and are deposited in all matter of patterns. There is no exception made for channels; the floats criss-cross everywhere that our boat can possibly navigate. A sharp lookout at all times is required because fouling one on our prop would mean a dive over the side to cut it loose. Not something to look forward to as the water temps are pretty cool this time of year.

Fortunately we were able to negotiate them without incident and arrived at our planned anchorage for the night. We had considered a few different places but finally explored a deeper channel along the northern side of Long Key and dropped the hook in 6 feet of water just off Fiesta Key (lat 24.50.400 N long 080.47.915 W), page 103 of The Great Book Of Anchorages. There is a small boat marina and a campground located ashore but we didn't launch the dinghy to investigate. We did have to find a hole big enough in the trap floats to be able to anchor and swing with the wind shifts. A couple of sailboats came in later and anchored about a 1/4 mile east of us. We guessed they didn't want to get into the floats as we had. The night was uneventful and the winds subsided to just a gentle breeze. The next morning we slept in a bit and after breakfast pulled the anchor for some more exploration.

Our plans were kind of up in the air because the weather forecast kept changing. We needed to find an anchorage that would give us protection from the predicted north winds once the front came through. Our "southeast winds" were coming out of the northeast so it made sense to find an anchorage with protection from both directions since we couldn't get a consistent forecast. We crossed under the Channel Five Bridge and did some reconnaissance in Long Key Bight. The chart showed many 5- and 6-foot spots deep in the bight, but also some 4-foot areas. We found the depths to be in the 5- to 6-foot range in most of the bight, but there was another problem. The bottom was very thick grass throughout and thick grass does not provide good holding, especially in brisk to high winds. And seagrass is protected in the Florida Keys so we certainly didn't want to do damage to the grass beds. There are a few sandy patches but none we were comfortable with in the existing and potential wind directions and conditions. Anchoring in the more sandy areas (page 89 of The Great Book Of Anchorages) would leave us exposed to even the present winds which by then were building.

After doing a brief survey of depths in the bight, we opted to move west to the anchorage at Little Crawl Key that we had visited a little over a week ago. This anchorage affords protection from all wind directions and offers great holding. We could also get off the boat and go ashore at the Park even if the front brought strong conditions. The winds were now east to southeast and 10 to 15 and, as usual, the seas in Hawks Channel were getting pretty uncomfortable. Fortunately they were off our stern quarter once we made the turn toward the Little Crawl Key entrance. The new Garmin autopilot handled the surfing conditions quite well, but we still had to do a lot of hand steering because of the thousands of trap floats everywhere on this side of the Keys, too. In these conditions, you have to be especially watchful since the floats can disappear in the swells and waves. It took about an hour and a half to reach the entrance channel and once we made the turn between the channel markers, the seas flattened out. Not exactly how we had planned our Christmas day, but all in all, not too bad. After all, we could be dealing with the severe weather and snow our family in the north was dealing with.

The rest of the day went as planned. We just relaxed on the boat, read, caught up on email, took a nap and in the early evening, had a great Christmas dinner surrounded by warm breezes, palm trees, mangroves and happy people ashore. The east to southeast winds switched to the south and increased considerably over night. By morning, they had dropped to less than 5 knots and began shifting to the southwest, then west. This pattern is normal just prior to a frontal passage. The next day we checked in at the Park entrance, paid our fee and walked the beach while watching the kite boarders fly over the water in the building breeze. It is exciting to watch them virtually fly in the air at times as the large "kites" pull them across and out of the water at breakneck speed. We took the dinghy out the channel and checked depths outside of the marked channel with our portable depth sounder. As we ran out the channel, the kite borders zipped passed and would even jump the wake from the dinghy. It was obvious from the hoots and hollers that they were having a great time.

By early evening the front was approaching us. We watched it on the radar, both online and on the local TV news over our satellite system. We could see a lightning display out in the Straits of Florida. A couple of large storm cells were moving northeast off the coast of Cuba towards the Bahamas. In the meantime, the tail  end of the front was moving just north and east of us so we would probably be in the clear of any rain storms. At around 9 PM, the winds abruptly switched to the north and increased, but only slightly. Nowhere near the strength forecast by the NWS. Our secure anchorage also helped. It was a bit breezy overnight, but the occasional eyeball check showed us sitting right where we should be. The clouds from the front had passed and the skies cleared. The full moon lit up the night sky so brightly that we could have read a book outside. The next morning was sunny but noticeably cooler after the frontal passage. We made a couple of quick trips ashore and took a walk on the beach before lunch. When we returned to the boat to grab a bite, we also checked the weather, and of course, it had changed. We had planned on staying put until Friday morning based on the predicted winds in Hawks Channel, but now the forecast had changed...surprise, surprise. It would be an uncomfortable ride back to Boot Key Harbor on Friday, but if we left right away, the seas would flat, the breeze light and it would be a beautiful trip back to the harbor. So up came the anchor and off we went, a day sooner than we would have liked.

In just a short time, we were back and tied to our friend's dock. We plan to meet some old friends that we haven't seen for a while this week, so being at a dock will make this a lot easier. They will be here for about a week and after they leave, we plan to head north to Key Biscayne and cross over to the Bahamas on the first good weather window. In the meantime, we'll enjoy the company, finish a few small projects and prepare ourselves for winter in the Bahamas. This will not be all play since while we are there, we will be researching the Bahamas edition of our Great Book Of Anchorages series, which we plan to have ready for sale some time in the summer of next year. A tough job, but somebody has to do it. Stay tuned.

Safety First

I know that phrase has been seriously over used. But it's the first thing that comes to mind when we're planning a project or preparing for a cruise. Sure there are the usual safety equipment requirements for your boat, but there are many other pieces of safety equipment that for us are cruise specific, depending on when and where we plan to travel. We have an entire category for safety on this blog. That's how serious we are about the issue. In preparing Beach House for our upcoming cruise to the Bahamas and the Great Loop, we had different safety considerations than our recent trips along the Atlantic ICW. Being in close contact to land and having had good VHF and cell phone coverage, our communications equipment was satisfactory at the time. Crossing the Gulf Stream, traveling alone across the Bahamas Banks, anchoring in remote areas or crossing the Gulf of Mexico will mean we need to be able to provide for ourselves without outside help for a period of time. It also means we will need to be able to communicate long range in an emergency.

One of the first installations to improve communications was our Icom 802 for SSB and Ham communications as well as email via a Pactor modem. We wrote about the installation in a previous post and have now had the time to use the radio and modem successfully. The radio will give us the long distance communications we need for emergencies and allow us to get important weather information and stay in touch with the many marine SSB and Ham nets. It's great for both safety and keeping in touch with family.

Another important piece of communications equipment that we have installed is a Class B AIS unit from Milltech Marine. The installation was straightforward and connects to our Standard Horizon Chartplotter. We opted to use an separate external GPS antenna for the AIS and, since we are running out of real estate for antennas, a VHF antenna splitter. The Class B AIS allows us to receive other AIS broadcasts as well as broadcast our own information to other boats with receivers. Our past experiences with AIS on Sea Trek has made us firm believers in how effective this piece of equipment can be. Installing a Class B AIS means getting an MMSI number from the FCC for your AIS and any other DSC equipment on board. This can be done at the same time as you file for your radio license.

A liferaft can be a big expense, but out there in the middle of the Gulf Stream or the Gulf of Mexico, it can be comforting to know that you have an alternative to just the dinghy if the ship goes down. It's one of those things you hope to never have to use but shouldn't leave shore without it. We considered renting a raft for the Bahamas trip and the Gulf crossing, but no one has a rental plan that would not cost us as much or more than outright purchasing the raft. It just so happened that the planets aligned perfectly or God reached his hand down at the right time and place (take your pick) and we found a great deal for a liferaft from Landfall Navigation while we were at the AGLCA Rendezvous in Alabama giving a presentation. 

The Coasal Commander seems to be a good fit for the type of cruising we plan to do, and the valise style makes it easy to move around the boat to stow. We plan to have it sitting on the aft deck while doing open passages and then stow it out of sight while close in cruising. We can always sell the raft later if we find we won't need it. 

The EPIRB (emergency position indicating radio beacon) is an absolute must, in our opinion, on any vessel. It can send a distress call to a satellite and get rescuers on their way to your location. A good explanation of how that works can be found here. It can't be stressed enough how important it is to properly register your EPIRB as soon as it is purchased and received. The form should come with the EPIRB or can be downloaded from NOAA here. If you purchase a boat with an existing EPIRB, be sure to update the registration. Your life might depend on it. We chose the Accusat EPIRB without the integrated GPS based on feedback from both suppliers and users. If we had been going long distances offshore, we would have chosen the added GPS for additional safety. We also like the Accusat's non-hazard battery in case we needed to transport it at some point in time. 

A small, but important, item that we probably should have installed a long time ago is a radar reflector. We've done a lot of research on these over the years and the simple Davis units have done better over even the very expensive units in almost every independent test. One thing that ticked me off a bit since we last purchased one is that Davis no longer provides the mounting hardware unless you buy a more expensive package or buy the mounting hardware separately. We have really had a lot of negative feedback from boaters on Davis equipment in general over the last few years, but the radar reflector has not changed in design, so there is little chance of any kind of failure. We made our own bridle to haul it up one of our flag halyards. 

This is by no means a complete list of our safety equipment. We consider our radar, VHF radio, depth sounder and even our Chartplotter all significant safety equipment. Anything that helps us get from point A to point B or provides a service to the vessel or crew in an emergency is critical safety equipment. Even safety gloves or goggles while working on the boat is part of the list. Every Skipper will have their own preferences, as the equipment will be as extensive as the voyage demands or the bank account can afford. But you can't put a price on health and well-being of the boat and crew. So let us hear from you. What do you consider essential safety equipment on your boat?

Happy Holidays To All And Have A Great 2012

We hope all of our friends and readers have a happy Holiday season on this day after the end of the world. After several years, we're happy to be celebrating the Holidays in the Florida Keys once again.

Happy Holidays And A Prosperous New Year

From Chuck and Susan, on board the Trawler Beach House

and Beach House Publications

Curry Hammock State Park

If you plan to use the Little Crawl Key anchorage and visit Curry Hammock State Park, there are a few things you need to know. When landing in the dinghy, please don't tie off to the mangroves. It damages the plants which are protected. If the dinghy has no motor and can be pulled up on the small access beach off the anchorage basin, it's not a problem. If the dinghy has the motor on, the Park requires that you drop an anchor to keep it just off the beach and wade to shore. There are fees to use the facilities that amount to $2.50 per person per day (payable at the park entrance a short walk from where you land your dinghy). The Park entry fee is free for life for disabled veterans. This gives you access to the beach, restrooms, picnic pavilions with charcoal BBQs and several faucets where water jugs can be filled. You can also walk around the park and rent a kayak if you're so inclined. But there's more.

The park also offers shower facilities but they are expensive at $8.50 per day. The rangers told us they may be rethinking that charge. The restrooms and showers are very clean, and some of the restrooms recycle the waste with composting units. The campsites are great if you have friends or relatives coming down in an RV or travel trailer. The well manicured campsites are $43.00 per day, cheap by Keys standards. They are also 1/2 price for Florida seniors. The campsites fill quickly in season so reservations are a must.

Pets are welcome in the park on a leash but are not allowed on the beach, even if carried. This is a Monroe County health regulation and is also to protect local wildlife. Keep in mind that the entire Keys are a protected Marine Sanctuary, both on land and sea. The part about carrying pets on the beach might open a question about bringing them ashore in the dinghy. There is another beach farther away that can be reached by dinghy that pets can roam. This is Coco Plum Beach and is a fairly long dinghy ride to the west. Taxi service can be arranged to pick you up at the Park entrance, bring you into Marathon, then return. We found the Park to be very enjoyable and the Park Service employees to be very friendly and helpful. It has made this anchorage move to our favorites list.

Gunkholing The Florida Keys, Little Crawl Key

The forecast winds and seas had not subsided as we exited Boot Key Harbor via Sisters Creek. Once we were out in Hawks Channel, it was obvious we would have a somewhat boisterous ride for the 10 miles or so to our destination for the day, a snug anchorage at Little Crawl Key (see page 89 of The Great Book Of Anchorages, Norfolk to Key West). With easterly winds and southerly swells, we had a bit of a rolly ride for the next hour and a half once we left the channel markers for Sisters Creek. The multitude of floats from the fish traps also made the short transit a challenge, but it wasn't too uncomfortable. We just needed to keep a sharp eye out and weave through the mine field. The channel entrance into Little Crawl Key requires going past the entrance between the two Keys and picking up the private markers 1 and 2 (Lat 24.44.2813N 080.58.2811W) that lead into the doglegged channel. It's apparent that the markers lead around and behind some very shallow water. The sand bar did knock down the seas quite a bit as we moved towards the entrance. Just past the last set of markers, a shoal extends out from each side of the entrance.

Boot Key Harbor has been known to anchor many a boat to the bottom, us included. We want to get out and spend time exploring the Keys and not just sit in the harbor. The weather has kept us either at the rare anchoring spot in the harbor or at one of the City moorings since we finished our repairs at our friends dock. So that's why we headed out before the wind and seas were forecast to lay down later today. We winded our way through the entrance channel into the anchorage at Little Crawl Key at about 10 am. Coming into the entrance it takes a bit of a zig zag to miss the shoals extending out from the narrow entrance. But the clear water makes finding the deep water easy. As soon as we were inside the depths dropped off to 10 feet and the anchorage averages 6 to 10 feet throughout.

We found another boat anchored in the center of the basin, but there is still plenty of room. The hook set immediately in 8 feet of water and the anchorage is absolutely fantastic (Lat 24.44.580N and Long 080.58.845W). The high mangroves give good wind protection and the bar at the entrance breaks up any seas. We didn't see less than 5 feet 9 inches in the channel and the tides were less than a foot above low tide. A boat with more than a 5-foot draft would have to come in at high tide. With the anchor down we took a few minutes to just relax and take in the sights. The basin has Valhalla Point Resort (now closed) on one side and Curry Hammock State Park on the other. We shared the anchorage with another unoccupied boat, a handful of kayakers and some Spotted Rays.

Once the dinghy was in the water we decided to forgo the outboard so we wouldn't disturb the peaceful atmosphere. Besides, we can always use the exercise, and the rowing ability of the Livingston dinghy is why we bought it. We found a nice spot right near the anchorage entrance to tie the dinghy up to a picnic table at the State Park. We wanted to walk around and explore the park and the facilities. There are a number of picnic tables under cover, restrooms, soft drink machines, a playground and a campsite for RVs and travel trailers. The entire park is very clean and well maintained.

There is also a small but very nice beach that faces Hawks Channel. Believe it or not, beaches are fairly rare in the Florida Keys. The weather couldn't have been more perfect - light winds, comfortable temperatures and bright sunny skies. We walked through the campground and the facility for campers has restrooms and showers. The campsites are almost right on the beach, just a short walk, and all have concrete pads for parking. We found a couple of campers enjoying a good book in a chair on the beach. By midday, several families were enjoying the cool waters, not summer temps.

After we finished at the State Park, we rowed through one of the canals off the basin. A very large home and dock sits on one side of the canal and the resort sits on the other. We saw only 2 people at the resort. The private home had landscapers working all day. A few small boats, kayaks and jet skis visited during the day, but for the most part, we had the anchorage to ourselves. The afternoon was spent reading, napping and relaxing. We really enjoyed being away from Boot Key Harbor and all of the constant activity. This is what we came to the Keys to enjoy and we vowed to do more of.

There was one moment when we thought we were transported back to prehistoric times. This large fella was hanging off a mangrove in the canal as we rowed by. We were lucky that he didn't decide to drop into the dinghy. The non-native Iguanas have become a serious problem throughout the Keys over the years. They started as pets that were released or escaped from their owners and now they are everywhere. This is one of the biggest and ugliest we have encountered yet. He certainly was pretty scary.

We haven't decided whether we will stay an extra day or move on tomorrow. The weather will help us decide. We have a presentation on cruising at the City Marina on Tuesday and we will need to get to a dock sometime in the next few days since our water tanks will need filling. That means a return to Boot Key but we are already planning our future cruising after next week. The boat will need a good washing to get all of the salt water off and there is always laundry that needs to be done. Decisions, decisions.

Let The Cruise Begin

It's been four years, tens of thousands of dollars, cuts, bruises and a few curse words that have never been heard by human ears, but we're finally off the dock and underway. Words can not express the feeling as we headed out the channel from Goodland, Florida and watched the marina fade from view. The only thing that kept playing in our minds was "it's finally happening." We had been at Walker's Coon Key Marina for about a month while we finished the generator installation, the Argus system and a few other minor projects. Walker's hauled the boat, painted the bottom and replaced all of the zincs while we were in Maryland for Thanksgiving. When we returned, everything was ready and all we needed to do was to restock our provisions and turn in the rental car. We had dropped off both of our cars at a relative's until our cruise was finished. As we headed toward Gullivan Bay, we encountered a raccoon swimming across the channel and when we had barely reached open water, pods of dolphins began to cavort in our bow and stern wakes. We saw them off and on all the way to Marathon.

 

First stop, Indian Key. It's only about 15 miles from the marina to Indian Key, but we wanted a short run and a night at anchor to just rest and relax and let the reality sink in. We have anchored here on several occasions but it was usually well into a cruise and not at the very beginning. Indian Key marks the beginning of the channel up to Everglade City. We considered taking the boat up the channel and then decided against it since we had been there a few times by land. It's a nice little town but there's not much there except a lot of restaurants. Anchoring just off the channel can get a little uncomfortable at times since the commercial fishing boats, tour boats and guides come out of Everglades City at full throttle and it can get bouncy. This time we headed up the channel into Russell Pass (25.50.1268, 081.26.4906) to get well out of the traffic lanes. This area is part of the 10,000 Islands and is absolutely spectacular. We spent a peaceful evening sharing a distant part of the anchorage with a very large yacht.

On to Little Shark River. The next morning we exited Indian Key along with two other trawlers that were also heading south. We guessed they were probably also going to Little Shark River since that's the logical jump off to the Keys and very few boats want to cross Florida Bay at night. More on that later. The weather was great and we had a northeast wind at about 10 to 15. That put the wind slightly on our port side stern and as long as we stayed close in to the coastline, we had only slight seas. On this trawler, any beam seas can get very uncomfortable. Also, by staying within the park boundaries, we avoided the many crab pots along the way. Our 4-foot draft allows us to stay close in and take an almost direct route to the Little Shark River entrance marker. The anchor came up at 0845 at Indian Key and we dropped the hook in the small bight just inside Little Shark River at 1415 (25.19.713, 081.08.800). This was another short day of about 36 miles and we spent another quiet night with the two trawlers from Indian Key and a total of about 5 sailboats.

Our first mechanical problem reared its ugly head by the time we reached the Little Shark River. The whole idea of this part of the cruise was to do a thorough shakedown of all of the equipment and work we have done on the boat. We had the heads removed, reworked and reinstalled with new head gaskets and manifold gaskets. We replaced all of the gaskets associated with removing the head except one. So wouldn't you know it. The gasket that sits under the fresh water coolant tank and around the thermostat had been overlooked when we ordered new gaskets. The old gasket looked like it was in good shape so we reused it. The few times we used the boat until now it had never shown any signs of leaking. But now it was. It was nothing major, but a leak is a leak and it never gets better. Now, there isn't anything out in the Little Shark River. No facilities, no people, no cell phone or internet service. This isn't a place you want to break down since it's a long way to any civilization. But the problem was slight at this point and we knew we just needed to get down to Marathon to fix it.

Crossing Florida Bay can be uncomfortable in some conditions and downright dangerous in serious weather. There are many shoals and reefs that can do serious damage if you don't pay close attention to where you are. But even that is not the biggest problem crossing over to the Keys. It's the bazillion floats attached to traps that turn Florida Bay into a virtual minefield. One of these lines tangled in the running gear can stop you dead and require a dive over the side to cut everything loose. Navigating through them calls for constant vigilance. Which brings us to the reason no one wants to make this crossing at night. Our winds were forecast to be 10 to 15 from the east, which would put the seas right on our beam, but fortunately, as usual, the NWS was less than accurate and the winds were light and more northeast, putting them more on the bow than the beam. Five boats from Little Shark River all headed toward the 7 Mile Bridge and converged on Moser Channel near Marathon.

Revisiting Boot Key Harbor. Beach House arrived at the outer channel markers of the west entrance channel to Boot Key Harbor at around 1400. The weather was overcast with light winds and we considered anchoring just outside the channel entrance for the night. But having to deal with the leak made picking up a mooring a better choice so we could work out the logistics of getting the gasket, pulling the engine apart and putting everything back together. It's a fairly easy repair, but not something to do at anchor outside the harbor, just in case there was a problem. It was strange to be back again after being gone for so long. After all, we were based out of Marathon for 10 years while we cruised the Caribbean. Once in the harbor, it was like we had never left. Many of the same boats were either at anchor or on the City Moorings. We decided to pick up a mooring for a couple of days until we worked out some details. We settled in and ordered the parts we needed. In a couple of days, we moved over to a friend's private dock to give us better shore access since the parts were coming to her house. Besides, it was nice to catch up. Just about as soon as we arrived, we met some new friends; some that knew the boat from our blogs and some members of AGLCA that had made the crossing with us. (Remember those two trawlers?) Now the repairs are done and we are in full cruising mode. More to come.

Do-It-Yourself Generator Install

For many, many, many years, our trusty Honda 2000 portable generator supplied us with 120-volt electricity when we needed it at anchor. On our sailboat, we used an inverter most of the time and our solar panels and wind generator kept the battery banks topped off. We made the decision early on to install a permanent generator on Beach House for our upcoming cruise to the Bahamas and the Great Loop. We likely won't have the wind conditions needed for a wind generator like we had in the Caribbean, and solar panels are not practical for us right now. We want to be able to run the air conditioner in the Bahamas and the heat in the Great Lakes when we need it, and an inverter would just not do. Generator options for boats are plentiful, and deciding which one would best suit our needs took a lot of research.

Once the house battery bank had been relocated, the shelf where the generator would be located needed some reinforcement and rebuilding. It was strengthened with a layer of 1/2-inch plywood and sealed with West System.

A layer of fiberglass cloth was laid over the plywood using epoxy to further strengthen and seal off the wood from any coolant or oil that might be spilled during maintenance. All of this was placed over the existing shelf.

Everything got a couple of coats of fresh paint and all we needed was for the generator to arrive. Our choice was the Next Generation 3.5 generator in a sound shield. We wanted a small footprint that would fit in the space we had in the engine compartment. We needed it to be able to handle our 16,000 BTU air conditioner/heating system. It also needed to be capable of running all of the rest of our appliances, battery chargers, water heater, power tools and whatever else we wanted to run on board. Weight was also an important factor since the unit would be sitting against the hull on the port side of the boat and weight distribution had to be a consideration. The generator also had to have a good reputation in the cruising community for reliability, sound construction and ease of maintenance and repairs. The Next Generation scored high in every category.

The generator arrived one afternoon in a 40-foot semi and it was fun just watching him maneuver through the marina. We got the truck in front of the boat and the first order of business was to get it uncrated to make it easier to get off the truck, not to mention on the boat. Three of us and the driver unpacked it, slid it on to the lift gate and lowered it to the ground. I had rented a refrigerator hand truck with straps that made it easier to get it from the parking lot, down the ramp and dock, to the boat. Once we were on the finger pier, we made a sling out of lines and nylon straps. Next, we muscled it through the side door and down into the open hatch to the engine compartment. The whole process went easier than I expected, and by removing the sound shield, it helped lighten the load.

The sound shield was put back in place, and the unit positioned so that access around it was decent and there was room to work. Once we were satisfied with the position, the unit was bolted in place. This is where it would live.

All fittings and connection to the generator are easily made either to or through the sound shield. The fuel lines, water lines and exhaust have connections extended to outside the sound shield. The wiring has plastic pass-throughs to keep everything neat. Even the mounting brackets, which are bolted to the motor mounts, are on the outside of the shield. This make the unit almost plug and play.

The fuel tank had an unused pick-up tube and fitting for the fuel return making the fuel connections pretty easy. A cut-off valve for the fuel pick-up and a couple of elbows and hose barbs and we were in business. The fuel lines did need to be run from the generator to the top of the fuel tank, but that was all pretty easy. The fuel lines are 5/16 and the return line is 1/4.

A Racor R125 fuel filter came with the unit and was plumbed in just before the generator. Since the fuel lines needed to be mounted along the top of the engine compartment, the filter was placed high to give easy access for changing.

The exhaust system required a waterlock because the generator is below the waterline. Next Generation also supplied the Centek 1 1/2-inch waterlock with a side entry and top discharge. A small shelf was needed to mount the waterlock at the appropriate height and to keep it level in the slanted bilge.

With the shelf completed and another section of the engine compartment painted, all of the exhaust hoses were connected in place and double clamped. The exhaust was all secured so it wouldn't move around and chafe when the genny is running or when the boat is underway.

An 1 1/2-inch exhaust thru-hull was installed just above the waterline. We decided on one with a flapper cover to keep out water intrusion while we were underway and the flapper directs the exhaust water straight down. The plus is that it also reduces the exhaust noise when the generator is running.

The wiring to the generator is pretty simple, and with the provided wiring harness, it took a very short period of time to connect everything up and mount the remote starting panel. Our unit came with a standard 10-foot harness, but longer ones are available.

This was all really the easy part. The difficult part comes in wiring the generator to the boat's electrical systems. This is something I would never recommend to anyone that does not have experience with boat wiring and I don't mean casual experience. Our boat was a bit complicated but no more than most. We have 2 separate independent panels fed by two separate shore power connections. One is the main panel and the other is a smaller panel with only the air conditioning system and the outlets on the flybridge. We also have an inverter that is connected to the main electrical panel that needed to be wired into the circuit. Each electrical panel required a transfer switch to allow us to select between shore power, the generator and the inverter on the main panel without ever having two sources connected to a panel at the same time. For the main panel, we used a Blue Seas 3-way switch that lets us switch between the shore power, generator or inverter.

The smaller panel is primarily for the air conditioner and only needed a two-way switch to connect the shore power or generator. This panel is not connected to the inverter since it won't ever run the AC unit.

Because the unit is below the waterline, an anti-siphon valve is required in the raw water intake line to keep water from backing up in the engine. The sound shield also needs a way to remove the hot air that will build up inside the shield. An exhaust fan is installed and attached to an outlet on the top of the box. We attached the discharge for the fan to one of the engine room air intakes. There are four of them in the engine compartment. It's wired to the generator so the fan comes on automatically when the unit is started.

The attached exhaust fan also helps keep the heat down in the compartment when the generator is running.

Just before the initial start up, the fuel system is pushed into the engine by using a jumper on the electric fuel pump. The pump is allowed to run for a few minutes until it is pushing fuel back through the fuel return line. A quick check of the oil and coolant levels and everything was ready. It took the unit about 2 seconds to fire up, and we were very surprised and just how quiet it was. In the main cabin we can just hear a low hum and a bit of vibration, but really less that we had with our portable sitting on deck. It was an incredible relief to have this major project completed and it also meant that our cruising was about to begin for real. A quick trip north to visit the kids, grandkids, family and friends for Thanksgiving, and we returned ready to cast off the dock lines for our next big adventure. Let the cruising begin!