The Boats, Past and Present

06/23/07

Princecraft

 

This boat was a 1992 Princecraft Pontoon boat. We bought it from a retired boat dealer in Wapakoneta, Ohio when we had a vacation house on Grand Lake Saint Mary's in Ohio.  The dealer's name was Fred Foote and this was his boat for 5 years. We bought it in 1997.   It had a 88 HP Evinrude V4, was 24 FT long and sat on a Bear tandem trailer that we ordered new in 97 to haul the boat.

After we sold the vacation house we trailered the Princecraft to other lakes and the Ohio River, but our favorite trip was to Tablerock Lake in Southern Missouri and a stay at Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge. Wonderful trip!

 

For a view of the photos, look in "Journals".  

 

 

 

Starcraft Islander 224

 

This boat was a 2001 Starcraft Islander 221. It's an aluminum cuddy cabin, 22 1/2 feet long with a 190 HP Mercruiser V6 I/O. Top speed is in the mid 40's. With a deep vee hull, she can handle fishing on Lake Erie and because of her light weight she is easy to trailer.

We outfitted her with a GPS, VHF Radio, Fish Finder, Coleman 2 burner Camp Stove, Coolers, etc. She was an excellent fishing boat and the Cuddy offered reasonable overnight accommodations.

We used this boat on Caesar's Creek Lake, Lake Cumberland, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Indian River Michigan, Burt Lake, Mullet Lake, the Cheboygan River, etc.

When we tired of pulling a trailer, we traded her in on the Searay 280, but for fishing, this was a great boat.

The Searay Dealer sold her to a man from up in the Northeast. He had been looking for this model, saw their Internet ad and called them.

He got a solid boat. We named her Storm Runner after some difficult weather on Lake Huron. Thanks Starcraft for a high quality boat that lives up to it's reputation!

For photos of some of her excursions, Check out "Journals".

 

 

 

Searay 280 Sundancer

 

This is the original Get~Aweigh. She was a 2002 Searay 280 Sundancer.  We bought her as an alternative to trailering a boat and staying in hotel rooms.  She was a beautiful boat and we put 100 hours on her by August in the first season.

A new boat with all of the options including black canvas and a generator, we had a Raymarine radar and chart plotter installed.  Some people thought radar on a boat that would be used on the Ohio River was a waste of money but because we took trips hundreds of miles up and down the river, the radar proved useful on more than one occasion in fog and rain to see the tows well before we could get a visual.

We have a friend with a newer model of this boat and with twin engines instead of the single 7.4L and BIII we had.  His boat is as fast and because of the two engines is much easier to dock and handle in close quarters.

This boat gave us our first long voyage. 

Visit "Journals" to see photos of our trip to Lake Barkley, a 1000+ mile round trip, locking through 14 times, and two weeks of boating life...

 

 

Doral 330 SE

 

This is the Get~Aweigh II.  She was a 2000 Doral 330 SE and we kept her at Marina del Isle in East Harbor at Marblehead, Ohio.  Powered by twin 7.4L Mercruiser V-8's with Bravo III Sterndrives, she was a mid 40MPH Express Cruiser.  With full fuel tanks cruising at 25-30 MPH, she consumed 1 MPG for a range of 230 Miles.

She had a separate small stateroom with queen size bed, plenty of storage, a nice size bath, and ample galley. This was a perfect boat for the two of us for cruising and 2 to 3 week trips. She had a Raymarine combination radar and chart plotter GPS using the RL70CRC color display.  The steering was converted to hydraulic and a Raymarine Autopilot completed the electronics for cruising.

We were quite happy with the boat, I liked the extra control the Bravo III's provided when docking, and we both found her comfortable.
 

The "Journals" section has photo diaries and video clips of the many trips we took with her on the Ohio River and the Great Lakes. 

 

Searay 400 DA

 

This is the Get~Aweigh III.  She's a 1998 Searay Sundancer 400 DA.  You may notice that we keep going back in time with our boat purchases.  Like our Doral, she is powered twin 454CID (7.4L) Mercruiser Mag MPI Horizon V-8's.  Unlike the Doral, the 400 uses V-Drives for propulsion.  We usually cruise at 3500 RPM which gives us a speed of 23 - 25 MPH and a fuel draw of .8 MPG.  We carry 300 gallons of fuel which gives us a range of 240 miles so we usually plan to refuel at 200 miles.  Would diesels be better in a boat that weighs 21,000 dry?  Perhaps but for the difference in price, we're happy with the setup we have.

The boat came with the original Raymarine electronics, all of which were in perfect order, but we had them replaced with the latest Furuno gear including the NavNet vx2 network.  The charts are driven by C-Map Max.  There are two displays ,both of which can show Digital Fishfinder, Chart Plotter, and/or 48 Mile Radar.  There is a triData display with SOG, Water Temp, and Depth.  An Autopilot completes the navigational set and an integrated VHF radiophone with DSC tied to the GPS completes the Furuno network.  We also have a Garmin GPS 376C with the XM Weather option.  That has proved most useful during our extended cruises to the North Channel.

The boat has lot's of space for cruising and entertaining.  There are two heads, one with a separate shower, two staterooms, both with solid doors that offer sufficient privacy for overnight guests.  The galley is equipped with a nice size refrigerator/freezer, built in blender, plenty of cabinet space, a large sink, and three burner electric stove.  Entertainment is provided by two television/VCR combos and a sound system with CD player to which we have added XM radio.  The upper deck has loads of seating, an ice maker and sink and an electric hatch to get access to the engine compartment.
 

Check the "Journals" section for photo diaries and video clips of the trips we've taken with her on the Great Lakes.