With an accepted offer on the O’day 40, Fins, it was time to tackle the details of moving it back to Wisconsin. This was to become quite an adventure as we had never owned a boat this large or had we ever done any extended cruising. I am writing this five years later and now recognize the folly of many of our decisions during the trip. We were truly blessed with good luck that we survived many of our misfortunes, thus the title “The Ignorance is Bliss Tour”.

The intrepid crew:

Me

Mike

The Trip
The survey was arranged and a contigency plan for moving the boat was laid out. If the boat passed the survey, it would be sailed from Marathon, Florida to Savannah, Georgia where it would then be trucked to Wisconsin once warmer weather prevailed. It sounded so simple!

My sailing friend Mike and I drove to Savannah in mid February of 2005. Mike has family in Savannah and if nothing else it would be a vacation for him. We checked out the few marinas and boatyards available in Savannah and decided Thunderbolt would get my business (a decision I would later regret). I left Mike and headed south. I arrived the day before the survey. I figured that I would simply park at the marina and sleep in the truck. Security said otherwise. I found a nice spot at Fisherman’s Hospital and spent the night in the backseat of the truck.

The next morning dawned sunny and clear. What a great day for a sail! I met my surveyor (Dewey Acker of Marathon) and we commenced the survey. After checking all of the structural and mechanical sysytems the boat was launched for our sea trial.

With the main raised and the headsail unfurled she took to the wind. She felt solid and performed well. We returned to the yard and she was hauled due to no slips being available.

The survey came back with only minor items of concern. Part of my offer was a pass/fail survey. I had already spent four hours checking the boat so I knew there wouldn’t be any minor surprises. I was only concerned about the major ones and there were none! Now all we had to do was close the deal and the hardest part of that was the drive back to Miami.

On the 24th she was ours. Mike took the train from Savannah and met me that day in Miami. We then drove to Marathon, got a little sleep, provisioned the boat, had it launched (again). By 4:30 on February 25th (after waiting out a torrential rainstorm) we set sail for Key West. Oops, wrong direction … you can’t be that close to Key West and not stop first before going north.

We anchored for the night in the cove near Bahia Honda Key, in between the old Flagler Railroad bridge and the new seven mile bridge. The next morning (2/26) we set out early for Key West. At this time of year the wind seems to be steadily out of the north so we had a pleasant downwind run all the way to Key West. As we rounded the marker and headed into the channel we were surprised to see friends from Madison out in a C&C. Small world! We rented a slip at Conch Harbor for the night. I never knew a 40′ boat could look so small. Our neighbors dwarfed us.

After spending a wild night in Key West it was time to head north, or at least that’s where our destination was. It looked like a reasonable day so off we went. We left around 1:00 pm and as we headed into the channel towards the south we encountered seas like I’d never seen. The boat crashed over at least 6′ steep faced waves. This was not pleasant but soon we turned east and things calmed down quite a bit. We motor sailed most of the way to the channel leading to Newfound Harbor. We anchored out of the way and had a peaceful night. (28 miles)

February 28
Up at dawn, we set sail for as far as we could get in one day. We had no cruising guides to tell us where to anchor. We used NOAA for weather. We used paper charts. Our GPS was a Garmin 76. No maps! We had little or no experience with tides or currents. Off we went. As we approached Marathon the skies darkened. A squall with lightening passed by but did not effect us.

As darkness approached we tried to drop anchor off Tavernier Key. The bottom was too hard and the anchor would not hold. Now in total darkness we traveled several more miles and anchored off the east side of Rodriguez Key near Key Largo. (approx. 62 miles)

March 1
Left Rodriguez at sunup and arrived in Miami Beach at 4:20 pm. Travelled Hawk Channel most of the way but somewhere we crossed the reef and went outside. Entered into Government Cut and docked at Miami Beach Marina. Quite an experience as we tried to dock stern to with a 3 knot cross current. No one or anything was hurt in the process. (49 miles)

March 2
A quick trip to Publix for more groceries as well as a quick fix of the alternator belt delayed our departure till 1:00 pm. We planned to go outside to who knows where. We left Government Cut and headed out into the Atlantic. It was a very pleasant ride and we began to think about where we could go in to anchor for the night. Boca Raton Inlet looked like as good a place as any. Our first clue that this was a bad idea was the surfers. They looked at us with a strange curiosity. What were these guys thinking. I speculated that the rocky south shore looked pretty uninviting so we took for the northern side which turned out to be the WRONG side. Depths went from deep to 4′ in an instant. We had hit a sand bar. The swells lifted us off and then set us back down again. We managed to turned 45 degrees with each swell so soon we were pointed back out to sea and heading north in deep water. About an hour later we began to breathe again!

Our next choice was Lake Worth Inlet and we arrived there well after dark. The anchor was dropped around 9:00 pm in a less than well defined mooring field just north of Peanut Island on the port side of the channel. (66 miles)

March 3
While making coffee the next morning we heard a boat approach. It was the Coast Guard. It seemed we were anchored a little too close to the channel and several sport fisherman had complained. We were allowed to finish breakfast and we soon departed foe points north. This part of the trip would be in the Intracoastal Waterway or ICW. I hailed our first lift bridge just as we left Lake Worth. It would be the first of six that day. Since there’s not a lot of northbound traffic this time of year, we were pretty much alone for most of the trip. I guess that’s why one tender just ignored us for almost an hour as we patiently circled waiting for an opening.

Not aware of any of the shoaling problems along the ICW certainly helps to eliminate stress. We would just stay mid channel until it would get shallow and then just gradually turn away from shallow water until it got deep again.

Clear of the bridges for awhile we steamed on. The weather turned cold and wet so I stayed down below. Mike wanted the helm and who was I to argue.

The rain fell steadily all afternoon so by 5:00 we decided to stop just south of the fixed bridge at Ft. Pierce. We felt our way into the anchorage and as the keel slide onto the sand bottom we dropped the anchor. It was low tide after all so we would soon be floating free. (52 miles)

March 4
By morning the weather hadn’t improved much but at least it wasn’t raining. The boat was floating free so we weighed anchor and set out north up the Indian River. Soon the clouds broke and turned into a pretty pleasant day. Since it wasn’t raining I took my turn at the helm. It was pretty chilly, though.

The Indian River is wide and shallow. Not so much a river as a big salt water lake. It is very rich in sea life as well as birds. This is the region of Cape Canaveral, Merritt Island, Melbourne, Cocoa Beach, Titusville and Vero Beach. The primary goal here is to stay in the narrow channel which we did. What we didn’t do was recognize all the wonderful anchorages we were passing as the day passed into twilight.

Sometime after dark we passed Titusville (a fine anchorage). Now looking at the charts we saw no possibilities ahead so we decided to continue on. How hard could that be? Stay in the channel right? We crept through Haulover Canal in the dark. I think the bridge tender must have thought we were crazy, and maybe he was right! I stood at the bow with the floodlight. Haulover is a cut through rock and in the light of the flood it was very pretty. Mike insisted that I light the way he was heading. Can you believe? We cleared the canal and headed up Mosquito Lagoon, a LONG stretch of very shallow water. Recall that we are using a Garmin GPS 76. It has no mapping function just marine nav aids. We would aim for the next mark, weaving to stay in the channel. The flood would soon reveal the next mark (they were very far apart) and we would continue on, until the flood died. We had spares but they were dead too, so we tried plugging directly into the boats batteries. With some success we continued on. After about 10 miles we came to the northern edge of Mosquito Lagoon and entered the northern reaches of the Indian River. There were signs of civilization ahead. but as we got closer we saw what seemed like a hundred tiny skiffs scattered throughout the channel. Each skiff had a light suspended over the side and people were dipping nets into the light. We later learned they were shrimping. We were not happy they were in “our” channel and they weren’t too happy that we were in their fishing spot. We exchanged “pleasantries” and continued on. At 12:30 am we dropped anchor just south of the New Symrna Beach fixed bridge. (112 miles).

March 5
Not too long after going to sleep we awoke to start another day. The weather was still cool but skies were clear.

We headed north on the ICW passing Ponce de Leon Inlet and continued north towards Daytona Beach. A low rumble could be heard as we approached the first set of bridges. It was Bike Week and there were thousands of Harleys everywhere.
They crossed the bridges over us and as we cruised north they would appear along the roads paralleling the ICW.

We cruised past Matanzas Inlet oblivious to its shoaling nature and continued north as night began to fall. Reaching St. Augustine, we waited for the scheduled opening of the Bridge of Lions. We patiently circled, each time the current drawing us closer and closer to the bridge pilings. A quick application of full power got us back into position to enter the bridge channel and continue on. At 7:30 pm we dropped anchor just north of the Vilano Beach Bridge. (71 miles)

March 6
Today would take us out of Florida. We set off and by mid afternoon we were at the fuel dock in Fernandina Beach just south of the Florida / Georgia border. The trucking company had requested that the fluid levels be kept to a minimum. Water I could just pump out. Fuel was another matter. I carefully calculated what we may need and got five gallons extra. Off we went towards Georgia. Late afternoon fell as we enjoyed the scenery of Cumberland Island. Darkness soon enveloped us as we headed into St. Andrew Sound. As we wandered through the sound not quite sure which lights were our channel lights we ran aground on a shallow bar just of Jekyll Point. The “ship wreck exposed” symbol should have been a dead give a way. Again we were able to back off and we continued on. As we approached Jekyll Creek at dead low tide, a very shallow stretch, unknown to us, I hailed the lift bridge. No answer. I hailed the marina, again no answer. Are we going the right direction? Who knows? We tired and it’s late (9:00 pm). We pull out of the channel and drop the anchor near a marker. In a short time the bottom settled onto the bottom. Oh well, at least we won’t go anywhere. (90 miles)

March 7
I have had it with tides, current and shallow water. We’re going outside the rest of the way. We head back out St. Andrew Sound, past the exposed shipwreck, and out into the open ocean. It was a beautiful day.

The sails were up and we were motor sailing at a pretty good pace. No shallow water here!

That afternoon the engine died. No fuel. The outside route was much longer than inside and we had to do some back tracking. I added the 5 gallons but it wasn’t going to be much help. We were way off shore and a long way from our destination. The upside was we had good wind and the seas were pretty flat. The downside was that there was no way we were going to make it to Thunderbolt in daylight and weather was coming.

We chose Wassaw Sound as our entrance and searched for markers. As we searched we followed the marks on the gps, which were way off. An emergency gybe and an about face prevented us from running aground and we went back out to sea in search of the elusive markers. A mile to the north we found them and headed in on a close reach.

As twilight fell we continued on. We were able to tack where necessary and remained in the area of the channel. We hailed marinas along the way hoping to pick up some fuel but we had no luck. We were going to have to sail in.

Lightning could be seen off in the distance as we made our way along the Wilmington River towards Thunderbolt. Our spotlight beam showed a marker ahead. It had an ICW marker on it! We were back in the ICW and that could only mean one thing, we were almost to the marina! We celebrated by going aground!!!

As we lay slightly askew in the mud on the side of the channel (it was low tide) Mike shouted, “Hey get your cheeseburgers on the rail and sheet in that main, we’re a sailboat remember”. I did and as the next gust hit, we heeled way over, popped off the bottom and quickly gained speed. Next stop, Thunderbolt Marina.

We furled the headsail as we entered the marina and boatyard turning basin. The boat slowed somewhat but not enough. We headed for an open dock and dropped the main. I took up a position on the bow rail and jumped off as we past a cleat. I belayed the line as I skidded past the cleat. I dug my heels in as I heard Mike bail off the stern, do several nice rolls, catch his line and together we stopped the boat. No damage other than to ourselves. After securing the boat we limped off to Tubby’s Tankhouse for dinner and mass quantities of cold beer. It was past 9:00 pm. (88 miles)

March 8
After a nice nights sleep, through the thunderstorms, we awoke and began to make arrangements to have the boat pulled. I met with the yard manager to discuss what needed to be done and how much it was going to cost. He told me he would call later with an estimate after he talked to the rigger. Mike and I went back to Tubby’s. I wasn’t getting a good feeling about all this.

About four hours later I met the manager again. The estimate to pull the mast, haul the boat, block and store would be about $4,500!!! After the heart palpitations stopped I wanted to cry. In Wisconsin this was maybe a $500 job. He explained that the rigger had figured at least eight hours to dig out the Spartite, which sealed the mast; he needed to draw a plan and label all the parts. Everything would be wrapped and secured for shipping. It was a lot of work, he explained. When I could speak I explained I had NO Spartite, I needed no plan and I would disassemble everything and wrap for shipping. He explained that this was a union yard and normally I wouldn’t be allowed to work on my boat here but he could make some exceptions. Would I agree to a time and materials contract? Sure, anything was better than $4,500!

March 9

The boat sat at the dock waiting for the crane. Everything was disassembled.

The crane lifted the mast off the boat and onto a waiting cradle. Then the boat was lifted in the Travelift and it was transported to storage.

Phase One of the journey was done. Eleven days and 500 hundred some odd miles.

In our opinion in the original design …

Positives
• Cabin layout (we especially like the galley and salon).
• Lots of handholds below and places to wedge into while under way.
• Style (absence of a great deal of exterior teak and sleek lines)
• Sailing ability (fairly fast and points high)
• Cockpit layout and size (very spacious)
• Swim platform (we don’t like climbing any more than necessary)
• O’day structure (very solid boat)

Negatives
• Limited room for ground tackle
• Very small holding tank at 13 gallons
• Limited battery bank
• Under insulated ice book

Modifications made prior to our purchase (as far as I can tell)

• Vee berth raised about 3” and a stainless steel holding tank of 16 gallons (why?) was added.
• Four burner Broadwater propane stove and oven added
• Stainless steel water tanks, 2 @ 50 gallons each
• Village Marine watermaker added (we removed it as it can’t be used in fresh water and maintenance was expensive).
• Additional bilge pumps added but wired wrong.
• Standing rigging including chainplates were upgraded and replaced. Swaged fittings replaced with swageless fittings.
• Running rigging all upgraded a size or two. (This was not a good thing).
• Harken 53 2 speed self-tailing primary winches added.
• Additional Lewmar clutches added and all lines led aft
• Upgraded traveler
• Inner stay and running backstays added.
• Boom raised about 6” and main sail recut.
• Full battens and Harken Battcar system added.
• Storm staysail and associated cars
• Asymmetrical spinnaker
• Lewmar Ocean series windlass with modified chain locker and bow roller.
• 35# CQR anchor on 100’ of 3/8” G4 chain.
• Modified enlarged swim platform
• Avon WM 10’ RIB inflatable
• Ampair 100 wind generator
• B&G Network Quad instrument
• Forward looking sonar
• All wet core replaced with solid epoxy (not the prettiest job but it is solid)
• Interior modifications after repairs made (headliner, ash trim and lots of acorn nuts)!
• Corian counter tops and new sinks.
• Every available cubic foot of unused space was filled with either block insulation foam or poured in urethane foam (for flotation???)

Modifications we have made (2003 through summer of 2007)
Interior

• Removed all flotation foam
• Added Oceanaire Skyscreens to all hatches (this reduced acorn nut overload)
• Refinished teak and holly sole.
• Rebuilt electrical panel so it folds out and locks
• Refinished interior teak.
• Rebuilt port aft cabin storage to accommodate installation of refrigeration compressor and inverter/charger
• Built custom drawer dividers, cutting board and knife rack.
• Installed Handcrafted Mattress Co. 5″ latex custom mattress to vee berth, with custom fitted sheets.
• Added GPS equipped EPIRB, stocked medical kit and ditch bag.

Plumbing

• Removed holding tank and replaced with a 45-gallon tank from Ronco Tanks.
• Replaced all head and tank plumbing.
• Added head raw water filter and vented loop.
• Added new lockable wye valve.
• Replumbed hand pump at galley sink to pump raw water including filtration.
• Raw water washdown pump.
• Rewired Rule 5000 and 3700 to be switch activated and are connected and fused at the battery bank.
• Smaller, automatic bilge pump added.

Electrical

• Old radar and other instruments removed.
• All unused wiring removed.
• Panel redesigned and rewired to accommodate different needs.
• Switches added for bilge pumps, nav light configurations and other “switchable” conditions.
• Fuse panels added for additional protection.
• New 120 VAC panel added for inverter loads.
• Freedom 2000 inverter charger added
• Xantrex Link 2000
• Battery combiner
• Ram mic added to VHF
• Additional batteries added. The original space for 2 Group 27’s was left for start bank. Four 6-volt heavy-duty batteries were added for house bank. Two in boxes in each cockpit locker. They are rated at 250 amp hours for each pair for a total of 500 amps.
• Additional battery switches and fuses added.
• Lights and fans added as needed.
• Exterior switch panel for wash down pump, deck freshwater shower, transom light, etc.

Instrumentation

• B&G H1000 displays (2) mounted in port cockpit bulkhead
• New transducers for wind, speed and depth.
• NMEA 0183 capability
• Garmin 3206 chart plotter radar display
• Garmin GPS
• Garmin GMR18 radar
• Simrad below deck linear hydraulic drive autopilot with Edson rudder arm.

Refrigeration

• Rebuilt entire box with FRP panels and a minimum of 4” of polyurethane foam (approx. r value of 25 or so).
• Added EZ-Kold holding plate system that was custom sized and built for my box dimensions.
• Digital thermometer.

Ground Tackle

• Chain locker divided into two compartments.
• 200’ of 5/8” megabraid added to primary rode.
• CQR retired to extra anchor status and placed in cockpit locker.
• Primary anchor replaced with Delta Fast Set, 44 pound.
• Secondary 33 pound Bruce type claw anchor added with 100’ of 3/8” G4 chain attached to 200’ of 5/8″ megabraid.
• Fortress FX 37 stern anchor stored aft and has 50’ of 3/8” G4 chain and 200’ of 5/8″ megabraid.
• 100’ warp lines made up to supplement existing dock and spring lines.

Rigging

• Replaced reef lines, main and genoa halyards, main sheet and traveller lines.  Halyards are Sta Set X, all others are Sta Set.
• Added Garhauer blocks for spinnaker. 

s/v Marylee is a 1987 O’day 40. It has the athwartships aft cabin option. Many modifications had been made prior to purchase and many more were made after we purchased her.
This is a photo from 2006 while sitting in her slip at Gas Light Pointe in Racine, Wisconsin.

The words ever sailor wants to hear … “honey, I think we need a bigger boat”.

As we drove south from Bayfield, Wisconsin, the memories of the Apostle Islands were still vivid in our minds. Silently we each reflected on our vacation, sailing the islands in our O’day 23, fresh from it’s winter renovation. We had enjoyed the winds and waters of the Caribbean of the North, but things were just a little cramped on board especially when we had guests. I think Mary had bumped her head once too many times, which must have been the root cause for the bigger boat comment. I, of course, took it as an open invitation to start looking.

We talked and planned and looked. With retirement looming we started to think, “is this something we want to do fulltime?” Do we want to cruise? Blue water or coastal, weekends or live aboard? So many questions but as we would learn “too many boats!”

We looked at Ericssons, Pearsons, Hunters, Catalinas and Beneteaus. I wanted traditional with the lines, full keels and lots of teak. Mary knew what she DID NOT want! She didn’t want me to start on another project. We looked at a beautiful Tashiba 36 but we were too slow with the checkbook. We looked at a Gulfstar that looked great until you saw it in person … gross! We had lined up some Tayanas to look at along with some O’days. Mary liked the lines of the O’day 40 and ironically I had saved a website of a 40 that I often admired. Off we went on our next boat trip.

“FINS” sat on stands overlooking the ocean in Marathon, Florida. We could only surmise, as the owner was pretty tight lipped, that the boat had been renovated for cruising, an initial trip or two was taken and the family was not thrilled. A lot had been done to the boat and it appeared to be sound.

A common scenario for O’day 40 owners during that initial visit is for the woman involved to go below and fall in love with the interior. Well it happened again. I’m looking at mechanicals and such and up pops a grinning head from the cabin. “I love it, let’s buy it!” The broker could not suppress the smile.

We made an offer and we received word, over margaritas at the Clevelander on South Beach, that the owner had reluctantly accepted it. After the shock wore off we stared at each other, “Holy $%#@ now what have we done?” We could hardly sleep.