Another Duck

I got an eMail from a fellow who had been following my One More Time Around blog. Jerry has a boat, a Bluewater 40.

But it's too big to trailer...he thought he'd like a trailerable Land N Sea like Big Duck so he could visit waters west of the Mississippi. As was the case with me, Jerry found 'his' boat thousands of miles away from his home. But I'll let him tell you about it via the eMail he sent me:

8/22
I just thought you would want to know, it's a done deal. I bought the LNS. I made what I thought was a low offer expecting him to come back with a counter offer, but he accepted that. I PayPaled a deposit, sent him an agreement of sale for his signature, and got it back signed in 10 minutes.

We leave this weekend on our tour of the National Parks so I will inspect the boat and trailer next week sometime. If she is what the seller says she is, I will make the final payment and get title to her and the trailer. Then I am going to pay for an extra month of storage, then remove the tires and put the axles on 10" X 10" X 24" wooden blocks.  While the wheels are off, I will inspect and replace/repack all the bearing as needed, and get all the lights up to par.

When I get back home I will install new LT tires on the rims, register the trailer, then head back out to pick her up.

In the lot where she was advertised For Sale

9/25
We got to see her 3 weeks ago, while on our planed vacation, and paid for her. She is actually in much better condition than I expected. She even has a genset. I am attaching a couple of pictures.
  

I brought the wheels home with me and installed new "F" weight rated tires for the trip. With the weight distributing hitch and dual sway bars from our last trailer boat, 12,000 is not a problem, but good to know. I will be out in California by the weekend, spend a day or two prepping the trailer for the trip, then 2,850 miles later, she will be home in Pennsylvania.

9/29

I arrived here in Sonora about noon today and started to prep her for the trip. I have some bad wiring and lights to replace on the trailer and one brake not working. All the bearings are in good shape, cleaned and repacked them today and got the electric jack on the tongue working. I hope to finish tomorrow and leave for home Monday morning.

Since I hit snow/ice in Wyoming on the way out, I will be returning via the southern route. From here I will go south to Bakersfield, then east over Tehachapi Pass to Barstow. From there I-40, I-81, I-66, and I-95.

I volunteered to help Jerry in any way I could...and suggested a meeting at his convenience on his route home. 

9/30

Thank you for that generous offer, I hope it is not needed, but I entered your number in my cell, just in case.

I usually stop at Flying J or Pilot travel centers for the night because they have separate RV parking and discounted fuel. Maybe we can connect at one in Knoxville. I will keep you informed of my progress.

  

10/1

Well, you can plan, but something always jumps up and bites you. Got everything done today, installed the new tires and lowered the jacks. Oops, the fenders hit the tires. Further inspection show that the springs are sagging with age, I will have to find a spring shop in the morning. Looks like another day in Sonora.

And from later that day... 

And the adventure continues. Found a shop to do the spring work about 10 miles from the boat. Jack up the boat, put 4X4 blocks between the axle and the frame to hold it up. Got it almost to the shop with no problems. While sitting at a red light in the middle of historic Sonora, this awful noise came from under the hood of the truck, sounded like the engine exploded, but it continued to idle fine. Pulled to the side when the light changed, opened the hood. Disaster, the fan clutch exploded, took out the radiator, a real mess. As I stood there contemplating my options, I notice a big sign a half block away. It said "IS YOUR CAR RUNNING HOT, STOP NOW, THE RADIATOR DOCTOR".

 

 I walked down, told them what happened and they jumped to my rescue. They towed the truck to their shop (half block), went back and got the boat and towed it to the shop that is going to fix the springs, took me back to their shop. NO CHARGE! By that time they had an estimate for new radiator, new fan clutch, new thermostat and flushing the system. Work will be done by noon tomorrow. Then they drove me to my motel and promised to pick me up tomorrow.

 Meanwhile, the spring shop had to order the springs, UPS overnight. They expect to have the trailer ready sometime Wednesday or Thursday. Not bad considering I am way, way, way off the beaten path. The closest big town is 60 miles away, and it ain't very big by my standards.

10/2

I just got a call from the spring shop, the parts did not come but they have all the old shackles cut off and are ready to install the new stuff as soon as it come. The girl in the office checked the tracking number and it says delivery scheduled for Thursday. She called the supplier and was told, overnight was not available to their area.

    

The shop says they will double team it as soon as the parts arrive and should be able to finish it up by end of day Thursday. My fingers are crossed. In any event, I will not be able to leave here until Friday.

10/4
Given the three digit temperatures since I arrived here, not a lot of daytime activity. Yesterday was the first day that the temp fell below 100, all the way down to 97. I'm spending time relaxing by the pool, with a cold drink and a good book. I hope the parts will be here this morning so I can get on my way. The shop says it will only take an hour or two to install the new springs, so I may be on my way this afternoon..

I got a call from Jerry that he was finally on the road. And so, then there were two. And the new 'Duck' began her journey home.

My Big Duck on her 2,000 mile journey home.

Jerry's new Ugly Duck(ling) on her 2,000+ mile journey home.

We did meet, at the junction of I40 and I81. Jerry predicted his arrival there to within 5 minutes.

Jerry coming off the ramp on I81 - right on schedule.

We had a nice meeting at the truck stop. I was excited to see his new acquisition and happy to hear that his trip had been routine once he finally got on the road.


10/9

I arrived home safely just before dark, glad that trip is over.  I have logged 14,300 miles in the last 5 weeks so I plan to relax for the next day or two. Then the fun begins.

But the excitement wasn't yet over. It was a good thing Jerry didn't try to get his 'new' boat up the driveway. The house was in the way on one side, and the neighbor's fence on the other. Jerry says the overhang will have to go.

I sure am looking forward to watching his progress on getting her water ready. When she is, we'll plan an outing together.