We decided to sell the Albin 27 and get something we could launch just down the road from our place and not have to run the toll road to Lake Monroe each time we wanted to go out.
This is our new boat. A Yukon Delta, 25 ft long and shallow draft.
The blue cover on the bow is to keep the rain out of the open bow during storage…..great idea here in FL. I did find, I have to unsnap the corners and fold them up for air flow or it gets very hot under it. I’ll make a lighter version out of sunbrella for protecting the open doorway when anchored out at night. It will go from the top front to the bow…no sides.
the hard top on the back needs some work. Once that is finished, I’ll make screens to enclose it. It’ll be a great place to sit in the evening, listening to frogs, gators and other night life.
The interior needs work too. No stove or fridge. I think it had a propane cooktop, at one time. There is a regulator on the roof and it is plumbed to below the countertop. We may put a 2 burner cooktop in there. The open cupboard had a small cube fridge. We moved it to the floor for travel, but will remodel that area for a microwave. It also needs a faucet and water pump.
We are considering putting the fridge in the closet area. That’s the door with the mirror. It would cut down on clothing storage but I’d like a little apartment size fridge and have it on the floor…to keep the center of gravity low.
We camped over night in it on our way back from OH. The base of the couch slides out easily to make a bed big enough for both of us and Jim is a bit over 6’.
The Captain’s seat is pretty big for the area so we’ll see if it is comfortable enough to keep.
The head will probably have a larger porta potty that can be plumbed to a pumpout. We had one on the Macgregor 26X sailboat and it worked great. Has it’s own 5 gallon holding tank. No shower in the head….not sure if we’ll put one there or just put it on the back deck. Winter time we’ll just have to shower during the day when it is warm….
All these changes are our first thoughts…we’ll go out and spend some time on it before hammering away…..other than installing the fridge. With that we can stay out for several days…we have a butane stove we can use for cooking for now. It worked well on the Albin along with the alcohol stove.
The dinette will give me a place to have my computer set up.
Jim wants to do some work on the trailer. There is no bow support or guides. I guess he’s planning to do some traveling too. Larry and Diane, our boating buddies from OK, want us to do the Arkansas River with them. Sounds good to me!!!
We hope this is our last boat…Jim can walk front to rear and only have to duck his head going in and out the doorways.
If launching at the fish camp works out….we’ll spend a lot more time on the water. Maybe not months at a time …but as often as we want.
I’m looking forward to attaching an umbrella to the railing on the top and sitting there gator watching. Should be a great place to get photos from.
Jim had the 25 hp Johnson outboard running. We may try to launch it next week. We are anxious to see how well that little motor will push us along and need to reset the boat on the trailer so he can weld on the stuff he wants to. It will only be an afternoon outing…..but at this point…..that’s better than nothing.
Still haven’t come up with a name…
So…..check back once in awhile….maybe you’ll see us on the river.
We are looking for a spare wheel for the trailer. This is what they look like. If you know what they are....let us know.