Advice Sought: Forked River, NJ to Stony Point, NY boat move

[GrFa]

Hello all, I have lurked around here for a while but haven't posted or asked much. I have been given the task of moving our CD28, by water, from its current locale in Forked River, NJ to its new home in Stony Point, NY. Here is a crude map of the proposed trip:



I have been sailing since I was nine, but only daysailing. I have never cruised overnight, had to deal with anchoring, etc. So I am looking for lots of advice from anyone who is familiar with these waters. I am bringing a buddy along who has also been sailing since he was a kid.

Most importantly, we have owned and maintained the boat for the last three years, but it hasn't been upgraded in a looong time. The only working electronics are a depthfinder and a vhf radio. We have been meaning to outfit the new boat with electronics so this may be just the time.

Here is a photo of the boat:

<a href="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/G9 ... .jpg"><img width="540" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/G9 ... d.jpg"></a>

Any help, recommendations, advice, etc. would be great. I contacted Brownell systems about moving it by truck already but it would be something like $2k and we would have to take the mast down, get the boat ready, etc. so it looks like moving by water is the current plan.

[Oswego John]

Hi GrFa,

I haven't been in those waters in quite a few years. I guess that things are pretty much the same. If anything, they have improved some.

BTW, nice looking boat. I kept staring at the picture, thinking that there was something different. Finally, I realized that you don't use a boot top stripe. Different, nice.

There are several options for making the trip. The overall total miles are about 100 miles. Traveling at about 5 MPH average, it would be about a 20 hour trip. Break that up into a two day trip with one overnight.

You could duck out of Barnegat Inlet and make it an almost all ouside trip to the Hudson River, or travel 20 miles (4 hours) up the ICW to Manesquan Inlet and then go outside. From Manasquan Inlet, it is about 25 miles (5 hours) to Sandy Hook. It is as good a place as any in the neighborhood to hole up for the night.

I would leave early the next morning to begin the last leg (55 miles, 11 hours) of the trip from Sandy Hook to Stoney Point. You will be outside again from Sandy Hook to part way up the Hudson River.

It is roughly 30 miles (6 hours) from Sandy Hook to the George Washington Bridge. It is approximately 15 miles (3 hours) from the GWB to the Tappan Zee Bridge, and another 10 miles from the TZB to Stoney Point.

Some points to consider. Watch the weather window and check the local tides. Under the wrong combination of wind and opposing tide, he Manasquan can get a little hairy. If you can catch a rising tide from Lower NY Bay into and up the Hudson River, you can ride with the current up the river instead of fighting it. A general rule;
ride with the current by staying in the middle of the river, and fight it by staying toward the sides.

In New York Harbour and the lower Hudson, keep a sharp, 360° lookout for the kamikaze water cabs and other crazies.

There are CD owners in the local areas mentioned that, hopefully, wiil expand on this general info.

Good luck,
Safe trip.
O J

[Russell]

Most importantly, we have owned and maintained the boat for the last three years, but it hasn't been upgraded in a looong time. The only working electronics are a depthfinder and a vhf radio. We have been meaning to outfit the new boat with electronics so this may be just the time.

I assume you also have a handheld GPS at least, in which case just bring a backup as well (borrow or buy one) and plenty of batteries. Borrow a handheld VHF as well if you can (or buy one if you cant). Otherwise electronics wise your fine.

But if you need an excuse to convince the admiral you need new toys... then by all means for this trip you need a radar, chartplotter, wind insturments.....

[GrFa]

Thanks so far guys. It seems Sandy Hook is the ideal overnight spot. Is it worth it to find a marina or just drop the hook? I was thinking about avoiding Manasquan inlet because of the shallow water and bridges, and just heading offshore and up the coast.

As for the electronics, we will be purchasing a new GPS. YThe boat currently has an old (circa 1990) Garmin handheld, and a handheld VHF sounds like a good idea as well. Although I would love the chartplotter, radar, etc.

[Oswego John]

GrFa,

There is definitely less hassle going outside through Barnegat Inlet. Another bonus, you can sail almost all the way, no motoring on the ICW and worrying about thin water at Manasquan Inlet.

I would definitely plan on motoring in the lower Hudson off Manhattan up to past the Cruise ships piers and other commercial water traffic.

You might be wise to have your vessel ship shape and been USCG approved for safety. A working warning and signaling horn, PFDs and all the other requirements. I got stopped once a few years ago by Homeland Scurity. A few questions, a quick checkover and that was it. First thing they looked at was the USCG decal.

As for a marina or spending the night on the hook, it's your choice. $$. If you decide on a marina, it might work in your favor to call ahead for a reservation during high season. If you have a club burgee, bring it with you.

Have a good trip.
O J

[GrFa]

As for the boot stripe, the boat came stripeless. When it was time for a new coat of bottom paint we followed the previous owners method of painting up the bottom paint to where the boot stripe would be. I would prefer to have a stripe on her though. The next fall/winter season will be nice because the boat will only be 20 minutes from home instead of 1 hour and 45 minutes from home.

I can't wait to get some real work done on her.

I am pretty excited about the trip and will make sure the boatyard she is in now checks her out completely. Also, I am thinking of investing in one of those slim, wear all the time, life vests, any of you guys use one of those frequently offshore?

[Dalton]

GrFa:

Staying behind Sandy Hook is great except when the wind pipes up from the west. Anywhere you anchor is exposed to some rolling. It's worth the extra 2 miles to duck behind the breakwater in Atlantic Highlands. Here you can anchor in great holding mud. Have a bucket and a brush ready in the morning. And if you need anything you can probably find it in town. You can also get a mooring. Contact AHYC launch on VHF ch 9. Or contact me and I'll see if I can find you a spot. Maybe my mooring will be open. I won't go in 'til late May probably.

GD

[Cathy Monaghan]

Hi GrFa,

If you don't already have one, get yourself a cruising guide or two for the area where you'll be sailing, one or two of these will do quite nicely:

• Northern Waterway Guide, From Delaware Bay to the Canadian Border;
  Cruising Guide to the Hudson River, Lake Champlain & the St. Lawrence River, by Alan & Susan McKibben;
  Cruising Guide to New York Waterays and Lake Champlain, by Chris W. Brown III, edited by Claiborne S. Young

If you're going to daysail your way to Stony Point it should be an easy trip.

If the weather's good, leave via Barnegat Inlet and run up the coast then duck into Manasquan Inlet or Shark River Inlet and spend the night at anchor or at one of the marinas. Of, just head up the ICW to Manasquan.

From there head for Raritan Bay and spend the night anchored in Horseshoe Cove (Sandy Hook) unless the wind's out of the west, Atlantic Highlands or Great Kills Harbor, or get a slip at the marina in Gravesend. Don't bother with Sheepshead Bay, it's too crowded in there. If you do decide to duck into Sheepshead Bay, contact the Miramar YC for a mooring.

From there you can head up the Hudson and stop in Nyack or Tarrytown where you can get a mooring from one of the yacht clubs.

From there head up to Croton-on-Hudson and anchor north of Croton Point or get a slip at the marina in Haverstraw or keep going all the way to Stony Point.

Give yourself a week to get there (it won't take you that long, but you have to pad your trip to take bad weather into account).

As mentioned in the previous posts, you'll need to take tides and currents into consideration as well as the weather. And you'll need to be alert while in NY Harbor.

It will be a nice, scenic trip, so have fun!

Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[GrFa]

Thanks again for all the great replies. I was hoping to do it in two days (hoping for 10-12hrs of travel per day). There will be two of us to switch on and off. It may quite possibly be May 12th/14th.

Keep the good advice coming!

[Russell]

Thanks again for all the great replies. I was hoping to do it in two days (hoping for 10-12hrs of travel per day). There will be two of us to switch on and off. It may quite possibly be May 12th/14th.

Keep the good advice coming!

I fully agree with Cathy and want to stress the point about givng yourself more time. It may take only 2 days, but those two days you happen to set aside may be horrid weather. A week is really a good idea, at minimum give yourself 5 days and be prepared to call it off if need be. Your talking about the atlantic ocean, plus those NJ inlets are not very forgiving either, you want good weather for this. Forcing a schedule gets sailors in more trouble then anything else, leave the insanity to delivery skippers with death wishes.

[Bob Owens]

Dear GrFa,
It doesn't sound as though you will be short handed, but should you end up needing extra crew and if you go as late as 17 May, I would be glad to help with the Hudson R. part of the trip--which should be easy once you get north of G. Washington Bridge, as long as your engine is reliable. Ditto and underline what has been said about strength of combined current and ebb-tide in the river. I live in west Manhattan just 3 blocks from the river; you could pick me up at Chelsea Piers at 23rd Street. If you want to hold my phone number in reserve, let me know and I will reply via p.m. I would also be happy to do any needed shore-side errands for you if you run into any difficulties while in the lower Hudson.
Bob

[RonE58]

Hello GrFa,
Just to add,
This past September, I sailed up the Jersey coast after I purchased my CD 27 in Maryland. The sail from Atlantic City to Gateway Marina, Brooklyn, my homeport, took roughly 12 hours.
We left at sunset and sailed through the night on a light west wind. I was a bit nervous at first, with never before sailing at night, but it was pretty spectacular, the atlantic was calm the whole way. I purchased a GPS/chartplotter before I left and just followed about 2 miles or so off the coast, passing about a dozen sailboats that were going south to warmer waters.
Good luck,
Ron

[Wally Bennett]

Hi GrFa

Have you set a date for your trip??
If you are in need of crew I would be interested.
Are you moored at Fork River State Marina??

I have a CD30b, it is moored at Nyack Boat club on the Hudson. I will be making
the same trip going the other direction later this summer. I have made this
trip before. The information you recieved was very good.

If you want you can contact me by email: wbennett@yu.edu

Wally Bennett

CD30b
"Evensong"

[Bob Emmons]

Dear GRfa,
Please make sure your engine is in good working order. You will need it to be reliable. The main concerns, provided that the weather is fair, would be the current conditions and for safety the commercial traffic around the NY area. Keep alert! Many times I will plan my departure form the Jersey coast and arrive in NY Harbor with a strong fair current that will flume me through one of the rivers. I have made it form Barnegat Inlet to Long Island sound in 11 hours this way, but you probably won't want to do such a long day, so I agree Atlantic Highlands would be the best place to anchor overnight. If you need more local knowledge of the passage from Forked River to Barnegat to the Hudson, let me know.

Bob Emmons
NE Fleet Capn.
"Red Wing" on the Toms River,NJ

[GrFa]

Thanks again for all the advice, I believe we will be budgeting 3 days for the trip. The buddy of mine going works six days a week. I may end up dropping him off in Manhattan, spending the night, and taking it up the Hudson solo. Most of my sailing experience has been in the Hudson, I took junior sailing at the Nyack Boat Club.

The boat is docked at Silver Cloud, across from the state marina. The engine has also been completely reliable in 3 summers of day sailing, its a Volvo MD7b (I think thats the model, standard CD28 diesel). I am actually getting really excited about the trip. So excited that I am considering sailing up to Newport, RI as well to visit my girlfriend who will be living there for the summer. I may take the CD (which is my parents/family's) or take my boat (a Com-Pac 16).

Anyone else with a Volvo diesel recommend anything that will leave you stranded? We have been replacing the water pump impeller every season and I believe replaced the thermostat and housing last spring. Thanks!