Hi Gang:

Happy holidays to you all!

We booked a trip on the 514PC - excited to give it a try. From anyone that's bareboated it, I'd love to hear about your experience with it that might be helpful. Any info, tips/tricks, lessons learned, gotchas, happy surprises, etc. Curious how many showers/days you got out of the fresh water tanks. Also curious where it falls on the difficulty scale maneuvering around tight docks. I'm most accustomed to a 45' Sea Ray Sundancer w/Cummins diesels. As we know, some boats are harder and some easier... The 514 has some windage with the fly bridge but it 'seems' like it would be on the easier side with two torquey diesels way out on the edge of a 25' beam. But who knows - love to hear your experience. Any other info, I'd be grateful for. Feel free to PM if you prefer.

Many thanks!

Tom

Results may vary. The wider the twin screw boat the greater the control. All the Sea Rays are narrow and built for speed. The ability to control the 514PC will be greater. Windage is always an issue with all the condo like charter boats. Even more so with the cats with less wetted surface and underwater gear. This gets worse each year. Most of the docks are protected from windage and surge. Always, always approach the mooring and anchorage into the wind. If you can maneuver a 45 Sea Ray? I would not worry about moving or docking any boat in the charter fleets. Go Slow!

Water will depend on the crew down to the last single heavy user of water. If you follow the practice of wetting down. Shutting the water off. Soaping up head to toe. Then rinsing head to toe. The water will last forever. If each crew member runs the water until they get the temperature just right(sometimes that never happens) and then showers and sings for 25 minutes. Plan on getting water everyday. While it is not for everyone. If you can get some liquid shower soap to keep on the aft deck. Simply soap up and rinse each time you get out of the water. You will find your water tanks going a long, long, way. The water killers are the times when the tap is open wasting water waiting for the "right" temperature and/or endless running water rinsing dishes in the galley. If you really want to nail this? Before you leave the dock. Get a gallon bucket and measure how many gallons per minute your shower heads pump out. That would give you an idea of how many shower minutes you have per tank. We always put one extra cheap gallon of jug water on the boat for the times when the pumping system fails or we somehow run the tanks dry. Like running aground. Dry tanks happen to everyone. One cure is to always task the suspected heaviest water user with holding the hose when you fill the tanks. Most that have taken a full turn holding the water tank hose in the sun will become the most frugal water users from that point forward.

Your 514 will have over 200 gallons of water and maybe even a third 50 gallon emergency backup tank. The downside is the pump can spew up to 3.5 GPM of that water. We have made 200 gallons last 14 days or more in places like Belize. In the BVI we have gone through that much in a day. How long will your crew stand in the shower with the water running each day? How long will the galley tap stay open rinsing dishes? Or the worse! The tap open trying to get the temperature just right. Just like every boat or plane has x hours of fuel. You will leave the dock with x minutes of water use.

Go slow, do not worry about any of it, pack a few extra water bottles, you are on a powerboat, you can get water easily anywhere but Anegada. Top off with water before you head there and you should be fine. Make sure everyone suspect gets a turn early holding that water hose! The hardest part of the trip will be getting away from the dock. If you can do that? You are good to go.

Many thanks, StormJib - all good info.

If anyone else that's bareboated the 514 PC could share their experiences, I'd be grateful.