GTFOplan #74: Hydraulic Trailer vs. Travel Lift? Protect your boat!

IN THIS VIDEO: GoTFO?? has her first haul out at Zimmerman's in Mathews Virginia. We sail in our first fog for many hours and are so happy for all the vessels that have AIS - Automatic Identification System. Beware: Many boats do not have AIS and it's super scary! We do some boat projects while "on the hard" including filling our bean bags with Big Joe Bean Refill using a paper towel roll. We also learn how to access our sail drive oil output using a hand impact driver - what a difference the correct tool makes! We learned, much to Ann's dismay, that there isn't a better way to insulate our fridges and freezers but maybe we could add a fan to better push out the hot air causing the every-two-month defrost plan. We show a close up of our sheared off daggerboard, a Balance Factory defect, and our Lewmar factory recall port windows. Our coppercoat failure will be redone in Annapolis, Maryland, in September. Hope to see you at the Annapolis Boat Show in October 2024! MUST HAVE TOOLS: Hand Impact driver https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R96M9VW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 BEST HAUL OUT: Zimmerman's Marina, Mathews, Virginia https://www.zimmermanmarine.com/mathews-va "Zimmerman Marine started at the Mathews VA yard 43 years ago, prior to Steve Zimmerman purchasing that property there had been a boat builder on site. The builder used a railway system to haul and launch boats, it was located where our new service building is now. There was a history of hauling boats at the yard not using a Marine Travel Lift, ( our 6 other yards all use travel lift to haul boats) so Steve many years ago built the lift pad and purchased a Brownel hydraulic trailer to haul mono hull boats only. Roughly 4 years ago we saw a need in the mark, a reputable service company that could provide quality service for the cruising community. So we worked with a company in Canada to develop a trailer that could safely haul catamarans and mono hulls. We have limited land space, with the trailer we can block boats very close to each other to maximize the number of cats we can store. Another advantage, we reduce stress cracks. We have a crew member tap under the bridge deck to find the bulkheads, the strongest and most rigid part of a boat. We take great care to marry the trailer bunks to the strongest part of a cat and slowly bring her out of the water. With the Marine Travel Lift, the lifting points are on the hull. Most catamarans we have seen do not have true bulkheads above the waterline and very few are marked. There is a tremendous amount of pressure pushing on the hulls from the straps, and the lifting process is jerky." CURRENT LOCATION: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SV-GTFO/ ABOUT OUR CATAMARAN: We love our new Balance 482 - it's a perfect size for a cruising couple to handle and is a great "balance" of performance and comfort. One of our favorite features is the excellent ventilation since we mostly live as "hookers" (aka at anchor) where the boat automatically turns into the wind so we stay cool and we don't need to battle mold. We also have starlink for easy off-grid life. Our 2400 watt solar panel array also means we rarely need to run an engine to charge our batteries. ABOUT US: We saved for a our future boat, sold everything that we owned, and shipped the rest in a container to Cape Town, South Africa. We then flew there and explored South Africa by way of a safari and touring Cape Town before moving aboard our boat. We then sailed to Saint Helena, Ascension Island, Fernando de Naronha (Brazil), Martinique, Sint Maarten (Dutch and French side), the US Virgin Islands (Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas), the British Virgin Islands (Anegada, Norman Island, Jost van Dyke, and Anegada), The Bahamas (Inagua, Crooked Island, Long Island, George Town, Staniel Cay, the Exumas, and Eleuthera). We then sailed back to the United States, making landfall in Cape Canaveral, Florida. From there our destinations are endless! Both Dennis and Ann grew up military brats with Army fathers. Dennis (the Colonel) served 30 years in the US Army and his retirement pension helped us retire in our 50s. Ann (the ship's Captain) wrote Test Automation in Python and Java. Dennis and Ann met on Match.com where Ann had in her profile "Do you want to sail the world with me?" Ann easily brought Dennis into sailing, and he loved the GTFOplan of retiring early and sailing the world. After many years of saving, living on one income but earning two, and cutting back on everything possible, they saved enough to buy a Balance 482. Follow them as they get real about boat life and all the hassles of buying a new boat because we all know N.E.W. means Not Everything Works. Kisses, Ann & Dennis Twitter: @GTFOplan Facebook: https://facebook.com/anndennis.snellikin.3 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtfoplan/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/gtfoplan Email: gtfoplan@gmail.com