I.D.C.E.

Where are we pre-rendezvous'n on Friday night? Captains Inn or Latititudes like last year????

Hematite

I have 2 questions that may also be of interest to others.
First, where is the best launch ramp in that area for trailered boats?
Second, when rafting up how do you prevent damage to the Flagship paint pattern on the SS boats?
The reason I ask the second question is that my boat sustained some clearcoat scuffing while docked only for a few days and the fenders had Polyform cloth covers. Possibly the covers are the problem.

I.D.C.E.

Hey there, both good questions.

1. RAMPS : There are several ramps local that you can easily ramp ANY size boat you are trailering.

Southwinds on the Forked River has the closest ramp to Tices however for the long boats it can be a trick to get out of the ramp area if there's boat traffic or wind because of how the gas dock is. Thats really the only negative. On location there's a dock store, plenty of slips for transient parking, a restaurant and beach bar. http://marinaatsouthwinds.com/home.php

A friend (splitdecision) actually turned me onto going to the Lacey Elks Lodge on the Forked River. It has a very long ramp that usually is good for any boat during mean to high tides. The place is very laid back for truck/trailer parking. Here's the address 900 Beach Blvd Forked River, NJ 08731.

There's a few others that I have used but with my 26PC I feel more comfortable with the other 2. There's Townsends Marina (has nasty drop off), Ricks Marina (used once on a good tide had no real issues). There's a free ramp too but that's mostly for smaller vessels.


2. BOAT SAFETY : We do not want anyone to subject their boat to any kind of damage while rafted up to others during the day. Everyone is responsible of their own boat and we expect everyone to keep an eye out for each other. We had several boats with Imron sides rafted up over the past 2 years' events and the owners of those boats usually have a felt/furry jacket that goes over the fenders. You also have the option to anchor real close if you so choose but we don't want anyone to be excluded from the fun!

If you have any questions or want more info of the area let me know on here or email [email protected]. We have had people attend from Hudson Area that stayed in the area also.

Splitdecision271

My plan is to do some cleaning and waxing into Friday evening. Depending on the time I can leave work on Friday, hoping for a 1:00pm departure, will determine if I can attend any pre-rendezvous events.

I.D.C.E.

We are leaning towards a Captain's Inn Pre-Rendezvous on Friday evening. I'm going to make a few calls tomorrow. Brian no excuses boat looks amazing git r dun and be ready!

Hematite

I.D.C.E.: Thank you for the great info, especially your insight on the ramps. No question that all ramps are not created equal and some are just horrible!
I see that you tie off to pilings when docking and use no fenders. I'm unfamiliar with this technique. I'm used to tying to dock cleats while using fenders on the side with the cleats. I'll have to find out how to do this and see if I have the correct lines.
Thanks again for your kind reply to my questions.

I.D.C.E.

That is at a restaurant/beach bar by us. Its usually calm and when you tie up the way you see in pics theres no way for the boat to come in contact with anything. A good thing about these Rendezvous we are all around to help each other and are willing to share our experience with people.

Splitdecision271

As far as lines go, for pilings, you need 5 total lines. Two off the front, two off the stern, and one more for a spring to keep you from drifting back.

As I.D.C.E said we're always willing to help another boater, especially a fellow Formula owner out. Hopefully it won't deter you from joining in the weekends events.

A bunch of us have gotten to become a pretty tight knit crew over the past 3 years and it all started from a simple little raft up. We always look forward to meeting fellow boaters, sharing stories, and just hanging out on our boats.

Expensive Date

What time are you going to be there till? My engine is supposed to be back in a running tomorrow, if I get it Friday night time is not a problem. But if I have to go pick it up on Sat won't be there till later.

Know I'm not a regular with this group but I will try to make it.

Splitdecision271

Friday night, the eve of a 3 day holiday weekend. I'm throwing my watch in the water. If you see a bunch of Formula's docked outside, you'll know we're still there, come on in.

Our paths have crossed several times over the years Tim, we're a pretty easy group to get along with. Maybe not all, but one of us is out on the bay at least every weekend pretty much. Hope you get running again, there will be plenty of room on Saturday for anyone to join in the fun.