2015 key west poke run. my first time
 

hi everyone my name is Justin. I will be running the key west poker run with my new to me 97 380 Powerquest avenger.
I have a few other guys going that have not been on this run either.
so what this is about is there anyone that would be running in this run as well and leaving Thursday that will be running anywhere from 45mph to 60 mph that would like to have our own little convoy threw out the day?


also Ive only boated in fresh water and never done much salt water, what kinda tricks or prepping should I do to my boat before the trip. please and thanks.

any info and advice would be awesome.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]545504[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]545505[/ATTACH]1997 380 Powerquest avenger

Anyone on here doing the run?

Congrats on your new boat Justin! Did you sell your 270?

Bob the builder is doing it and leaving Thursday. If possible, you should follow him. He has done it for 25 yrs straight it sounds like. Id want to follow someone who knows what's going on for my first time.

Hey Jason. Thanks. And no I haven't sold it yet I think I'm going to wait till spring. And try and sell it again if I can't get what I want I might even keep it for s little whike for inland lakes.


Yea that's kinda what im looking for is to hook up with someone that has done it before and knows what's going on! Cuz I won't be able to keep up with most of the pack.

If you signed up through FPC you will see a bunch of 55-60 mph cruise guys in the Thursday group. Most of the CC guys run in that speed group.

Flying in for the week. You get tied up give me a call and I will buy you a beer! Great to see a 38 PQ doing the run!!

Cash what is your cruise speed & RPM's?

Change impellers on pumps,spare belts fuel filters, oil change and lots of cash for fuel. Make sure your plotter has the right map for south florida. I advise sea tow or boat us tow coverage. If you take out tow ins you probably won't need it !! Not throwing bad ju ju out there but for $150..00 its worth it the first time you need it !!

BTW there is always someone faster so just enjoy the cruise and scenery, all the boats meet up for card stops,gas and food anyway.

How many miles running is it? Do most do round trip or have someone bring trailer & tow back?

370 miles round trip. I did the poker run in 2005 with a 382 w 500 efi's. Great trip average 50-55mph. No problems but I prefer to tow to key west now instead. If you have an issue there are many willing people and parts available to get you running if its not catastrophic . Preparation is the key as always. The 5 hr cab ride to pick up the truck trailer is a buzz kill.

Get some charts of the areas you will be in and make sure to check when the Hi/Low tides will be each day your out...nothing sucks more then running aground on a sand bar :D ask me how i know! !! lol
Other then whats been said above, the only other thing i did when i had my old Scarab down in FL was to spray all the metal parts down with a nice coating of WD40 and then wash everything with salt-away afterwards

yea plumber I got an extra sea water pump and belts and all the above boat will have a full service before it goes down. and thanks for the advice I will do some studying for sure before I go down. thanks again.

Still playing with props but expect a 70-75ish cruise with RPM TBD. :popcorn:

Leave your (liver) at home. It will get hurt.

make sure an make the fun run on sat. out to island good time. leo

To the OP, how was your trip? & would you do it again? We seen the chopper flying right above you on Saturday , you must have some killer pics? We've been going for a few years boat less & now Were contiplating doing the tow next year from Detroit area... Just wanted your opinion if it was worth it... Thx

hopefully you made it home safely... I heard the ride back was dicey

sorry about the late response. But yes it was an amazing run and a lot of fun! we are planning it again for next year already. totally worth bringing a boat down if u do the run!

for it being my first time everything for the most part went well. haulover was kinda a **** show but it worked its self out! the only issues I had was vapor locking at gilberts was about it.
ran the boat 4800-5000 rmps all the way down! it was a fun trip cant wait for next year.

I think what also made it a wonderful time was billy and the twistedmetal crew cuz they gave us a first hand experice of what boat racing is all about!

also about pictures I seen a couple that were good shots but im still trying the track down all the rest cuz the chopper flew over my deck at least 4 times on Thursday as well so im trying to find those pics!

Here's a couple oics bad quality tho still trying to get the originals yet!

FYI you won't get the originals.....property of FPC but Stu can make you photos from the regular 8X10 up to poster size. He has a whole photo processing shop on site.

Yea I know that I called them already im just going to buy a cd with all the pics on it! That's what I ment my originals!

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I'm pretty sure this is the one we saw. Nice shot!

Thanks for testing this out for me, Justin!.....I've thought about doing the run for a few years, but haven't every pulled the trigger. If it's as good as you say, I'll pull my boat down next year from MI. Definitely a bucket list item.