The Crystal Dawn Floats

By Kenneth Dodson - Posted on 30 July 2007

Update: Launch photos!

I got up and 6:00 am on Saturday July 28th 2007 and started doing a few last minute install and hookups to get the Crystal Dawn ready to get wet for the first time. Note I did not say finished as I don't think I will ever "finish" as I have lot's of new ideas. At 10 pm we hooked it to the trailer and starting heading for salt water. Stopped by the gas station and put 30 gallons into the 62 gallon belly tank. As I mentioned during the tank install I added vent lines to the front and rear of the tank. The boat sits bow up slightly on the trailer and I was concerned with fueling time. I just hit the nozzle full open and watched my money disappear. I could hear and feel the vent expelling air and I had no bubble up out of the fill tube.

We got to Seward, Alaska about 3:00 am and caught 3 hours rest at Mike McCormick's Bay Barge and Bait shop. They are good friends (really good friends as it was 3:00 am) whose son (Ryan) was riding with us for the shake down cruise.

The bait shop apartment overlooks to loading ramp. As I looked out the window with bleary eyes at 6:30 am, the first thing I saw was a white with green trim wide body being unloaded. It was definitely a Tolman and it looked like a wide body. It did not have an anchor well but rather a small cuddy and large flat deck that took up the anchor well area as well as about a third of what would have been the cuddy roof line. It looked like you would still have sitting headroom but only one person wide next to the bulkhead. But you then have a large flat area at the front that looked nice for casting or fly fishing. I wish I had a camera with me to snap a photo.

We grabbed a breakfast burrito and coffee at the bait shop. The moment of truth. I have to admit I had a few butterflies. I sure hoped the dang thing floats. My son Justin backed the boat down. That guy can back a trailer with the best of them. Straight down the ramp about nine inches from the dock. We had fenders set amd lines in position. I didn't have to worry about the drain plug as that is one thing I haven't drilled yet. Backed it down until the stern floated and slid it back and to the end of the ramp while Justin parked the trailer. I tied it up and started the motor. It purred like a kitten and I had to look for a pee stream it ensure it was running. It was floating and running. 2 milestones down. Now the question. Did I get the cables adjusted correctly as I had not engaged transmission yet. I let the motor idle about 5 minutes waiting for Justin. When he got back we untied and Justin held the rope from the dock while I engaged reverse. Luckily we started back so Justin pushed off and hopped aboard.

We idled out of the Marina and headed for open water. Sun, no wind, bath tub smooth water. After we clear the sea wall we increased speed. Trying to watch the RPM during break in but after a while I noticed that we had crept up to 27 MPH (I haven't figured out how to set the GPS for knots but will before the next outing) The top speed I reached this outing was 30 MPH but I still had some throttle left. I was real happy with the Suzi 115 so far.

After we traveled about 5 miles we lost power, I throttled back and the motor continued to idle, it never died. I throttled back up and it responded but after about 30 seconds lost power again. We turned around and headed back to the marina. If I kept the burn rate below a gallon an hour it ran fine. That was about 7-9 MPH so we just relaxed and cruised back at that speed. It sure seemed to be a fuel delivery problem to me. We tied up at the marina and Justin when and got a 6 gallon portable and a 6 gallon fuel jug. I had already plumbed one inlet on the fuel filter with a quick connect so we just plugged it in and tried again.

Second trip out from the marina the breeze had come up a bit. I little more chop but still very nice. No more power issues. The motor ran well. I turned off the portable valve and turned the main tank valve back on and had the same issue. I am betting that I have an obstruction the reduces the flow as the only difference between the 2 tanks is the pick up tube and 3' of hose. Both tanks run through the same filter. We cruised around for an hour and a half and then headed back to see if Ryan was awake and ready to go. It was also time to grab a sandwich.

When we got back to the shop Ryan and Mike were both ready to go. Mike had talked his wife into watching the shop while he sneaked out with the boys. The wind had risen and was blowing pretty good. Seas were a little confused but that is Seward. We decided to stick pretty close so went across the bay and tried a drift along the shore by the saw dust pit. The wind was blowing us in excess of 3.5 miles an hour so it was tough to try and jig. Couldn't reach bottom. We broke out the new downriggers that Justin purchased for the boat. 2 new Cannon electrics. We only had one ball so only set one up and stacked 2 rods on it. We used a Grim Reefer on the front of the herring in place of a flasher and that seemed to be the ticket. We blooded the boat with a little Pink Salmon that Justin caught on the drift and then landed 2 nice Silver Salmon off of the downrigger. We had 3 hook ups that broke the line before I suggested that perhaps taking a little tension of the new reels would be in order. We had 7 hook up in a couple of hours. I used the motor for course adjustment but mostly used the wind for propulsion. A drift sock would have been really nice as we were still trolling a little fast. Blood on the boat the first trip put a smile on my face.

The wind continue to rise so about 3:30 pm I made the call to head back. We had a couple of miles to cross the bay and the wind was out of the south which would put the waves square abeam. I jogged Southwest to put the waves at 45 to port. After I was over half way across I headed Northwest to the marina. The waves weren't bad but it was enough for the first time out as when in the following seas the boat felt heavy and I was wondering if I was taking on water. Everything was fine just following seas but I am new to larger boatsd in the salt and I could help wondering if all my epoxy batches were accureate. ;~) In fact the guys sitting in back said it was not rough at all. Standing at the station 6 bulkhead was rougher. The leaning station was really nice when it was choppy.

The boat trailered great. After I got the trailer adjusted Saturday it rode and looked sharp. I had to raise the front of the bunk 2" in order for the bow to clear the front V of the trailer to get it forward enough. A couple of pieces of 2" square stock and some longer U bolts and it fit like a glove. The tow vehicle fuel mileage from Seward to Eagle River, (~ 130 miles) was approximately the same as when we just drive the truck. Justin's truck did the hauling, it is a Chevy 2500 4wd.

I had a lot of nice comments on the boat. I felt a pride of ownership in saying that I did it myself. As Bob has mentioned Renn rocks. I would just like thank everyone that answered question for the last 2 1/2 years. Dreams do come true.

The official launch of the Crystal Dawn is scheduled for next week, weather permitting. This is when my wife and daughter (who the boat is named after) will be in attendance.

All in all it was a great day. I had a big smile on my face but I was a tired puppy by the time I had her back on the trailer.