If no cover, did you leave the plug out with all that rain?

Why would you take your boat from FL to ME for the winter????

Just wondering.

Good job on the long haul. The farthest I've towed was about 500 miles and that was in just one day. Towing 1,800 miles is quite the feat, especially in those conditions.

AT, I had to double-check the town anyway – I remember the exit saying something different than the receipt.
Ya, to bad we missed the colors – next year though

WM, around 12 mpg for us to (per the display). 13s in flat FL & GA. Dipped in the 11s climbing hills.
I can’t give our Expedition enough credit – it has been a great vehicle all around.

Holiday, we kept the plug in – wanted to see if we could get the trailer weight to 10k.
Just kidding The only time the plug is in my boat is when it is in the water.
Btw, the boat is still drying.

Deep, moving to MD. Storing the boat in my Mom & stepdad’s backyard in ME over the winter (had it winterized in FL).
We looked at storage in MD – but since my family is watching the dog for a few weeks until we got settled, it made sense to drop the boat & dog off. Plus, we plan on doing some boating in Maine next summer before we tow it to MD.

LL, glad to hear you made the trip safely -- it is obvious that your careful planning and preparation paid off, especially since the conditions were less than optimal!

You are missing some beautiful weather in your new home. Now that Ida has cleared out, it was 70 and sunny yesterday.

LL, I see you had the boat winterized in Florida. Do Florida boat yards know how to winterize for Maine winters?

Way, thanks & as nice as 70 sounds – I am enjoying real fall weather now

Bob, my place in Tampa is a certified Volvo/Merc boat shop.
They seemed very familiar with winterizing. (half the people in FL are northern transplants)
They fogged it, drained it, treated the gas & I should know what else, but have to find the work order.
I will take the battery out.

When I took the boat in for winterizing and trailer maintenance, I made my two requirements clear.
1. Do what you need to do so the trailer makes it to Maine (check on that)
2. Winterize it because it will be outside in a cold Maine winter & I don't want anything to break
We will find out next spring how well it was winterized

Nicely done. Thanks for the great post! Welcome 'home'.

Since the boat will be outside in Maine during the winter, make sure you take precautions with keeping it safe. Snow on just a cockpit and bow cover will wreck havoc on it. I lived in Maine for 4 years and know that winters are brutal up there. I just don't want you to forget since you haven't see a winter lately.

Thanks JT.

That is a good reminder Holiday.

I think I will be OK. We joined two 2x4s to make a 16 ftr.
I am putting a small sawhorse on the engine hatch, a 4ft plank across the windshield frame & resting the 2x4 on center. A 16x30 tarp will be snugged down to cover everything. It is a pretty common way people store boats – around here anyway.

Our boat is sitting beside their tow-behind camper at the edge of their backyard.
Stepdad snowblows a path to & around the camper to sweep the snow off.
He will do the same for our boat. Family sure is great

LL -- just saw your post on the trip -- great job ---

Thanks Dale – only one way up north, nothing like the tows you, FLB, jet jack and others have done. But we are confident to tow anywhere now

LL, great job. Wish I'd paid better attention, I would have PM'd you my mobile phone number in case you needed any roadside help up this way. My office is just off 495, I live sorta on the way from there to to Maine, and I travel to Brigton/Harrison all the time.

Do your parents live in Harrison? My building lot for my future retirement home is quite near Harrison and on the Bridgton/Sweden line by Highland Lake. My aunt and uncle have a place on Long Lake (south end) as well. I love the Maine lakes region.

Thanks Dave - that is nice offer, maybe when we tow south.
Their house is on 35, about 3 miles from the Harrison post office.
A few years ago when they first got together, they lived in Bridgton.
We are pretty familiar with the whole area & it is beautiful.

We plan to boat on Long and Sebago next year & tow 5 hours north where the rest of my family is – just as nice w/less people

Must be up near Bear Pond. Nice area. I'm sure we'll be on Sebago and Long next year as well. I'll post in Float Plans, maybe we can raft up at a sand bar or meet at Rick's Cafe in Naples to have a nice meal (certainly not to look at the waitresses or anytrhing like that..)