Our new Outback 50 arrived in Fort Lauderdale on March 16th. We were scheduled for unloading at 1:30 pm on March 17th. Andrew Cilla, our salesman and the company’s founder, arranged for us to go aboard the AAL KEMBLA while it was being unloaded! It’s pretty rare that non-port staff get to go aboard, let alone ride the boat from the ship into the water!
Andrew also arranged for a delivery captain, Ben, to drive the boat from the ship to the marina where it would be commissioned. Ben is a registered captain and is involved with the Mariners House Mission at the port, so he was able to smooth our way.
We arrived at the port and went through security. Then, we drove to the Mariners House Mission, where Ben had arranged for us to pick up loaner hard hats, which were required on board. We arrived at the ship around 12:00 and were cleared aboard.
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Our boat was on the far side of the ship from where we boarded, toward the front. Getting there involved climbing up the gangway, then climbing up and over several bulkheads using steel ladders and passages.
When we got to our boat, we dropped the boarding ladder on the swim deck and climbed aboard for the first time! We had to peel away the adhesive plastic protection film that they had wrapped the boat in to find the keyhole.
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Every piece of exposed stainless steel and glass was covered in plastic. Railings, windows, window frames, door frames, lights, and deck fittings all needed to be unwrapped. Anything on the exterior that wasn’t covered with plastic film has been sprayed with wax for protection.
The interior of the boat was full of cushions, tables, and chairs, all taped down for shipping.
We started by pulling off the plastic film on the windows so we could see out. 1:30 came and went, so we asked one of the crew when we would be coming off. He said that because of yesterday’s heavy rain, they were running behind, and he figured it would take 4-5 more hours! Ben went and spoke with the load master, who said that we would probably be coming off in about 90 minutes, around 3:00.
Andrew had a crew waiting at the marina for 2:00 to start unwrapping and cleaning the boat. Because we would be late getting there, we all kept peeling away plastic and unwrapping. The boat arrived in excellent condition. It had traveled over 13,500 miles on the outside deck of a ship. During the trip, they experienced 20 to 25-foot waves for several days. The only damage was a few tiny scratches where rusted metal had fallen off one of the cranes onto our boat’s deck.
While we were waiting, we continued to unwrap the boat. The crews were unloading boats behind us, first a 95-foot yacht, then a Krogen Express. At around 3:30, it was our turn. When the factory loads the boat onto the ship, it is in a custom-made steel cradle. The boat sits on the cradle and is lifted aboard. They then strap the boat to the deck with large tie-down straps. We counted 22 straps on our boat. They also weld the steel cradle to the boat’s deck! It’s not going to fall off!
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Allison and Gerry, on Destination III, friends we met on our first Loop trip, were staying at a marina close to where we were unloading. They texted us to see how it was going, and then cruised up in their boat to watch the unloading. We got some great photos and video from them of the boat coming off the ship.
The first step was for them to remove the straps. Then, welders came around and cut the steel cradle away from the deck. Finally, they swung the large crane with huge lifting straps over the boat and attached the straps to the cradle.
We had to get off the boat for the first part of the lift. They picked it up off the deck and swung the boat out over the side of the ship. They then lowered it so the deck was even with the ship’s railings, about 20 feet above the water, and had us climb up onto the ship’s railings and jump onto the boat! Once we were aboard, they lowered us the rest of the way to the water.
As the boat touched the water, Gerry and Allison blew their boat horn in celebration!
When the boat was just floating, we started the engines and the generator and did a quick check to make sure there were no leaks. We gave the crew the thumbs-up, and they tossed us our lines and lowered the cradle the rest of the way into the water so we floated free. Ben backed the boat out of the cradle and slings, and we were delivered!
The boat yard where the boat would be cleaned up and made ready for the show was only a short 10-minute ride from the ship. The cleaning crew had left due to the delay and rain. We spent an hour or so on the boat checking it out and taking some measurements.
On Wednesday, we went back to the boat. It was raining heavily, and the cleaning crew said that they couldn’t remove the wax coating in the rain. We spent the day going through the boat’s systems and getting familiar with it. We found a few minor issues, such as tank gauges that were not reading correctly and a few loose items. We also unpacked the boxes of manuals and started figuring things out.
The only major issue we encountered was that the air-conditioning system was not working properly. The pump was running, but it was not circulating water. I tried a few things but couldn’t get it working, so we asked the boat yard to take a look at it.
Between rain showers, we got the water tanks filled and rinsed off some of the dust and debris that had accumulated during the trip from Taiwan. Unfortunately, it was raining most of the day, so the cleaners couldn’t work on the boat.
Thursday morning was clear and sunny. The boat yard technician visited before we arrived and fixed the A/C system. There was an airlock from the bouncing during the trip. Also, the detail crew showed up and got to work removing the remaining plastic wrap and washing the wax coating off the boat. They had up to six people cleaning and polishing the boat. Originally, they said it would take two days, but we had to leave for the Palm Beach Boat Show on Friday morning, so they worked into the evening to finish it. The boat looks fantastic!
While they were cleaning, we did some more poking around and arranging. I installed the fire extinguishers and CO detectors. In the afternoon, we took a ride to the dock we will be renting for April while the electronics are installed and we wait for our Bimini to be ready. We were fortunate that the owner was just getting back to the dock when we arrived, so we got to meet him and discuss where on the dock we should put the boat. He has just purchased a 110-foot yacht that he will be putting on the dock, so we need to squeeze onto the end to leave enough room.
Friday, we met with Ben, the delivery Captain, at 8:30, and he and I took the boat up to Palm Beach. We had planned to go out into the ocean for the trip up, but the wind was blowing at 20 mph, and there were 6-7-foot waves. Not the conditions we wanted for our first boat ride! So, we stayed in the Intracoastal Waterway for the trip up. The boat ran wonderfully! We only got to open it up a few times, but it performed very well. I drove about half of the way to get used to it. It’s MUCH heavier (about twice the weight) than our Swift Trawler, and the extra 7 feet of length makes a difference. Also, the Outback has electronic engine controls, while our Swift Trawler was all mechanical. It took a bit of getting used to!
The trip up to Palm Beach took 7 hours. Brenda drove up and met us as we docked. Once we were tied up, Ben asked if I had any buyer’s remorse. It was easy to say “No!”
We drove back to Fort Lauderdale (about 90 minutes by car), dropped Ben off, and went to a hotel for the night. We had planned to drive from Palm Beach to our home on Friday, but Ben would have had to take an Uber back to Fort Lauderdale, so we opted to give him a lift and drive home on Saturday morning. I was pretty tired from the boat ride, and the traffic on Saturday morning was much lighter than it was during rush hour on a Friday afternoon.
We are going back to Palm Beach for the show on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Then will come home to Palm Coast again for the weekend. On Tuesday, we will pick up a rental car and go back to Palm Beach to pick up the boat. I’ll drive the boat back to Fort Lauderdale solo (wish me luck!), and Brenda will drive and meet me at the dock.
When we get back, the boat will return to the boatyard to have the hull wrapped (a protective blue plastic covering) and to have a few minor issues addressed. It is a testament to the quality of the manufacturing that on a boat with such complex systems and 100’s of thousands of moving parts, we only have six minor, mostly cosmetic items on our punch list!
In our next post, we will cover the Palm Beach Boat Show. Hopefully, we won’t see anything that we like better than our Outback 50!
Thanks For Visiting! – Tom & Brenda
