Winnie the Pooh - SOLD

Winnie the Pooh was sold on October 11, 2014. We hope the new owners Karen and Steve will have as much fun, discovery and adventure as we did. Happy Cruising.

For Sale - 46' efficiency trawler Winnie the Pooh, $84,900

 Sadly, the time has come to part with our dearly beloved boat.  It's hard to do, but letting Pooh sit unused at our dock behind the house is also difficult.  We plan to do some extensive land cruising in the near future.


Winnie the Pooh is an efficiency trawler a sailor can love. Great Live-aboard; perfect for ICW, Bahamas or the Great Loop. Simple, roomy, comfortable, unique, unsinkable, economical, in excellent condition. A Charley Morgan design, the  Heritage West Indies 46 was built 1978 in Clearwater, FL.  We completely rebuilt him from the keel up in 1997. 80hp John Deere, cruises 7.5 kts @1.5 gph. Workshop fwd, A/C queen stateroom aft, propane cooking and heat. Comfy, roomy pilothouse. Dims 46’ x 15’ x 4.6’ draft. Displacement 36,000 lbs. Asking $84,900. Docked in Ortona, one hour east of Ft. Myers. Call Mark 863-517-1152






Pilothouse - Fully enclosed with a large chart table and comfortable leather seats for helmsman and navigator. Settee seats four across or great for naps. Cocktail table centrally located can be reached by all. Equipped with Navico autopilot, backup autopilot, JRC 2000 radar, Garmin fishfinder, Standard Horizon depth sounder, Garmin 126 GPS, Standard Horizon VHF, Icom handheld VHF.



 

Workshop forward with workbench and vise. Teak trimmed cabinets provide lots of storage for tools and parts. ABI deck prism for great lighting. 6” blower exhausts interior air through rope locker.








 



Head - Large, deep stainless sink. Bronze WC Skipper manual head for no headaches. 40 gal holding tank w pumpout via deck fitting or electric pump. Stainless Nicro solar vent. 

















Roomy saloon trimmed in cherry and teak. Romantic brass trawler lamp adds light and heat on cool evenings. Dinette seats 6 for dinner. Long settee opposite.  Parquet floor. 

Sylvania 15” flat screen TV concealed in cabinet. Pioneer
stereo w speakers in saloon and pilothouse. (2) Caframo fans, (3) Hatches are cast aluminum Bomar.
Lewmar aluminum ports new 1997. Force 10 propane heater.

Galley - Lots of counter and storage space, cherry and teak. Force 10 propane range, 3-burner with oven and broiler. Microwave oven. Extremely efficient top-loading refrigerator/freezer w 4” foam insulation. Large, deep stainless sink. Well lighted, airy galley with direct communication to dining room and pilothouse, so the cook feels a part of the party. (3) 70 gal aluminum water tanks feed a Flojet pressure pump and filter system.

Master cabin aft with queen bed, lots of hanging locker space, drawers and doors galore. 5000 BTU a/c can run from batteries; no generator noise. Caframo fan over bed. Roomy shower room in aft cabin w 6'3" headroom for sit down or stand up showers.

 Anchor equipment - 72 lb Supermax anchor on bow roller w 160’ of 5/16” HT chain and 150’ 5/8” nylon three-strand rode. Lofrans Tigres 1500 watt windlass, rated 2300 lbs, new 2004. #37 Fortress aluminum anchor mounted on bow roller w chain and 200‘ 5/8“ nylon double braid. Bow eye for snubber attachment near waterline. Rope locker vented w 6” blower, exhausts from boat interior. Seabrake drogue for heavy weather safety.  Fortress Guardian #55 storm anchor.

Driveline - John Deere 4039DFM diesel, 80hp @ 2500rpm. Velvet Drive 5000 transmission ratio 2.8 ratio swings a 26x19 3-blade prop for greater efficiency. 1.75” shaft with Aquadrive coupler to reduce vibration and noise, never needs aligning. Prop Protector line cutter for safety among the crab pots. Spare prop. (3) Racor 900 series fuel filters let you change filters while underway. 320 gal diesel in (2) aluminum fuel tanks w electric transfer pump, provides 1800 NM range.





Electrical - Unique system has 8 golf cart batteries, 880 AH of 12v capacity to anchor out 4 days before needing to charge. Twin 120 amp alternators on the Deere for rapid recharge underway or at anchor. Freedom 10 inverter/charger runs microwave or air conditioner. Link 1000 battery monitor
tells when charging is needed. 75w solar panel on the PH roof produces enough amps to run the refrigerator. Many interior lights are LED for low amp draw. LED night-lights throughout boat for safety and convenience at 0.3 amp draw. 5000 BTU air conditioner in aft cabin can be run from the batteries; no genset needed. Isotemp water heater runs on shore power or engine heat.





Deck - 22’ aluminum mast, hinged to be lowered single-handed in 30 minutes for low bridge clearance when navigating canals. 100 sq ft steadying sail and 200 sq ft jib for emergency get-home power (sails 3.5 kts in 15 kts wind). 2” diameter stainless dinghy davits holds the 9’ Boston Whaler with 15hp Mariner OB (or most inflatables to 10').  Built-in fiberglass swim platform reached by 4-step stainless boarding ladder. 




















+++++

Here's the story about "Winnie the Pooh", and how we came to design and build him the way we did. WTP is a custom 46' trawler who started life as a Heritage West Indies 46 Ketch, a Charlie Morgan designed cruising sailboat with a broad 15' beam and lots of interior room.


We bought the boat in Ft Lauderdale, motored it to Indiantown, FL where we lived on 2.5 acres, and had the boat trucked to our house. After 4 years of work, $50k in parts and supplies and about 9000 man-hours of labor, we launched Pooh in 1997, a brand new trawler with a 20 year old hull. All the wiring and plumbing is new. New engine, transmission, prop, shaft, rudder, seacocks, fuel tanks, pilothouse, ports, galley, range, refrigerator, furniture, cushions, electronics, etc. About the only things not new are the hull, deck and water tanks. "Why did you do such a crazy thing?" you ask? Good question. I asked myself the same thing many times during the construction process. Halfway through the task, we were sometimes in the depths of despair. But now, having lived aboard for 10 years, we are proud and very pleased with our decision. Though it didn't enter into our reasoning at the time, it's nice to have a unique boat that gets attention wherever we go. And, of course, in rebuilding a boat from the ground up, we had the opportunity to add custom touches like a large workshop in the forepeak, a sewing room conversion of the aft berth, and full foam flotation for safety.
Fuel tankage addition is not difficult or expensive if the room is available. I designed the new tanks so they fit through the companionway. We added a pair of 160 gallon aluminum tanks port and starboard amidships to minimize trim change with changing fuel load. Pooh now holds 320 gal for a still water range of 1800 nm at 7.5 kts at 1700 rpm, burning 1.5 gph (not bad for a 36,000 lb boat).

Mastless sailboats tend to have a quick, snappy roll in a beam sea; safe but not comfortable. To correct this problem, about half the ballast in the keel needed to be removed. We cut the lead keel on Pooh from a draft of 6’ down to 4’8” at full load. For Florida and Bahamas cruising, it is best to keep draft under 5’.

For motion control there are bilge keels 8’ long just aft of amidships to dampen rolling under way. Pooh's folding 22' mast, stepped on top of the pilothouse, is beefy enough to support paravane poles if one wants to add them, but easy to fold flat to get under low bridges (think Erie canal) Meanwhile, we can fly 100 sq ft of steadying sail and carry an additional 200 sq ft jib for emergency get-home power. We have tried the pair of sails, making 3.5 kts in 15 kts true wind on a broad reach. Won’t win many races, but it will get you home. Asking $84,900.

==
Mark Richter, Mechanical Engineer, aboard Winnie the Pooh, custom Morgan 46 Trawler.
Lying Ortona, FL
"Mark's Mobile Marine" electrical system design, installation and repair
Phone 863-517-1152

Islamorada to Ortona, Florida

After we enjoyed our time at Islamorada, we decided to check out some uninhabited Keys near by. So we weighed anchor on Thursday morning heading to Lignumvitae Key, picking up a State maintained mooring to visit the park. We dinghied ashore only to be informed by one of the Park personnel that there's no tour that day, that they now only open on Friday through Sunday, but we're welcome to walk around the grounds ourself. The mosquitoes were so bad, so we didn't stay long.

Lignumvitae Key, Park personnel working with mosquito net cover

We dinghied back to the boat and decided to go to Crab Key that was only 8 miles away. It was total isolation, nothing around except some bonefish fishermen fishing in the distant flats. We dinghied around, snorkeled, and Mark got to swim with about 10 dolphins.

Swimming with dolphins, sailboat in the calmness of early morning

The weather was getting hotter everyday, from the high 80's to the 90's and the water temperature had been around 83 degrees. So we decided to start heading for home, we had a perfect trawler day on the Florida Bay from Crab Key to Little Shark River at the Everglades. Little Shark River is a very nice anchorage, but at dawn and dusk watch out for the mosquitoes and deer flies, they can't wait to take a bite on you. We also had the longest thunderstorm there, lasted over an hour with lightening everywhere.

Little Shark River and sunset

We left Little Shark River the next morning, heading for Marco Island. We dropped anchor by Keewadin Island in the early afternoon on Saturday, and was amazed by numbers of local boats

that anchored there to party, have fun and just enjoy the beach.

Boats at Keewadin Island and Food vendor on the beach

Keewadin Island beach and sunset

By sunset all the boats had left, the anchorage and the water around it was beautiful. We swam, collected shells and really liked this spot. The next morning we traveled on the ICW from Little Marco island to Naples and came out at Gordon Pass to the Gulf , the wind was light, so we trolled with a fishing line, and caught a 19" Spanish Mackerel near Ft. Myers Beach. Wow, we're happy cruisers again. We grilled it for dinner when we dropped anchor at Franklin Lock, it was delicious.

Spanish Mackerel, Sunset at Franklin Lock

We arrived home on Monday. Three weeks of cruising went by fast, the hot weather brought us home early. But I am content to be home, there's yard work waiting for us, and the cool comfort of an air conditioned house.

Bahia Honda to Islamorada, Florida Bay

After a week stay in Boot Key harbor, Marathon we're ready to move on. The weather condition was good so we decided to go back to Sombrero Reef to snorkel again. We didn't stay long due to strong running current, making it hard to get far from the boat to the better parts of the reef.

A trawler with 6 wind generators, at Sombrero Reef

Next we decided to go to the Florida Bay side of Bahia Honda Key. We found a good 8' sandy spot
to anchor, than we dinghied ashore to the state park. The beaches are beautiful and we had a wonderful time drift snorkeling on the bay side in the afternoon, saw many lobsters, nurse sharks, fish and even a few conch.

At anchor Bahia Honda, Stowaway from home "sealegs"

Beach at Bahia Honda State Park

The next morning we up anchor to head up to Islamorada. A beautiful day on the Florida Bay, birds and people fishing on the flats, cloud building in the distance.

Birds and Bonefish fishing

Clouds developing

We arrived at Islamorada in the early afternoon. Dinghied ashore to the Library to get cooled off and catch up on some reading. After about two hours we dinghy to the Lorelei, a local and cruiser's favorite hang-out for refreshments and food. They also have daily music entertainment at 6 PM. The happy hour, entertainment and our dinner were all good. It's good to have a break from cooking.

Seaplane landing by anchorage, Nautilimo cruising by

Another way to cool off

Lorelei at Islamorada

Lorelei and sunrise at Islamorada

We spent our second day snorkeling and dinghying around the bay, afternoon at the Library, sundowners and dinner at the Lorelei. This is what cruising is all about.

Dry Tortugas-Key West-Marathon, FL

We had a pretty rolly ride from Dry Tortugas to the Marquesas Keys, so we decided to take a rest and anchored at Boca Grande Key for a night. The anchorage is nice but can get very lively when the current is running strongly against the wind. We dinghied ashore for a walk on the beach, a favorite hang-out for beach goers from Key West on weekends, that is 16 miles away.

Sunset at the Marquesas, Boca Grande Key Beach

Boca Grande Key water swing
We came into Key West harbor the next afternoon, anchored by Fleming Key. A fun place to watch all the boat traffic in and out of the harbor. To our amusement a sport fishing boat came by to fish about 100 yards from us, they hooked several big fish, it took them more than 40 minutes to bring a fish in.

Big cruise ships at Key West

Sport fishermen fishing by anchorage, Tarpon waiting for scraps in the Harbor
We spent an afternoon walking around the shops and waterfront of Key West. It's hot and there's not as many tourists around as when we have been here in the winter. The streets are quiet and well kept, the bars offer bargain price drinks, beers on draft at $1 each, so one doesn't have to walk to far to get thirsty.


Eye catching display, Local favorite hang-out

Quiet time to visit Key West

We had a nice cruise on Hawk Channel to Marathon. Boot Key Harbor is one of our favorites, There's plenty of restaurants and shops within dinghy distance, nice beach and reefs near by. We took a mooring ball from the City Marina. For $100 per week, it includes dinghy landing, showers, pump out, etc. a very well run operation.

Quiet time at Boot Key Harbor mooring field, Sombrero Beach
My niece Jill and friend Michael came for a visit. We went to the Sombrero beach and took the boat to Sombrero Reef to snorkel. The reef is beautiful with many fish, picking up a mooring ball on the reef can be a challenge if the condition is rough. But we had a good time snorkeling and a rolly time to get there.

Picking up visitors and snorkeling at Sombrero Reef
Cruising in the Keys at this time of the year has many challenges; one is the unexpected thunderstorms. Often they come during the night, and sometimes a water sprout would develop; then you pray that it won't get too close. Another challenge is the heat; so long you are in shade, the sea breeze keeps you cool, otherwise, it's hot! The pluses are many too, like having the place all to yourself, really quiet and peaceful.

Water sprout