Took a trip down to the springs in Florida!

[freedomvango]

Spent the weekend testing out all the electrical upgrades I recently installed on the boat—and let me tell you, it was amazing! Took a 4-hour cruise at 26 mph from Jacksonville to Silver Glen Springs along the St. Johns River. Conditions were chef's kiss perfect on the water, though it was pretty chilly overall.

I added a thru-hull exhaust and a Chinese diesel heater because I ran out of time to install the gas-fired Espar heater. But I wasn’t about to let that stop me—I had to see the manatees!

We set out around 8 a.m. with temps sitting at a brisk 30°F, but inside? Toasty and warm. The water was like glass almost the entire way—absolutely stunning.

When we got to the springs, it was pretty empty. Just one other boat besides the usual houseboat crowd (you know the type). Later that night, a few locals were out bowfishing, but overall, it was super quiet and peaceful.

As for the manatees—oh man, they didn’t disappoint! Curious and friendly as always. When we stopped, they all came up to hang out with us for the day. Got to watch them roll around and even saw a few babies in the group. So cool!

Overall, 10/10 trip. Totally worth the effort, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Silver Glen Springs by boat by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Silver Glen Springs by boat by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Silver Glen Springs by boat by Grant Wilson, on Flickr

Steam in the morning at Silver Glen Springs by Grant Wilson, on Flickr
Steam in the morning at Silver Glen Springs by Grant Wilson, on Flickr

The morning brought some crazy steam from the 72 degree springs in the 25 degree air. Had to get in the water and walk out to get these shots and it was 100% worth it.

 

[CaptT]

Grant, you should submit these photos to the photo of the month they are amazing!! We live in the Bradenton area and have seen the manatees often. When guests visit from out of state in the spring we love taking them to the power plant in Ruskin to see the manatees enjoying the warm water discharge, we love to see the look on their faces when they see their first manatee. It never gets old.
A funny story. The admiral saw her first group of manatees in the Keys at the Marathon Marina when the bar tender spotted them off of the side of the bar docking area. Unfortunately we only got a quick look as he pulled the sunshade down and said not to look as they were having a "moment of intimacy"..........all SIX of them!

 

[venajeff]

I am in no way endorsing anything but I will say that from many years experience with both Espar and "Chinese" diesel heaters, I have been impressed and disappointed with both of them. In the future though I don't think I will be spending a thousand dollars for a new heater.

 

[freedomvango]

I am in no way endorsing anything but I will say that from many years experience with both Espar and "Chinese" diesel heaters, I have been impressed and disappointed with both of them. In the future though I don't think I will be spending a thousand dollars for a new heater.

On the diesel side, I may possibly agree. I've seen too many issues with gas ripoffs, and I happen to have an espar gas unit in stock, and it can feed from the factory tank, so it seems the best long-term option.

The issue for us, however, is we have to support after the same. We primarily install Autoterm heaters which have amazing support and make it easy to take care of customers. if we install Chinese heaters then I have no recourse when someone has an issue. For self install, its one thing. For us, its a whole different set of rules

 

[venajeff]

For sure. I don't think I would trust anything but top of the line for a gasoline heater.

Your pictures from your trip look amazing. We are tentatively planning an east coast trip in the coming years and now need to add that to our itinerary.

 

[freedomvango]

For sure. I don't think I would trust anything but top of the line for a gasoline heater.

Your pictures from your trip look amazing. We are tentatively planning an east coast trip in the coming years and now need to add that to our itinerary.

deff worth it if you are in the area. It's out of the way if you arent, but pretty awesome. I happen to have my boat on the st johns, so it was a straight shot

 

[freedomvango]

in case you wanna see the fun!

 

[Lake Effect]

Great video! Thanks! It was great meeting you at Hontoon! Great talk about Lithium batteries.

 

[freedomvango]

Great video! Thanks! It was great meeting you at Hontoon! Great talk about Lithium batteries.

Same! Thank you!