Soooooo where do I start? Well my brother in law has been boat shopping for a used boat recently and earlier this week he called and asked if I'd take a ride to look at one he found. I said sure and asked where at. He replied "far end of long Island"! That's about a 3.5hr drive from us and right past NYC covid19 headquarters lol. I agreed as long as we didn't make any stops other than the boat. So off we went yesterday around 1pm and thankfully because of the shutdown there wasn't much traffic. On the way up i started to realize that we could not take the same route home (if we had the boat) due to ny restrictions on trailers on certain roadways. After a good look at the boat and friendly conversation with the owner he ended up buying the boat. So we hitched up and hit the road home. All was going well for the first 1.5hr then the fun started. We missed our exit to go south towards the bridge we wanted to cross back into NJ. I quickly realized we had no choice but to cross what I thought was a bridge right into midtown manhattan . Well that bridge turned out to be a tunnel that that i knew we had the height clearance for but baaaaaarely fit width wise. He was white knuckled while we were in the tunnel. According to the map, once out of the tunnel we could jump on a road that would take us south back towards a bridge that would get us back to the original bridge we wanted. Welllll that was wrong and we popped out right in midtown manhattan . So I looked for the fastest route out of there and that was head for the holland tunnel then over to nj. We did some tight squeezin through some small streets and had the tunnel entrance in our sights when we were directed another direction by nypd. We politely told them we were very lost and they laughed and said "yea we figured, you can't take that boat through the holland but we'll direct you to the Lincoln tunnel". After a quick chat we thanked them and navigated our way through lower Manhattan and finally found the tunnel. Not after a few detours thanks to contruction on the route the officers told us . Once back in NJ we breathed a sigh of relief and made our way home laughing about it all, sort of hahaha. We also thought of a possible name for the boat "cluster flock". .
And then you can't find your way out!! For a couple of country boys that big city is freakin confusing! .
More than once I have had to air down the tires to clear an over pass that was mismarked-- or the road had been resurfaced several times since the bridge was built.
For a couple of country boys that big city is freakin confusing! This country boy breaks out in a rash just thinkin bout headin' to a big city...
That is a funny story Smokin and I could relate to it. It reminds me of a trip I once had to make in a semi. Time was getting short to make the last 2 deliveries in Indianapolis. I had never been there before but fear not, I can do it. But to save time I asked for directions at the last stop I had made and mentioned that time was getting short. I do not know if I was set up or not but things went well until all of a sudden I came around a curve or corner and bingo! I was faced with an overpass for a train track and it was about 6" lower than the trailer. Bang; hit the brakes. Has anyone ever noticed how quickly traffic can back up when someone stops in a city? Oh boy. What to do now? I had to get out of the truck and ask for some help from some other motorists. Thankfully I was able to back up and able to turn into a drive then go straight across the street (not enough room to turn and traffic did not want to cooperate) so I drove into an alley. Oh boy. What to do not. Fortunately I was able to take that alley to the next street and get on it but I did do an extraordinary amount of sweating over this. Oh, yes, I was able to make those last 2 deliveries as they were just a few items and I was then on my way home...hundreds of miles to home.
Great story, Smoke. I wonder if WeldrDave ever breathes that sigh of relief.... most likely upon leaving NJ.
Mistake #1 You mean "Green Acres" Mistake #2 Mistake#3 Should have went "North" You're very lucky! And took in the smell...
That’s a great story! I’m so glad it ended good. We have a low railroad bridge right off the the interstate, well no one has told the almighty god- GPS about the Bridge. There’s several trucks a week who get stuck under or just before that bridge. The road has several signs with flashing lights but they drive right past them!
Thought you'd all get a kick out of it! It was quite the adventure. Backwoods Savage that's a crazy story as well! I couldn't even imagine having to back up on a busy city street. WeldrDave hahaha. We definitely made a few mistakes. That was my second time to LI and never been to Hampton bays before. It was actually a really nice area! When we popped out of that first tunnel right in midtown i knew we were in for some fun navigating. I was lucky i even knew which way was up let alone north lol. You should've seen the looks and heard the comments from pedestrians. I heard two guys arguing on whether it was a speed or fishing boat. Quite a few people whipped out their phones to take pics/videos as we passed. I'm sure it's not often they see a 23ft boat on the streets of manhattan. And luckily the officers we came across were very understanding and helped as best they could. Ahh yes, the smell of jersey city. I was just happy to have 95 in my sights! We hit 95s and hammered down.
Thankfully we're both very aware of trailer clearances because of towing our campers. I didn't know the exact height of the boat but had a good feeling we weren't over 12'. The first tunnel was 12'1" and luckily had a clearance bar before entering. I stuck my head out the sunroof and confirmed we had room lol as we drove slowwwwwly.
Stinny haha! And i hear ya on breakin out in a rash. I start tensing up as soon as I get close to the city. I am just not wired for that craziness
That's his f150 eco boost. I was impressed with how well it tows for a 6cyl! Comfy ride too. The boats a 2000 may craft 23ft
dang 23 ft boat behind a 4 popper impressive.- guess i am just to old school - no replacement for displacement.
