It has been asked how we get around once we get to a new location. We have our big boat, Nymeria, to get us safely from port to port but once we get to a place, we have to figure out a way to get around. Since our truck is in storage in Texas, we need other ways to get to restaurants, points of interest and grocery stores.
For excursions that require water transit, like dinghy docks, waterfront restaurants or beaches, we have Lady, our 10’9 Inmar dinghy. She has an aluminum bottom and a 15hp Tohatsu engine which makes her very stable in rough water and also capable of being driven up on the beach if needed. It has enough power to easily get up on a plane and on top of waves and we’ve taken her on trips of close to 40 miles on her 6 gallon tank. She has been very reliable since her purchase in 2020 and fits perfectly on our bow when underway. The Tahatsu has never missed a beat and starts after 3 pulls, at most. We also tend to use her to replenish our fuel cans for the big boat.
When exploring by land, we have our Jupitor e-bikes and they have been a great addition to the crew. We found them at the Houston boat and auto show in 2020. We have definitely gotten our money’s worth out of them as they have taken a beating and are still trudging along. They are electric bikes that fold up (30″ x 15″ x 21″) and fit under the dinghy on the bow when underway. They are roughly 40 lbs, which is light for e-bikes, making it relatively easy to move them from the boat to the dinghy or the dock. We can get around quickly as they have a max speed of 18mph. It’s a great speed but it’s still too slow for the road and a bit too fast for the sidewalk. We love a good bike trail or bike lane and a bell to let folks know that we’re coming up fast. We have a pretty decent range of travel of maybe 15 miles and we also have spare batteries just in case we forget to charge them or we go for an extra long ride.
Not all has been sunshine and rainbows with the bikes though. We are currently on our second set of batteries. Our first set would die with around 30-40% of a charge left. Jupiter did warranty the batteries and we have a new set that have been holding up well so far. If we’re going out for a whole day of touring, we’ll bring the spare/crappy batteries just in case. E-bikes are great while they have a charge, otherwise, they are just really heavy bikes that are just trying to get home.
As part of our learning curve, we have done our fair share of trying to kill both the dinghy and the e-bikes. We left Lady unattended for about 9 months while we were in Utah and she now has some discolorations and some of the seams aren’t holding so well anymore but we’re working to make her like new again. We also left the bikes in the dinghy during a rain storm which caused all the wiring and displays to fill with water and needed replacing. Luckily, Justin is quite handy and has been able to replace/repair everything so far.
We’ve been super happy with our choices and have been able to go an explore to our hearts content. Justin has always pushed for folding electric scooters, which would be lighter and take up less space, but I’m not sure if I’m coordinated enough for that.
From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!
― Dr. Seuss, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
