The Boat: “Cbay” is a 2000 Bayliner 3988 custom made in Washington State for its original owner. He is an architect and requested many custom features not found on other examples of this model. She was trucked to Lake Lanier, GA and later moved to the Tennessee River where we found her at LGYC. She has twin 330hp turbocharged Cummins Diesels and a 8kw Westerbeke generator. She is 39 feet at the waterline but actual length with bow pulpit and swim platform is approximately 46 feet overall unless we are carrying our dinghy which adds another foot of overhang at the rear. For a big boat she is capable of serious speed and will plane at 23mph and top  out at 30mph. Of course she only gets one mile per gallon at such speeds so it costs some serious money in fuel to run that fast and we would only do so to run from bad weather. A normal cruising speed is between 8-10mph. That way we can actually see some of the sights we are passing. 

“Cbay” got christened with her new name thanks to our brother-in-law Jim Dulson who owns “Jim Dulson Signs” in Marietta, GA. The logo is a take off on ebay using a similar color scheme but with a capitol “C” representing Carlisle and  our beloved 16 year old Chihuahua, Daisy, who will be making the trip. More on Daisy in another section. The “bay” is short for Bayliner. It seems a shame that the beautiful lettering on the stern cannot be easily seen when the dinghy is hanging on the davits so we asked Jim to put a miniature version on each side of the radar arch. 

The boat has two staterooms and two baths. The master even has a tub! Now that’s something you hardly ever see on a boat this size. Of course who can fill up a tub when you only have a 6 gallon hot water heater? There are two air conditioner/heater systems.   

She carries 300 gallons of fuel (who wants to say fill her up?), 100 gallons of freshwater and has a 36 gallon waste holding tank that must be pumped out at a marina when full. 

There is a main salon, a full galley with two refridgerator/freezers that run on AC power or battery power and an elevated dining area. All packaged into a well designed interior. There is a lower helm station for inclement weather travel but the main driving area is up on the flybridge which has comfortable seating for at least eight. Both the flybridge and aft cockpit have full canvas enclosures. 

The boat was in pretty good condition when we got her but her age has required some updating. New Garmin 4212 chartplotter with Intelliducer and AIS (automatic identification system) should come in handy. We also replaced the salon air conditioner. I am sure we will encounter other items that need updating as we put some miles under the keel.