Two Days on a 1999 Bayliner Out of Gibraltar

The Brief

Shari and Scott own a 1999 Bayliner 2855 Ciera that presents well for her age. They wanted a coaching day to get comfortable running her, work through the basics, and get out on the water. That was the plan.

The plan changed at about mile one.

How Day One Went

Started at Gibraltar Boat Yard at 0900. Paperwork, safety-equipment review, and a walk-through of cleat hitches, shore power, and the AC panel while the boat was still tied up. Engine room inspection came next. Fluid levels, hose condition, leaks, cleanliness. Nothing dramatic, some water in the bilge. Overall, tidy.

We ran the vessel’s handling characteristics with Scott at the helm. Single-engine sterndrive. Shift cable was a little tired but serviceable. Steering was heavy but manageable. We ran controlled stops, rotations to port and starboard, backing into the wind. Then we headed out to open water to see what she wanted to do underway.

About a quarter mile south of the Gibraltar entrance, then a quarter mile north of it, the engine shut down.

We anchored just north of Calf Island and got into a follow-up engine room inspection. Best guess without lifting a wrench yet was old fuel and water contamination from long-term condensation. We called for a tow, got back to Gibraltar, picked up filters and supplies, and had lunch while we worked out the sequence.

Pulled the fuel filter and water separator. It was heavily contaminated with water and had almost no gasoline smell left. Installed a new filter, added Sea Foam, and took on 60 gallons of fresh fuel. Then we spent about an hour running maneuvering drills in the marina, close to the dock, in case the new filter clogged before we got clear again. When it held, we went back out and worked on straight-line tracking and getting Scott a feel for the boat’s directional habits. Then it sputtered again. Back to the dock, second filter change, and we called it. Not the day we drew up. Better day than any day we would have had without diagnosing what was wrong with the fuel.

We rescheduled the second half-day for the next morning. This is exactly the kind of day that reminds you why the first hours on a new-to-you boat are their own thing, and the first 50 miles article covers the mindset for it.

How Day Two Went

Back at Gibraltar at 0900. Grabbed a small quantity of spare fuel just in case, ran the engine room inspection, and got underway.

Scott took the helm out of the slip, headed upriver under the free bridge and then the toll bridge, and worked sterndrive trim and tab adjustment while we ran. Boat felt right. We docked at Latitudes Restaurant, worked departures and arrivals there, and reviewed rules of the road. From Latitudes we ran south to pick up their son and his girlfriend, and Scott brought the vessel back to the slip cleanly with the added crew aboard.

Then Shari took the helm and ran south between Ford Yacht Club and Celeron Island. From there we continued past the southern tip of Sugar Island and into the cross-dike area, explored the north side, headed back south, and entered the Livingstone Channel. Shari worked her trim and tab settings on the way up, and the boat settled at 20 to 21 mph. We ran a short circuit through Dunbar and Sullivan, went back south down Livingstone, turned west just north of Boblo Island, followed the Sugar Island Cut past Elba Mar Boat Club and Grosse Ile Yacht Club, re-entered Lake Erie, and headed north for Gibraltar. Shari used the blue storage building at Humbug II to locate the buoys north of Celeron Island, then used the right-most cell tower over Humbug Marsh to track the channel back to the harbor entrance. She brought the boat through the marina, into the slip, and put it away.

Wind picked up to 10 to 20 out of the south by early afternoon, with a chance of thunderstorms later. We got in before that arrived. Wrapped at 1300 with a route review on the paper chart.

What They Took Away

Shari and Scott work well together on the boat. That is not something you can teach in a day. What you can teach is the pattern of decision-making that keeps a boat moving through southeast Michigan waters without surprises, and they got a lot of it across two very different days. Day one was troubleshooting. Day two was the tour. Both counted.

Scott has a punch list of items from the day two write-up. Corrode-and-grease the battery terminals. Replace the fuel filter one more time and keep diluting the tank with fresh fuel. Fix the compass and the tachometer. Small stuff that matters, none of it a reason to keep the boat off the water.

If any of this is where you are with your boat, let’s talk about your route.