The LS saga continues...... Oh, and a boat...!!!

[Haylands]

Some of you will remember my brush with a 460 last year... thread here... 

 

It was a Friday car, I hated it anyway as it felt like a BMW and not a Lexus, it was an expensive mistake but who makes money on cars...!!!

It did make me miss my old 430 that I had to sell for medical reasons (mine, not the cars..!!)... now I have two new hips and a new knee I can get in and out of them again so I started looking last year for a facelifted 430.... well it turns out that there are a lot of overpriced tatty cars out there and after hundreds of miles looking at rusty, bent and abused cars I gave up as the other part of our latest master plan was getting close, we had sold the house and downsized and it was time to actually move and get on with it...

Kids have left home and we can just about afford to retire... my various smashed up bits of body hate the cold weather so we decided to be snowbirds and head for the heat during our cold wet winters... 

So at the beginning of February we caught the big white bird over the pond and landed in Miami for a spot of boat shopping... to cut a long story short after 5 weeks we had found and bought one in Panama City FL, up on the panhandle...

We have a few commitments this year so had to wrap her up and leave her in a yard till we return after the hurricane season towards the end of the year...

So... back to Lexus.... we will only be here for around 6 months a year so another 430 seemed like a good idea, well made enough to not worry about sitting going nowhere for 6 months....

Yesterday I managed to find one that fitted the bill... a 2004 LS430 facelift in Blue Onyx Pearl with Light Gray leather 123,000 miles, full history, nice clean condition, no dents scapes or rust, near mint interior, drives as it should and has 4 new Pirellies. I love the colour combination and the guy was keen to shift it as he had already got it's replacement so a deal was done at £3,700 and the next 240 miles wafted by in serenity....

  

It is a joy to drive, so much nicer than the 460 and smoother than the earlier 5 speed 430.....

 

It has a few small cosmetic issues that I will get sorted. Mechanically the Pirellies are runflats and give a hard ride, and are also the wrong size so I will have to see how much they annoy me and may change them... The steering wheel up/down motor has failed, refurbished ones at a reasonable price are available now. The aircon does have some gas in but is not very cold so I will get it recharged, and one front parking sensor has failed. The wheels could do with a refurb but aren't too bad..

On the plus side it has had the cambelt and waterpump done, all the cabin filters replaced, the modified gearbox oil cooler mod has been done and it even has the latest sat nav disc....

So I'm sort of a happy bunny now... can't wait to get back out to the boat but at least I have somewhere nice to sit in the meantime.....!!

 

(460 owners, please don't take offence at my comments about them, I love the look of them and admire the technology but personally they just don't do it for me...)  

 

[Guest]

Great looking boat and 430,loads of reasons to be a happy bunny.

[dendonc]

Lovely car but I'm lost as to  where you & car are, are you in US with it or here in UK?

[Haylands]

6 minutes ago, dendonc said:

Lovely car but I'm lost as to  where you & car are, are you in US with it or here in UK?

Boats in US, car and me are in the UK... That's the problem...!!!

1 hour ago, Eame64 said:

Great looking boat and 430,loads of reasons to be a happy bunny.

Oh yes, thanks...

[Malc]

if your USA visa is easy to get from time to time you can probably get an annual season ticket flying between your Ls430 and your boat   

Or maybe your both duel nationals 

Best of both world's comes to mind. Well done . just keep the right side of the NHS and life could be sweet

Enjoy your retirement, spend all your money coz if you don't some other bugger will when you're gone

Malc

[ambermarine]

Hi Peter 

Great story and looks like you did a top score on all fronts I am a real enthusiast of the Florida experience and have spent over three years of my life on vacations in Florida ,in fact your post as set me looking at a possible liveaboard scenario for the English winter in a gulf coast Marina .

I will now set about looking for the right boat.

[Haylands]

1 hour ago, Malc said:

if your USA visa is easy to get from time to time you can probably get an annual season ticket flying between your Ls430 and your boat   

Or maybe your both duel nationals 

Best of both world's comes to mind. Well done . just keep the right side of the NHS and life could be sweet

Enjoy your retirement, spend all your money coz if you don't some other bugger will when you're gone

Malc

We don't plan to spend too long in the USA, their terrorist paranoia has LED to Homeland Security making it difficult for foreign nationals to own US registered boats or cruise in US waters, it's much worse than it used to be... they think we are all terrorists...!!! We have had to unregister and undocument the boat in the US and then register it with the SSR at Lloyds and will sail it under the red ensign... we plan to head south and spend some years exploring the 700 islands that make up the Caribbean....

1 hour ago, ambermarine said:

Hi Peter 

Great story and looks like you did a top score on all fronts I am a real enthusiast of the Florida experience and have spent over three years of my life on vacations in Florida ,in fact your post as set me looking at a possible liveaboard scenario for the English winter in a gulf coast Marina .

I will now set about looking for the right boat.

Lots do it, Barefoot Lady is an ocean going full displacement trawler and is set up to live on the hook, we will avoid marinas as much as we can, however if we were looking for property in a foreign land I think we would buy a boat and live in a Marina... there are some great ones in Southern Florida... Just get good hurricane insurance...

[jonthetourist]

Great to hear you are sorted Peter after the tribulations with your Irish 460.

If you are not already familiar with them you may enjoy the classic novels of John D Macdonald. His hero, Travis McGee is 6' 4" and lives on a Florida houseboat called The Busted Flush.

http://jdmhomepage.org/travis-mcgee-novels-1-9.html

All the best.

 

Jon

[Malc]

2 hours ago, Haylands said:

we plan to head south and spend some years exploring the 700 islands that make up the Caribbean....

BRILLIANT .....  ENJOY

Malc

[GrahamG]

Well done Peter, your boat certainly brightened up my day.

No one will mind if you slipped us a few details ie make, length, engines, age and price.

Do you have any information about the gearbox oil cooler on your car? Many LS430 owners like me are unhappy with original design when it ages but have doubts about fitting an independent cooler.

Perhaps you are familiar with this couple on Youtube,

 

  

[Chris Skelton]

'Terrorist paranoia', yet most of their 'terrorist' activities involve shootings by.....white WASP guys!

Funny; the US have spent decades invading/subverting other countries, yet they wonder why folk should hate them/want to retaliate!

 

Apart from New Mexico and-maybe SF, I'm happy never to return. En route to NZ, we go via Canada to avoid the US.

It's a failed state really.

 

 

 

 

Sail to Costa Rica too.

[Cotswold Pete]

Sounds like a real adventure roaming around the Caribbean, only been to Dominican Republic (22 years ago), and Florida once, know which I prefer.

Used to travel a lot around USA on business, glad I did it before they started thinking all and sundry are terrorists, and the only thing I would love to do is fly into Boston, hire a nice Lexus and then meander across to Baja California.  Would have to do it without the missus, as I suspect after two days she would be going nuts.  I like to just head out (done some amazing drives around New England and Ozarks), where as she needs an itinerary for the whole darned thing. 

Given the good lady hates boats, I would guess I am not going to be bumping into you in the Caribbean any time soon.

As the yanks would say - Enjoy

[Haylands]

6 hours ago, GrahamG said:

Well done Peter, your boat certainly brightened up my day.

No one will mind if you slipped us a few details ie make, length, engines, age and price.

Do you have any information about the gearbox oil cooler on your car? Many LS430 owners like me are unhappy with original design when it ages but have doubts about fitting an independent cooler.

Perhaps you are familiar with this couple on Youtube,

 

  

Well if your interested...

It's a 1976 Hatteras 42 LRC (Long Range Cruiser) It has been totally refitted during the last four years, every major component has been rebuilt or replaced, the previous owner spent close to three times the price we paid on the refit, it cost 27 times more than the Lexus....

Brief specification... The Hull is solid fiberglass approaching an inch and a half thick and is built like a tank, that is why it is worth refitting a 42 year old boat

Detroit Diesel 4-53s that were completely rebuilt, along with her transmissions, in 2016 less than 800 hours. 7.5kn at 1,500rpm using 3.1GPH

(Detroit Diesels are 2 stroke diesels and very simple, these are around 3.5ltrs and 4 cylinder)

Rocna Fortress 33 kg anchor with 240 feet of chain, 300 feet of rode—new 2014. This is heavy ground tackle. We have never slipped anchor, even in gales.

Bruce standby anchor with 300 feet of rode.

Fortress emergency anchor with a lot of rode.

Sea anchor

Garmin radar, Garmin 7212 touch screen chart plotters at both helms, new 2014

Raymarine autopilot with remote, new 2014

Raymarine depth sounder, new 2015

Active AIS, transmit and receive, that plays on the Garmin.

Pipewelder deck crane (we use it as an emergency crane)

Trinka hand built 10’ rowing, sailing, power dinghy with 2 1/4 horsepower Honda outboard, new 2014. This is a beautiful, beautiful tender. She rows and sails like a dream, and powers well at hull speed.

KTI fuel polisher, new 2014

Full steering system overhauled 2016

Cruise RO 20 gph water maker, new 2015. All parts are off the shelf and available world wide.

Three Standard horizon VHFs with DSC, MMSI, etc. New 2014 and 2016. We use three radios often in busy harbors or in bad weather.

Icom Single Sideband radio, new 2015.

Long range VHS and SSB antennas. We have received VHF nearly 50 miles offshore, and received SSB from thousands of miles away.

PSS dripless shaft seals, new 2016

Racor dual manifold primary filters (4 filters total) with vacuum gauges, new 2014

Bilge pump cycle counters, bilge high water alarms, new 2015

Custom Glastop settee, new 2014

Teak and holly sole, new 2014

We have replaced five port lights in the last few years, and rebedded the others. They’re tight. No leaks at all

Two new custom built teak side doors.

Deck nonskid paint will be new as of 2018.

Freshwater & Sal****er washdown pumps

Clipper anenometer and wind direction, new 2016

Bottom soda blasted, epoxy barrier coated and painted with Petit Trinidad in 2016.

Hull has no blisters.

Two main props and two spare props in lazarette reconditioned and balanced in 2017. One is new.

All canvas and isenglass new 2015

Shaft Shark line cutters ahead of props.

Shaft Savers to dampen shaft vibrations (and to make space for the Shaft Sharks).

6 group 31s plus three cranking batteries. They are Exide 31XPDs New 2018

Two Solbian 200W flexible solar panels on the bimini 2015

Three Cruisaire units, one for each community compartment. Two are relatively new. One is older. New sea water pump and most hoses new 2017

Wedge desk with monitor on arm to make forward V birth an office.

Mast trimmed to allow 17 foot clearance in fresh water (with folding anchor light down and anemometer removed). You can get under all the bridges on the Great Loop.

10 Taylor fenders, plus two large ball fenders

Heavy duty twin 30 foot snubbers, plus one light duty 18 foot snubber.

Lifesling rescue throwable with line.

Emergency boarding ladder

Swim platform and folding swim latter

Stainless railing. No teak on deck, except for bow pulpit.

New carpet fore and aft in 2014.

Washer/Dryer

Princess propane stovetop and oven, new 2014

Corian counter top, new 2014

Raritan PuraSan Type 1 MSD, new 2016

All sanitary hoses and PVC new 2016

Vacu-Flush toilets use 1/2 pint of fresh water a flush. 2017

Freshwater and deckwash pumps new 2017

Four person life raft, new 2015,

Westerbeke 7.6KW Gen Set new 2014 450hrs

Brownies 120V surface air supply (a hookah) with 60 feet of hose and a secondary regulator and mouthpiece 2014

Spotless engine room

Beautiful teak and mahogany interior

A serious amount of money has been spent on electronics, twin 12" Garmin headunits with integrated radar, transmit and receive AIS, programmable autopilot , there is around $6,000 just in HD maps alone...

We were very lucky and happened to be in the right place at the right time.....

The gearbox oil cooler is the one being sold on eBay I haven't had it in the air to see it yet but it's got to be better than letting the original fail and take out the gearbox...

 

 

4 hours ago, Chris Skelton said:

'Terrorist paranoia', yet most of their 'terrorist' activities involve shootings by.....white WASP guys!

Funny; the US have spent decades invading/subverting other countries, yet they wonder why folk should hate them/want to retaliate!

 

Apart from New Mexico and-maybe SF, I'm happy never to return. En route to NZ, we go via Canada to avoid the US.

It's a failed state really.

 

 

 

 

Sail to Costa Rica too.

The naivety of most Americans in their own country is astonishing, I do actually enjoy being there though.... weird...!!! 

3 hours ago, Cotswold Pete said:

Sounds like a real adventure roaming around the Caribbean, only been to Dominican Republic (22 years ago), and Florida once, know which I prefer.

Used to travel a lot around USA on business, glad I did it before they started thinking all and sundry are terrorists, and the only thing I would love to do is fly into Boston, hire a nice Lexus and then meander across to Baja California.  Would have to do it without the missus, as I suspect after two days she would be going nuts.  I like to just head out (done some amazing drives around New England and Ozarks), where as she needs an itinerary for the whole darned thing. 

Given the good lady hates boats, I would guess I am not going to be bumping into you in the Caribbean any time soon.

As the yanks would say - Enjoy

Panama City FL, where the boat is, is very close to Alabama so they say "yau'll have a nice day now"  We hired a GMC Yukon XL, they are massive and we enjoyed the 4,000 miles we did around Florida, the roads are easy and most of the locals are very friendly and helpful...

 

Anyway back to the important bit... the Lexus is still doing well, I popped into Lexus this morning and ordered a set of number plates with my personal reg on and asked for some carpet mat clips, they found some clips and gave me them FOC and the number plates will be ready in a few days..

Been having a look around and cleaning it a bit and the 4 new tyres are the wrong size...!! they are 225/45/18's and it should have 245/45/18's it's only 18mm less on the diameter and 20mm on the width, not a huge issue but another reason to get rid of the Pirelli run flats which are quite noisy and hard...

The aircon does have gas in it as the valve hisses when I shoved a key in it but not enough to get the air cool... it was cold the day I picked it up so difficult to tell... I'll pop and see a little man I know who can top it up....

It has one front parking sensor that has failed so I have ordered 6 new ones for the front from some guy in China who can make 6 and send them halfway around the world for a total cost of less than £25 for all of them, and he is still making a profit...!!!

Apart from that it all seems good...

 

[jonthetourist]

Sounds fabulous. I guess the running costs are quite high compared to owning a house, with mooring fees and hull cleaning (all I can think of), but the compensations are huge too if you know what you are doing.

Re the 430 gearbox. I was in Osaka a couple of weeks ago for my annual service and MOT. I asked if I should be looking at a new radiator and they said no. They can go, but only if the vehicle is not looked after was Khalid's opinion. He has 40+ years with Toyota, including a long spell in Libya, and I am very confident he knows more than the service chief at my local dealer. Just my 2p.

FWIW I have had him change the transmission fluid twice. I did all the fluids when I bought the car, and he said the transmission fluid had never been changed and would benefit from doing again the following year, so I did. This year I asked what I should be worrying about in the next 20,000 miles and he said "I would love to take more money off you, but there's nothing."

:)

Jon

[Haylands]

3 hours ago, jonthetourist said:

Sounds fabulous. I guess the running costs are quite high compared to owning a house, with mooring fees and hull cleaning (all I can think of), but the compensations are huge too if you know what you are doing.

Re the 430 gearbox. I was in Osaka a couple of weeks ago for my annual service and MOT. I asked if I should be looking at a new radiator and they said no. They can go, but only if the vehicle is not looked after was Khalid's opinion. He has 40+ years with Toyota, including a long spell in Libya, and I am very confident he knows more than the service chief at my local dealer. Just my 2p.

FWIW I have had him change the transmission fluid twice. I did all the fluids when I bought the car, and he said the transmission fluid had never been changed and would benefit from doing again the following year, so I did. This year I asked what I should be worrying about in the next 20,000 miles and he said "I would love to take more money off you, but there's nothing."

:)

Jon

Jon,

A boat is a hole in the water you throw money in...!! they are not cheap but there are now plenty of DIY yards around that will let you work on your own boat, as with most things labour is the biggest spend and I plan on doing 99% of the work myself... to get it hauled and the bottom pressure washed is only a few hundred dollars... This boat is set up to live for extended periods away from the dock in which case there are no mooring fees, once out in the islands the only costs are fuel and food, having two small diesels Barefoot Lady does 3.5 MPG (Imp Gallons) which is very good for a boat, a lot do less than 1 and some do GPM..!! It "should" be  cheaper than running a house..

IMHO I think your guy is part right, with the coolant being changed at the correct intervals the anti corrosion additives should work well and you will be OK, if the vehicle stands for long periods or does a lot of under 50 mile trips (it takes at least 50 miles to fully warm up an engine and get even temps throughout) this can lead to sludge building up within a cooling system, the sludge causes corrosion which leads to the internal failure of the radiator and damage to the gearbox, even topping up the coolant with normal tap water can start the process off...

The air to air oil cooler is an insurance policy, with it you will never have to worry about a new gearbox. The choice is obviously with the owner, mine was already done so I don't have to decide... if I did I probably wouldn't bother as I over service my cars anyway... Also it is very difficult for him to advise on an item designed and tested by someone else so his advise will always follow Lexus protocol...!!

Mine will get a good check over in the next couple of weeks, apparently a lot of maintenance has been done but I will be checking anyway....

The previous owner stated he changed all the fluids but I will be going over the whole car soon and make sure it is all OK....  

[jonthetourist]

9 minutes ago, Haylands said:

 

The previous owner stated he changed all the fluids but I will be going over the whole car soon and make sure it is all OK....  

Oh, I never doubted that for a moment ! ! 

I hope you and Mrs H enjoy sharing paradise islands together. Gotta beat Yorkshire in January . . .

[Cotswold Pete]

Just a thought on improving the boat fuel consumption, is it worth looking at Kleenoil USA (they fit sump filter by-pass systems) which I know some boat owners in USA use to get 10%-20% improvement in diesel consumption.  Not sure if it is applicable to 2-stroke, as the filter removes other additives, which the two stroke may need.

The Kleenoil product is actually made in Leeds, and I was involved in a couple of UK installs about 10 years back, one to a 40 year old Bristol Single Decker, (the owner was amazed, said filter made the bus feel like it was almost new), also fitted to a Diesel truck for manager at National Trust, and he said he was getting consistent 15% better fuel consumption.

Anyone with a turbo diesel should consider a Kleenoil system, and have been told it preserves life of petrol based turbo systems, by keeping oil clean and reduces need to replace oil at every service.

[Haylands]

8 hours ago, Cotswold Pete said:

Just a thought on improving the boat fuel consumption, is it worth looking at Kleenoil USA (they fit sump filter by-pass systems) which I know some boat owners in USA use to get 10%-20% improvement in diesel consumption.  Not sure if it is applicable to 2-stroke, as the filter removes other additives, which the two stroke may need.

The Kleenoil product is actually made in Leeds, and I was involved in a couple of UK installs about 10 years back, one to a 40 year old Bristol Single Decker, (the owner was amazed, said filter made the bus feel like it was almost new), also fitted to a Diesel truck for manager at National Trust, and he said he was getting consistent 15% better fuel consumption.

Anyone with a turbo diesel should consider a Kleenoil system, and have been told it preserves life of petrol based turbo systems, by keeping oil clean and reduces need to replace oil at every service.

Pete, It has a primary and secondary filtering system with quad main Racor filters filtering down to 5 microns, it also has a KTI fuel polishing system that will polish the diesel and pump it from one tank to another (It has four tanks and holds 750 gallons) you can get filters down to 1 micron for the polishing system but this is not deemed necessary on an old 2 stroke normally aspirated  diesel, dirty fuel or dirty tanks is one of the main reasons for engine problems when in a big sea so the previous owner has spent a considerable sum on ensuring the fuel is clean and kept that way.  Thanks for the thought though...