[Z 202]

Georgian Bay is my primary boating venue. I have a slip at a marina that is about halfway up the Bruce Peninsula which is the spit of land which separates Georgian bay from Lake Huron. For a "bay" it's pretty large (almost as big as Lake Ontario) and where I boat it is also very deep; typically 100' to over 200' in most places. It's shoreline is very rocky (or as we refer to it "very coarse sand..." ) and the water doesn't get temperate until the middle of the summer. The water is crystal clear though. It's not uncommon to see clear down to 35' or more. There are many shipwrecks that are plainly visible from the surface. The coastal scenery is amazing, and a "busy" day on the water would have you see maybe 1 or 2 other boats within a 5 mile radius of yours... There are many protected inlets and remote shoreline areas which make for great day trip destinations.

Like all of the "mer de la douce" it can get very rough if the wind gets blowin'. 10 to 12 foot waves in a summer storm are not uncommon. However isthmus living has it's perks. I can haul the boat out of the water, drive 10 miles to Lake Huron and drop it in all the warm sandy goodness that exists on the (much shallower) western side of the peninsula.

I've also been out on Lake Ontario in the Toronto area. The water is warmer but it's no match for the scenery and isolation afforded at the upper great lakes.


Mike: I'm surprised you didn't mention Puslinch Lake. I mean you are so close...

[mikeyt]

Puslinch Lake....yuch. Most of it is less than 3-4ft deep & it is so weed choked that they have to cut pathways thru it in the summer. I haven't taken the Mariah there but i did take my old Stingray for a couple of test runs. They do have one area that is consistently 4 - 6 ft deep where the ski school operates and an area on the other side that gets down to about 15'. Unfortunately you could run that whole stretch in less than 3 mins and you want to make sure you stay in the pathway.

They do have a nice restaurant overlooking the water though!

[dwmax]

Great topic, I like to take my boat into the inlet of Daytona Beach. The ramp is about 2 minutes from the house and we like to go to the light house thats in ponce inlet about a 15 minute ride in the boat. Its really quite nice there is about 3 little islands right in the inlet across from the light house everyone pulls up on the islands and its just a big party. There are about 4 or 5 resturants and bars right across from the islands along with a really nice park/forrest right before the light house. They also allow you to camp and cook out on the banks of the park. I also like to take my boat to various lakes that are around. My friends and I like to go to lake dias. The water there is really calm for wakeboarding, kneeboarding, tubing, and skiing. there are a couple of grills set up out there for family and friends and we all just cook out and wakeboard its really nice.
Speeking of the keys my girlfriend and I and a couple of friends were planing on taking our boats down there for and island getaway this coming summer. It is really beautiful down there.I have been down a couple of times before but never with my own boat we always had to pay for a ride around its going to be nice to have my own boat down there this time.

[180diablo]

aww.. MikeyT beat me to the " we boat on water " comment ....

Basically I do a majority of my boating here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparrow_Lake

My late grandparents started visiting the area since I think the late 1940's. They slowly brought supplies up north to build up the cottage that I'am in today. So I have been spending almost every summer up there since I was a wee lil rug rat.

I have boated onto Lake Couchchiching, however that lake still scares me. Crossing a large body of water, in an 18 foot bowrider on a lake that is prone to random / frequently storms ... riiiiiight. Same goes for Lake Simcoe.

If you check around on the Trips threads on this site, you will see my trip out to the Big Chute Marine Railway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Chute_Marine_Railway


Hmmm, I could probably add more here... but well.. its nearing go home time and I need to get some other things done at work.

[Straad]

We live in Central Lower Michigan

With its short summer boating season, but when you have boating in your blood you do what you can

We have no fewer than 10 lakes all within 20 minutes
Last summer we hit...
Duck, Lime, Clark, Wamplers, Vinyard, Portage, Pleasant, LeAnn, Grass, Center, Round, Vandercook, Bruin

Lime is 3 miles from my driveway to boat launch so we go there alot
it is very small but after work on a weekday we can be on the water half hour after I get out of work

Center and Bruin are like 5 lake chains with channels between
Bruin has lake front camp sites we used over labor day weekend

[93mariah]

We boat on Raccoon lake in Indiana, Morse in Indy, Dale Hollow and Center Hill in Tennessee and various lakes in Wisconsin, Vilas County.

We just had our 15th summer with our beloved 18'10" 1993 Barchetta Z.

[moondance100]

I boat at scenic Lake Shelbyville IL. It's about 5 min from my house so I spend precious little time getting to the lake and more time on it! I also have a slip at the marina a few min from my house; the boat is in dry storage through the week and goes in the water on Friday and out on sunday!!

Fun times!

[wonsnam]

well I am new here at this great forum having just purchased a used 1996 Z201 and re building the motor. I have been boating on Lake Winnipesaukee here in NH for the last 24 years in every thing from a 11 foot Snark to a 24' Celebrity 275 Volvo Duo-Prop. This lake is 72 SQ. miles with 282 miles of shore line 5 towns to travel to ( Laconia, Meredith, Center Harbor, Wolfeboro, and Alton Bay) and 274 islands, and it is surrounded by 3 mountain ranges. Weirs Beach where we have an annual Motorcycle event is a mile north of my place which is located on Pagus bay(Lake Pagus) a mile south is Lake port where an other member is located according to the map. Ice out is usually around April 17 or so, that is when the MS Mt Washington(230' cruise boat) can make way from Weirs Beach to Wolfeboro. I usually put in by May 1st and take out around Thanksgiving. I have only had to chop ice twice. LOL But fall is really the best time for me as work slows down and there are not any of the summer renegades left.
http://www.weirsbeach.com/Largejpgs/...erialview.html
My place is in the upper portion of the photo on the left where Pagus bay widens out
The lake was formed by Glaciers and is 212 ft deep at it's deepest. You'll find boats from skiffs to 230' multi million dollar homes clutter the landscape and make it hard for family aires to hold on to family cottages because of inflated taxes. But other than the obvious downfalls of being a beautiful mountain lake with many many things to do and places to go it is by far my favorite place to boat.
I spent 3 years in the south pacific and Hawaii which was great I also boat when in FL east coast Ft La Ti Da area.

[WetWilly]

Wow wonsnam,

Your making me jealous...

That it one gorgeous looking lake and that's some yacht in the pic (I assume that's the MS Mt Washington), and now from your other post, you're going off to Florida for the winter?? Yea, I'm jealous!

Have a great time,
WetWilly

[Tilted]

I've only had my Talari 180 for a whole month and keep it on its trailer, but over the 60 or so hours this month, I've spent most of it on the Cal-Sag Channel, then some time on the Chicago River, and recently more and more on Lake Michigan. I'm loving how well it handles the 1-2-3 foot waves with all sorts of nasty currents and wind on the lake, and cruising the Cal-Sag at a solid 50mph for an hour is precious.