[indykoch]

Hey everyone! I read all the posts and hard work you sent our administrators through on seeing everyone's model/year boat... Just thought it would be fun to start a topic on where everyone does their boating. (let's not put Ryan and Chris through any troubles adding this to our profiles though). I'm especially interested in our Australian and coastal boaters... Don't forget to mention your boat and how it handles the waters you traverse.

Here's mine...

We do our boating on a tiny reservoir called Geist. It's about 1900 acres, but only about 15 feet deep or less throughout much of it. It has become home to all the pro athletes, doctors, lawyers, executives of Indianapolis with multi-million dollar homes lining the shores. It's a beautiful place, but it's full of these rich, pretentious a_sholes that don't know how to drive a boat. It's about a mile from my house, so I can't complain too much (or justify towing 30-45 minutes to the next closest lake). One of the good things - during the summer months, this place is one giant party. That's also one of the bad things though.

My 21 footer is just right in size for this place. Big enough for many friends, but not too big to ski behind (wake size). Most of the other boats are Mastercrafts, Malibus, Cobalts, and Sea Rays (remember, I said FULL of pretentious a_sholes?!?!). There are even a good number of 25'-28' cruisers (don't ask why on a lake this small... oh yeah, pretentious a_sholes!!!). I guess I shouldn't push it - I bet if Mariah were still in business, the place would be FULL of them, huh?!?!?! There are 2 or 3 original Mariahs, but I haven't met them yet. Might be a couple new ones also. I've met a few great friends with pontoon boats and one with a Crownline.

We would like to travel a few places in the coming years like Dale Hollow, Lake Cumberland, etc. to see what it's like. Right now we're "water locked" because my minivan can't tow long distances like that.

[ShabahZ280]

Great topic idea indykoch!!

I boat primarily on the Ohio River, which is my home port during the summer. I store on the trailer, and belong to a marina with a launching service. The boat handles nicely, even following the barge traffic. It seems to be the perfect size for the river. I really don't like to race, just a nice relaxing boat ride for me. However it can get tossed around due to the occasional a$$holes in the 36' Carvers who don't know how to trim their boat properly. The water level usually stays around 32 ft, but when it rains, drift becomes a big issue. But there's plenty of places to drop anchor or even beach the boat and have a great time. There's always raft-ups and concerts going on, so there's always a party somewhere! And there's about a dozen bars & restaurants to tie up to.

My second port is Sandusky Bay which is on Lake Erie, 18NM from Put-In-Bay Island. My best friend harbors his sailboat up there, so I'm up there quite a bit. I absolutely love the area, the bay is around 8ft deep in the deepest point, and the lake averages about 20ft around where we go. The boat handles OK on the lake, the Great Lakes are known for the coastal-like water conditions, swells, and I can never get the boat trimmed right for a comfortable ride. This is the main reason I'd like to add trim tabs so I can control the boat better. But there's all sorts of places to anchor & moor, and there's never a dull moment on the Lake Erie islands. Put-In-Bay is often referred to as "the other Key West". Then there's Kelley's Island, and Pelee Island in Canada extremely close too. Plan on venturing over there sometime as I finally got my passport!

Last year we also towed the boat to Lake Norris in Tennessee. I really enjoyed driving the boat on the lake. I believe these boats were designed as inland lake boats, as it was one of the most smooth and comfortable boating trips I've had. The lake is huge, crystal clear and there's enough room to share the lake with the hundreds of wakeboarders out there. There are tons of rental properties along the lake that come with a dock, and that's what we did. Average depth was reading in the upper 60's.

I plan to try and head to Lake Cumberland in the next year, and possibly Cherokee Lake too, as my girlfriend's dad just bought some property down there he's building a log cabin on.

[mikeyt]

We boat in the water....

Our boating is somewhat limited to Georgian Bay (Point Au Baril area), the Trent Severn canal system, Lake Erie (Turkey Point & Long Point Bay) and Lake Ontario (Hamilton thru to Oakville). We've also gone to a small reservoir called Conestogo Lake just north west of Kitchener to test run the boat a couple of times as well as the Grand River from Dunnville down to Lake Erie.

[Mark]

Ok here we go. I boat at mosquito lake its a buzzzzzzzzzThe lake is 7,850 acres and reaches a maximum depth of about 30 feet . It is one of the biggest lakes in ohio. The lake is very good for walleye fishing. I do dock here but it is a 1 hr drive for me but well worth it.

[dudders]

We boat on the water too, but its salty so we float better.


After a 1 1/2 hour drive we get to a resort area called Mandurah, it is built on the Indian Ocean south of Perth. There are tonnes of Millionaire homes built along man-made canals, so cruising these canals can be both pleasurable and annoying.
There is a huge open inshore salt water inlet that is great for tubing and skiing plus fishing for a fish we call "flat head" and crabs. Out on the ocean there are some nice bays to plonk the anchor down and swim to the beautiful sandy beaches to relax and sun bathe.
Here is a link to this area - http://www.mymandurah.com/photo_gallery2.html

Plus we also boat very close to home (just a 15 minute drive) onto the magnificent Swan River which runs through all of Perth down to Fremantle into the Indian Ocean. There are heaps of areas designated solely for skiing so we have no problem finding a spot for a great day out. There are activities along the shore somewhere in Perth very often - eg: The Red Bull Air Race, so we park the boat and watch the activities.
Just 20 - 30 minutes off the coast of Fremantle is Rottnest Island.
This place is just amazing - surrounded with beautiful small bays with idealic beaches and the water is crystal clear - great for snorkeling or scuba diving and getting a couple of Crayfish (Lobster) for lunch, mmmmmm yummy. It is a popular summer holiday area for lots of us Sandgropers (a nickname given to Western Australians because of all the sand we have).
Here is a link to a site for Perth - http://www.discoverwest.com.au/weste...lia/perth.html

Being summer right now - we have all this to enjoy and the temperature here in Perth today is 30deg C - 86deg F. With the climate we have here we really can use the boat just about all year round.
Winter doesnt get sooo cold that we just cant use the boat, we just have to pick a nice clear day and wear warm clothes. Of course skiing is out of the question as the water is to cold.
Anybody want a great holiday - come on over, we will show you a great time.

[bill.deweese]

indykoch,

What an excellent topic. So cool to read/see on AUS. We visited there in May 2000 and explored from Melbourne to Sydney via Broken Hill. No boating though and nothing as exciting as Perth. Man... Now we gotta go back. Super post Dudders!

We are 10 minutes from ramps in all directions. East of us is a nice freshwater body called Lake Tarpon, however it is rather small and loaded with mixed traffic, so on a busy day you have to pay attention to your spotter/skier and keep an eye on other skiers, at least 5 fishermen, 2 or 3 hot-rodders and a half dozen jet skiers. Also, it does not have any beaches, so not much relaxing. Anymore I only use it for post maintenance tests runs as it is freshwater and faster clean-up.

Here are our favorite hangouts. We call them our private islands - but we like to share ;o) I have not uploaded any of my images, so I will just link you to an official sites. Since these are barriers they are as beautiful as "Clearwater Beach" without the horrible crowds, and I can actually trailer and boat to the farthest island, faster than I can drive to Clearwater with traffic/parking.

Three Rooker Bar is awesome. It is a bar that has been developing over the years based on hurricane and other activity. It has a super relaxed crowd and lots of beach to just hang out on. St. Joseph's Sound (due East) is our home ramp.

http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/wfla/vft/rooker/

Just north of there is Anclote Key. It has a light house that is a nice destination - especially if we have guests on board. The beauty of this is that it is a very lightly-managed State Park. It allows primitive camping and fires on the beach. Just call the resident ranger and give him your boat letters. This has a deep channel on north and south ends and on outbound tides you can almost always spot dolphins playing and trying to corner a meal.

http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/wfla/vft/anclote/
http://www.floridastateparks.org/anc...otoGallery.cfm

The mouth of Tampa Bay is Skyway Channel and Mullet Key. This area is drop-dead gorgeous. You can camp on the water at Ft. Desoto Park and we can walk right out of the pop-up and step into the boat. Just off shore - actually it's a journey of a boat ride as the Intracostal side of Ft. Desoto is very shallow and you have to follow channels forever - is Egmont Key. You can just hang out and explore the island for hours.

http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/wfla/vft/mullet/
http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_Ft_DeSoto.htm

Our most favorite, however not as often (6 hour drive) is the FL Keys. We make the trip about twice a year, however we have not taken our Shabah as I don't want to pull two toys that far. We just rent a boat there. This is the USAs best attempt at a "Great Barrier Reef” and I would recommend this to any boater that visits FL. Key Largo's John Pennekamp is the best for boating, Bahia Honda is best all around - however it is an additional 2 hours away.

http://www.pennekamppark.com/
http://www.bahiahondapark.com/

For Key Largo, definitely bring/rent a boat if you visit. 30 minutes off shore is a string of reefs in 20-40 feet (6-12 meters) of water. Beautiful water, reefs and water life.

For this stuff, the Shabah 200 is perfect - although there are times when I would love a bigger craft for more people. As far as handling, my only gripe, as I have touched on in other technical posts, is that my config does not have trim tabs and she falls off plane easily at medium speeds. Just need to plan a fix.

Enjoy.

Bill DeWeese

[mikeyt]

Hi Bill

'tis a nice area you boat in. I have a buddy who lives in St. Pete Beach (after moving there from cold & snowy Toronto a few years back) and he loves the area. He claims livin' there is like being on summer vacation and we went down to spend a few days there a couple of years back. I could get used to that relaxed life style & not havin' to wear long underwear & battery powered socks half the year up here.

As for Dudders....i always thought any Aussie in the water was crocodile bait.
I had a quick look at the Mandurah site though......those homes are outta my league. Terri & I are going to make it to Oz one of these years....it's been on our list of places to go for about the last 20 yrs now.

[z275st]

Although I live 1/2mi from our small local lake (East Fork Lake). Most of our boating is on Kentucky and Barkley Lake.
I am a member of a club that ones cabins on the lake so we spend long weekends and vacations there. My kids love the rock quarry where they jump off
40'-50' cliffs. The "Land between the Lakes" offer camping and wild life habitats. Dock side restraints are plentiful.
I also like to boat the Ohio River and lock through to the lakes. Man, I want to go boating now!

I really need to move to the Keys!

[mikeyt]

The Fla Keys.....now you're talkin'

[ShabahZ280]

z275st - I used to take my old Sea Ray 180 down to Kentucky Lake. We used to frequent the Land Between the Lakes OHV park with our Jeeps, and I had a friend who's family had a cabin on the lake. It was in the Johnson's Creek area. Beautiful area down there, the lake was nice and clear, and HUGE, great Jeep trails too!