Napa River Sojurn

M

Meuritt

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Joined
Sep 10, 2007
RO Number
28535
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61
We are taking our 4.5' draft motor sailer up the river from Richmond Inner Harbor in three weeks. Leaving about 7 in the morning, if not earlier, we will ride the flood all the way up.

Does anyone have any insights on navigating over the shoals or under the bridges? All I've found so far online is information from before the downtown projects.
 
It's a great trip. The trip is pretty straight forward, just keep to the middle of the channel and watch your depth finder. I don't recall bridges being a problem but its been a couple years since I was up that way. Very pretty and tying up in downtown Napa is worth the effort.

DBH
 
Didn't dare to get up to Napa, as I read some very horrible stories about Napa River, like having big rocks in the middle of the channel etc.
Will try next year, with only about 3 1/2 ft. draft it shouldn't be a problem, right?
I'm just horrified thinking of damaging the prop, hauling the boat our etc etc.

Who did this already??
Please help to get my bravery improved!

DagO
 
The SJYC went up there last year. I wasn't able to join them, but I didn't hear of any problems and there were several boat up to 45 ft. After this holiday weekend, you will get some better info here. Most folks are out on their boats right now.
 
Arnold, he is talking about Napa. All of the issues are right out of Vallejo. 1) the drawbridge to Mare Island and 2) the passage from there to just past the power lines to Devil's Slough. You need to note that some of the green markers are in shallow water to dry land, they could really use a few more reds in there. The rest is pretty mellow, keep in the center and favor the outside of turns. I am not sure where Dago got his scare stories. Going up with the tide is the way to play it, big range all the way up. Plenty of deeper draft sailboats motor up there, and a 100 footer used to do cruises out of Redwood City. You go through the Carneros for a fair amount of the trip, especially nice if you have a flying bridge. We used to go up there a lot. As of a couple of years ago, the float in downtown Napa was fairly small, maybe 60 feet over all. You want to lock the boat. Too bad Copia closed, that was a fun part of the trip, but there is still plenty to do downtown. We always had a designated captain for the trip back!

Brings back some good memories.

George
 
Hey DagO, thanks. The link doesn't work, but I went to the boatingsf site and they have some nice information and pictures there. My last trip pre-dated the flood project,
Yep, you have to mind the channel, referencing it to the markers that do exist. As I said they have always needed some more markers, especially reds in the lower
section and it sounds like they need them more than ever. Might be a good idea to call the marina, the USCG and/or TowBoat US for navigational updates.
Does anyone know if the downtown dock was rebuilt or if the charts will be updated to reflect the widening? My ENC chart ( the river is on the "Mare Island Strait" chart)
shows a January 09 revision, but it looks similar to what I recall pre-project.

Thanks!

George
 
Hey George,
if you copy all 4 lines of this link in a new browser,it should work.

Dago
 
I got there anyway just by going to boatingsf. In the future, try tinyurl.com. Anyway, I really enjoy that site, so thanks again. Makes me a little home sick, but over
all the boating out east here is far superior, especially if you enjoy trips like Napa, Petaluma and the Delta, you feel like you have gone to heaven on the AICW and its tributaries.
 
Dago,

I wasn't able to check out the site you linked to, but I can tell you that I led cruises for our yacht club up the Napa River for several years. The only real troublesome spot, with regards to depth, is just above Mare Island and the power lines. There is a large area that appears "lake-like" but it is very shallow everywhere outside the channel. Normally buoys mark the edges of a channel and you can follow a line between them. In this area, I find that it is better to head straight toward each buoy and turning towards the next one when you are about 20 feet from the buoy. Once you are past this area, you can simply follow the center of the river upstream.

The Imola Street Bridge has been rebuilt during the flood plain work and no longer requires opening for anything but the tallest vessels. The Napa Valley Yacht Club is directly above the bridge and are very good hosts that offer reciprocal priviledges to fellow members of PICYA clubs. There is also a municipal dock downtown, but I'm not sure how long you can stay or the cost. I've always stayed at NVYC.

Somewhere I have instructions from the Napa Valley Yacht Club for navigating the Napa River. If you plan a trip and can give me a little time, I will post a scanned image of them for you.
 
Hi AbsoLoot,
would like to see this instruction, even with all the new information I think I wouln't have any problems with only 3'4" draft. Thanks to Flutterb too, helpful map!

Next year we'll do it, definitely.

Dago
 
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