VIDEO. 3 day cruise on SF Bay in new boat. 3055

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Waynepj4

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30904
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl1bHxx7iwE My wife and I did a 3 day cruise on the bay to celebrate our 7 yr wedding anniversary. We had a great time and totally enjoy the new boat.

We left out of Martinez to Sausalito for the first night. Ate at Scomas and hiked Muir woods the following morning.

From there we boated to McCovey Cove for lunch and then across the bay again to Jack London Square Marina. We were going with the current on Sunday morning because we went from Jack London to Martinez in just an 1hr and 15 minutes traveling 3400 rpms, 29-30mph.
 
Looks like you had a nice time and calm seas. Why did the Coast Guard stop you?
 
quote:
Originally posted by UpperDecker

Looks like you had a nice time and calm seas. Why did the Coast Guard stop you?

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According to the Coast Guard it was a routine stop. they checked to see if we had fire extinguishers, life jackets..just need to get a garbage plackard and thats it.
 
Seems like they do a lot of that down in the Bay. Now that you have explored everything the bay has to offer, you should make your way up to The Delta. A whole different scene but nice all the same.
 
quote:
Originally posted by UpperDecker

Seems like they do a lot of that down in the Bay. Now that you have explored everything the bay has to offer, you should make your way up to The Delta. A whole different scene but nice all the same.

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Definitely. The bay area has 1000 miles of inland water so I have lots of exploring to do. My concern with the delta is all the shallow spots but Im aware larger boats travel the delta with no problems.

I would love to boat to Moore's Riverboat, Westgate and Hogback State Park. Will do that after I get a generator.
 
The first few times you come up into the Delta, just stay where other boats your size go and you avoid any shallow water. Don't take shortcuts! The apparent shortcuts often are where shoaling is. If a boat seems to go the long way around, it is for a good reason [or they are lost [wink].

Review your charts and check the depths. However the NOAA charts are not updated usually since the 1930s, so there will be some changes. Berms that used to exist in the middle of a slough when I first started boating have now been worn away to 15 ft depths or so in the last 20 yrs. But the charts [and some GPS chartplotter s/w] still show them as above the water's surface.

Always keep an eye on your depth, especially at low tide, and slow down if the depth goes to 5 or less ft. Have fun!
 
quote:
Originally posted by Flutterby

The first few times you come up into the Delta, just stay where other boats your size go and you avoid any shallow water. Don't take shortcuts! The apparent shortcuts often are where shoaling is. If a boat seems to go the long way around, it is for a good reason [or they are lost [wink].

Review your charts and check the depths. However the NOAA charts are not updated usually since the 1930s, so there will be some changes. Berms that used to exist in the middle of a slough when I first started boating have now been worn away to 15 ft depths or so in the last 20 yrs. But the charts [and some GPS chartplotter s/w] still show them as above the water's surface.

Always keep an eye on your depth, especially at low tide, and slow down if the depth goes to 5 or less ft. Have fun!

Click to expand...

Good advice. I will let the depth determine my speed. I generally cruise at 28-30mph but thats in the bay with 100+ ft of water. Add to the problem, the standard Horizon Depth finder does not work at speed. only when Im going very slow does it give me a reading. Will need to get the transducer connected on my Garmin 545s. Hopefully that will give me a consistent depth reading.
 
Looks like you had a great time. This is the part of the year when the Bay and San Francisco are perfect for boating/visiting. If you like to bicycle, another nice trip would be to put your bikes on the boat and go to South Beach Harbor for the weekend. Ride from there over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and then take the ferry back to the Ferry building. This is a favorite for my me and my wife.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Waynepj4

Good advice. I will let the depth determine my speed. I generally cruise at 28-30mph but thats in the bay with 100+ ft of water. Add to the problem, the standard Horizon Depth finder does not work at speed. only when Im going very slow does it give me a reading. Will need to get the transducer connected on my Garmin 545s. Hopefully that will give me a consistent depth reading.
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It should work at speed too. Check your gain; it may need adjusting. Also, your unit may have various depths. If it is set for 100 ft, it will have trouble seeing 10 ft. I'd check these things out prior to giving up on it. Also, make sure you don't have algae growth on the area where your transducer shoots through the hull.
 
Where is the gain adjustment usually located? The depth gauge on my boat is so sensitive to weeds that it isn't very useful. The one on my previous boat seemed to ignore weeds most of the time and gave me the depth to the bottom rather than to the nearest thick bunch of weeds.
 
The gain control varies by brand/model. Check your owners manual. It should tell you where it is located and how to adjust it. It does sound like a gain problem.
 
Nice video. It had to be something to do with the nautical theme, but for some reason, when the video was over, YouTube next offered me a video of Admiral Stockdale in one of his Vice-Presidential debates from 1992. A humorous counterpart to Jerri's T-shirt in the video....

(Ya gotta find humor in these things!)

BTG
 
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