Waaaaayyy up the river

K

kevfra

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Dec 31, 2005
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19858
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I have a country home up in Grass Valley, just waiting for me to retire in a few years. When i do I'll want to move my boat as far up the Sac as makes sense, to keep it close by for quick access. Some questions, as I never get that far up and am not really familiar with things around there...
Suggestions for a reasonably priced marina? I need a forty foot slip with power.

Best yacht club in the area, low key, easy going, fun?

My boat is way tall and so bridges are a concern. Any areas I should forget about because I can't get in/out?

Thanks!
 
Your boat will have a lot of limitations beyond the convergence of the American and Sacto River. If it were me, I'd find somewhere along the San Joaquin/Moke and drive a little further. Then when you reach your boat, you'll have lots of options of where to go and what to see. Lots of clubs around Stockton/The Loop. The SJYC has several members who live in the foothills/Sierras and "commute" to Bethel Island.

Or you can chose to keep your boat on a lake. Tahoe, Shasta, Oroville, New Malones are all mountain/foothill lakes large enough to enjoy a 40 footer. But then winter comes and ...... I have no idea about clubs on any of these lakes, but others here can fill you in.

Or you might consider downsizing your boat. Many people prefer to trailer their boats to all the great mountain lakes during the springs, summers and falls.
 
I also have a Monterey bow rider and that's what I'll keep up-country for the lakes. No way am I going to lose my boating fun to winter by keeping the big boat on a highland lake.

I'll have to get out my map of the delta and look at the area you recommend. I do know that part of the delta better than upper Sacto.
 
kevfra, your going to give up convenience, thats for sure! GV to Sac is about an hour on a good day and you have few choices of what to do and where to go unless you don't care about that and just having the boat in the water for your convenience is enough. GV to hwy 12 and the Moke or Stockton is about 1:45 and so many more choices but not very convenient and the drive would get old after a while. If you really wanted to get farther up the river you might be able to keep it at Verona Village Marina, at Joe's Landing in Nicolaus in Sutter county off hwy 99. You could take hwy 70 to 99 and be there in about an hour. This place is pretty remote but I'm pretty sure it accommodate a 40'er, the problem is there isn't much around there but everything is down river! It's also for sale for 2.2M but I bet you could make a deal!
 
Just for fun one weekend in October a friend and I took my 24 footer up the Sacramento as far as we could. We got to Knights Landing but it was a chore. Several times we were almost aground and one time we actually got out of the boat on a gravel bar and pushed to boat back to deeper water. It was a fun trip but not one I would recommend when the water is low. The boat came out relatively unscathed. There was a very strange bar at Knights Landing on top of a bluff overlooking the river. We had a couple beers and headed back.

DBH
 
Right now is not a good time to be north of Sac on the river in a big boat. We put in at Elkhorn/80 and went south. My depth gauge read 4-feet several times in the middle of the river.
 
kevfra, one thing you will have to your advantage is time! Sure it takes me 2 1/2 to 3 hrs to drive to my boat, but I'm in no hurry. I usually time my trips to avoid heavy traffic. In fact, when I am headed down the hill on a Friday, most traffic is headed up the hill. The sames goes when I come home whether it is on Sunday or Monday or another day of the week.

Retirement means extra time and lots of flexibility. If you have that, you have the world!!!

BTW---some of the most beautiful days on the mountain lakes is when it is cold and foggy in the delta, so having a boat handy for a few hours is a great asset! Just make sure it is protected from winter's cold with heaters, an enclosed, heated garage, etc.
 
Kevfra, I lived in the Sacramento, Rocklin, Roseville area from 1966 until 2004 and always had at least one boat. We kept a boat slip/boat at Folsom Lake most of that time. All of the lakes in N. Ca. are in some manner or other flood control lakes, and thus are drawn down in late fall to hold flood water until the next spring. But, Oroville is one beautiful lake to use, and basically the largest and it has several marinas. There are more available close to GV but they all suffer from the fatal flood control issues. The delta is always going to have water as it is a sea level. I have kept a boat in the delta from the early 70s through the 2004. There is much more to do in the delta, and we tried marinas close to Sacramento all the way down to Stockton and west to Benecia. There were several of us with boats and eventually we came to the conclusion the best location for us was Village West, as we could literally fly down I-5 and be there with 75 minutes, barring accidents. We had tried others on the east side of the delta, but we found out it took some additonal time to get to the heart of the delta, but closer to Stockton you had everything including West Marine, etc and real grocery stores. From there it was not much of a long boat ride, and at the cost of gas that can become a significant factor. Now, that is coming from the Sacramento area. Coming from the bay area that is another issue. Also, berthing in Sacramento is limited, but in addition it gets real old going to old Sac and the American River. I tried that too, but only from years of experience can I tell you that keeping the boats in Village West was the best overall solution.
So, if you like a consistent boating environment, go to the delta, or keep another boat on one of the many lakes surrounding grass valley. IN the spring those lakes are primo.
 
FYI -- Village West is first rate, but if Stockton interests you, also consider Ruver Point. It is 5 minutes wesy of the March Lane exit off I-5 and has a very short fairway to the main channel at light 59. All slips are for big boats, so no problem for a 40-footer. Check it out when you visit VW. --- Warren
 
Wow - sounds pretty consistent against the Sac area! I have only ever boated up as far as old town and it was a complete zoo of go-fast boaters powered by beer. Sheriff everywhere. No fun.

If it means another half hour but I'm in more peaceful water then Stockton or maybe Tower Park area is better. TP is just a few minutes off 5. Or just a bit south of Sac by land I can be at several place just north of Steamboat Slough, and that'd work for me. But it sounds like Sac is a bad idea. Thanks folks! Now I know where to explore...
 
I'd say anything from Walnut Grove and south and/or east would be a big improvement over the Sac area.
 
Not many places to go in Sac and it's expensive to berth a boat there. The marinas mentioned around Stockton are only 30-45 minutes South of Sacramento so I think that would be your best bet.

A couple other places to consider around that area are Kings Island and Paradise Point which are a little north of Village West and a couple miles off HWY 5.
 
With the boat height you mentioned, I see that as another reason for a Loop area berth. Less bridge openings, and none if you're heading downstream.

My parents had a boat at Korth's many moons ago, and you can't beat the location. The best of all world's IMHO.
 
Korth's is a very nice family oriented type marina. Near that is Willow Berm, a very upscale marina with all the amenities. Of course the price is high too. Whatever floats your boat, you will find in the Delta's mid section!

Korth's is at the confluence of the Moke and San Joaquin Rivers.
http://marinas.com/view/marina/1524

Willow Berm is further upstream on the Moke.
http://marinas.com/view/marina/7977
 
Kevra, I just happened to remember a funny story. At that time I had an 83 23'Sea Ray Weekender and I had it in the Sacramento City Marina. A bunch of us decided to go up the river as far as we could for the weekend. It was the weekend before Memorial day in 1984. With 5 boats we headed north. WE got to the feather river and decided to go up it. Unfortunately we soon were out of our boats pulling them forward through the sand bars. We reversed course and headed back up the Sacramento. We got near Colusa, and we found a nice sand bar so we all pulled up our boats and set up camp. We had a grand time Barbequing, drinking, telling war stories etc. We had a nice fire going but we pretty soon we were being attacked by mosquitoes. WE all retreated to our boats behind the screening. Unfortunately, they were smaller than the sceening and got in. The next morning the whole group looked like we had measles. Thats when we figured out that Colusa is surrounded by rice paddies. Bad move on our part.
Okay, getting back to finding a place to boat. I notice that several of the more mature and older most experience boaters have recommended other delta spots. From experience, I agree that they are nice marinas. Over the years we were in Korths, Tower Park,
King Island and Paradise Point. WE even tried a short stay at Herman & Helens. They all were fun and useful, but the big drawback was that you had to get off I-5 and use Hwy 12. That is a huge issue if you are coming and going to Sacramento and other points to the north. Hwy 12 is not a road that you want to be exposed to, particularly on weekends. That is ultimately why we settled on Village West, it was 1.1 miles from I-5, and readily had restaurants, cheap fuel, and real landlubber stores (read not expensive on the water prices) all located withim that short 1.1 mile trip from I-5 to your boat. I am not endorsing the marina individually, only the ideal location for travel from Sacramento. But, if you are coming from the south or the west that is not necessariy true. I think GV is still northwest of the delta.
 
oug --- reat post; wonderful tale about the "wildlife" around Co;usa. However I'll nitpick about a couple of marinas you mentioned. Paradise Point King Island and Herman & Helen's are on Eight Mile Road which is not a Blood Alley, which is what the locals call Highway 12. I believe only KingIsland has a few berths that could accomodate Kevira's boat. Village West is primo, as is River Point on March Lane, where there also is real shopping and restaurants. I keep my boat at next door to RP at Ladd's, which I like for its river fat prices and atmosphere, plus it is a working boat yard and is great to see some of the beauties up on stands. Spounds like your boating days in the Delta also hark back to the good old river rat days when you could swim in the water and eat the fish and np pne had heard of Egeria Densa and other noxious weeds.Ahhh me. --- WarrenA
 
Warren....oops. Yeah, not hwy 12 but a smaller version on the north side of Stockton. Weren't any houses on it either. We sold our Meridian 381 at VW in July of 2004. I guess it all runs together. We had that boat in Kings Island until a slip became available at VW.
 
I'll repeat myself a bit here: if one is retired, the lifestyle offers a lot of flexibility as far as when one travels and how long one stays at one's boat., etc. I drive Hwy 12 to get to Bethel Island. I usually leave early enough to avoid the Friday afternoon crunch. And most of that is going east while I am heading west. However, if there is an accident on Hwy 12, it can clog traffic in both directions and you may not have an outlet to take another route.

Lots of money is being spent on safety improvements to Hwy 12 and accidents are down significantly now. Also there is zero tolerance by the CHP patroling Hwy 12 from I-5 to I-80.
 
I live near Sacramento and there just isn't that much I want to do with a cruiser there. As others have mentioned, the slip rentals are expensive for what you get.

The Delta Loop is about a 50 minute drive down I-5 from midtown Sac. Hwy 12 is a better drive than it used to be with improved no-passing zones. Lots of trucks running at the posted speed limit of 55 which ticks off the idiots who try to pass without enough room. Keep an eye out for cross traffic, too.
 
I have just moved my boat from Rio Vista to the new Whiskey Slough Marina. In the Sacramento area, I have always found it difficult to find a good place to "drop the hook" for the night in the Sacramento area. There are many, many, many more places in the south delta. I now live in San Mateo and used to live in the foot hills before. I always keep returning to the "south delta". I have been boating since 1968 until now. I'm 60 now. Never get tired of this area...!
 
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