Summer 2010 Pics...post 'em up!

Selling our 330da in the fall of 09 after being on the water for 15 yrs we decided to try something different so we bought a RV and hit the road. Our first trip of the summer was to Hilton Head Island. We still spent most of our time in and around the water.







Then we went west to the Grand Canyon and Lake Powell. Around the water again.







We had a great summer but we all agreed we would rather be on the water than on the road. We sold the RV in the fall and bought a 400db at the end of the season. We cannot wait to get back on the water.

Is it legal to live in Sandusky and not own a boat?

It may be legal but it's very hard to do.

:smt038
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGZydh7NeGk

Greetings from the Jersey Shore :wow: Fall of 2010

I've posted a few of these before so I hope you don't mind a couple of repeats.

The highlight of our summer boating was bringing our boat up the Columbia River from Portland, OR to the Tri Cities, WA. It's a 225 mile trip that took us 2 1/2 days during which we passed through the locks at four Corps of Engineers dams (Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day and McNary).

We pulled out of Portland August 2nd at 0800 in cloudy, cool weather. That's pretty typical for the areas west of the Cascade Mountains.


As we headed east we headed into the beautiful Columbia Gorge and passed through Bonneville Dam. The weather started to clear as the overcast burned off. Did I mention the scenery in the Gorge is beautiful?






As we got closer to Hood River, OR, the skies had cleared and we had a beautiful sunny day.


As we continued east the winds picked up and as we neared The Dalles, OR the waves grew to about 4'-5' and the windsurfers were having a ball.




We spent the first night at The Dalles, OR marina and went through The Dalles dam the next day. Here's a shot of my Galley Wench (GW) handling the task of tying up to the bollard in the dam. We use the headsets because I can't see her when she's on the walkway and I'm at the helm. Being able to talk without yelling helps because I always know where she is and when she gets us tied up.


From this point on we're getting out of the forested hills and getting into a desert climate.


We were delayed almost 3 hours going through the lock at John Day Dam because of the barge traffic. We wanted to spend the second night at Arlington, OR. and I wanted to get in there before dark. I'd never docked there before and didn't to do it in the dark so we ran on plane that 28 miles to get there.



When we pulled in the sun was just setting.


This marina is one the state of OR put in along the Columbia River. It's a "Harbor of Refuge" so there's no charge to moor here. There's no power but there is water and a pumpout on one of the docks.


We pulled out at 0600 the next morning to a light haze and calm waters. Here I'm just idling along warming up the engines.

We cruised the 45 miles to McNary Dam and went through the lock at 0900. At that point we were only about 35 miles from home. While I was anxious to get there I just slow cruised the rest of the trip.


Here's a shot as we're getting to the last bridge before our marina. You can see the marina on the left.


Here we are safely in the slip. This was the first time I'd backed this boat and to say I was a bit nervous would be a serious understatement.


All things considered it was a great trip. We only had one problem on the way home...I couldn't get the genset to fire. After reading the instruction manual (DOH!!!) I realized I needed to hold the glow plug heater longer than I was. When I did that it fired up right away.

Things like that come from not knowing the boat, and that was what scared me the most about making this trip by ourselves. There aren't any boat yards upstream from Portland, so if something failed we were on our own to get it fixed. Fortunately we didn't have any problems so didn't need any repairs.

I love the lines of that 550. Kinda like a '78 corvette....it ain't never going out of style in my book.

A few sunset photos. I'm just now getting to my summer stuff.:smt100

J.Wilt said:

Some cool reflections. My favorite time is watching the sun set over Lake Michigan:thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Nuttin' better than a sunset aboard your Sea Ray

For your enjoyment;

I could do this all day . . .

Great video, Away Point. Thanks for subscribing to my YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/boogabooster). I look forward to more of your cool vids in the coming months!!

So many great photos! Is it any wonder we all love boating so much????

Boogaboo, I have checked out several of your videos. Good stuff.

Here is my most recent video. Ironically, this is right out in front of where you bought your boat Boogaboo. :grin:

[YOUTUBE]Gn-AbS4MK38[/YOUTUBE]

Not summer pictures, but what GW and I did yesterday. After getting an inch or two of snow Wednesday, yesterday the sun came out and it went up to 61 degrees with only a light breeze. We went for a walk then decided it was too nice to not take the boat out.

A couple of weeks ago we went out when it was about 10 degrees and the hydraulic steering crapped out. I took some ATF down to the boat with me and added an ounce or two and that fixed it. GW read while I as putzing around with the steering.


Here's a few shots from this afternoon's cruise. Here we are just idling along headed for the "Blue Bridge". (Pretty original way we name our bridges, eh!)


GW was driving so I captured a wake shot...


There was a storm brewing to the south of us so we kicked it up a bit and ran on plane to get back to the marina. It's a good thing we did because right after we got into the slip the wind started to kick up. Check the rpm's vs the speed, and that speed is in knots, not mph.


and another wake shot when we were on plane.


After we left the boat we made the mandatory stop at the brewery at the top of the docks for a cold drink and some horse doovers. While we were there, a friend and his wife happened to come in and joined us for a bit.

All things considered it was a pretty nice mid-January day. Wish y'all could have joined us.

summary of ICW trip


Two pictures from mid October trip down the ICW in my buddies 18' Ski Natique.

This was a great trip and weather was perfect.
Active Captain was invaluable in planning stops.

We are in process of planning a similiar May trip with 8 friends

Check out the gas mileage we ran at 2800 RPM and 28 MPH most of the trip.

GFC - You are killing us who live on the East coast. On Tuesday we got about 5 inches in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay. However, I was on my way to NY that morning to be with my brother and his family b/c my brother had a heart attack so I missed Maryland's snow but got the NY, Westchester county snow. About 18 inches.
I snow's hot water. :smt038

Joe, I'm sorry to hear about your brother. I hope he's doing OK. I wish you guys were here so I could host you for a cruise!

Oh man, I'd LOVE to go for a boat ride about now. I'm definitely having that junky without a fix feeling!

Thanks for sharing, even though it only helped a little. :thumbsup:

Gofirstclass said:

Joe, I'm sorry to hear about your brother. I hope he's doing OK. I wish you guys were here so I could host you for a cruise!

Click to expand...

GFC - Thanks for the kind words. Things look good but a long rode ahead for him and his family. Plus, he is more hard headed than I am. Ha!

If I am every out your way I will let you know. Would love to see the boat and meet you.
Thanks again,
Joe

Not sure when the movie will be out, but here is the trailer.

[YOUTUBE]zdn9p6B2hBE[/YOUTUBE]

That's GREAT! All you need is Don LaFontaine doing the voice over. Too bad he's dead.

Someone is enjoying their new imovie program. Ron, you need to move over to mac.