Navigation tips - moving boat from West Sayville LI to Bridgeport

[boatrboy]

Looking at a boat in Long Island (Great South Bay Area) and would be looking to bring it to my marina in Bridgeport, Ct. When I look at the Navionics app it looks like a narrow strip of deep enough water to get to the Jones inlet and it looks to be about a 41 mile trip. I would then be in open water for a bit and head under the Verizanno bridge. From there head to Long Island sound past the City and head to Bridgeport.

So is this trip on the South Bay really tricky? How about from Jones inlet to NY harbor?

Boat is 340 Sundancer with V-Drives and about 3’ draft.

Thanks

 

[b_arrington]

GSB can be pretty shallow. What town is it docked in?

Once you get out of the inlets into the ocean it's pretty easy. The inlets can be quite tricky - I think Jones is starting to be dredged. The run through the harbor, up the East River and into the Sound is nice and not hard. Hell Gate has a bad reputation, but I've been through it a number of times and it was no big deal. The Sound at the west end was far more confused.

 

[boatrboy]

GSB can be pretty shallow. What town is it docked in?

Once you get out of the inlets into the ocean it's pretty easy. The inlets can be quite tricky - I think Jones is starting to be dredged. The run through the harbor, up the East River and into the Sound is nice and not hard. Hell Gate has a bad reputation, but I've been through it a number of times and it was no big deal. The Sound at the west end was far more confused.

Brad - boat is in Oakdale. I have made the trip from my dock to the Statue of Liberty several times and have my routes stored so that part I’m comfortable with. It’s the gsb that has me concerned and is there local knowledge that may tell me stuff like “don’t go by xxxx at low tide” etc.

 

[saopm]

I think they remove the bouys in the cut to the west Gilgo Beach area. Definitely verify before you go.

 

[saopm]

Check out the Sea Tow Great South Bay Facebook page if you decide to go out the Fire Island Inlet.

 

[Spark600]

I would go out of Fire Island inlet from Oakdale it is straight run in a well marked channel, 20 minutes a half hour, use the Navionics app.
Once you get to the FI side by the lighthouse just follow the beach to the inlet .
When you get to the inlet favor the west side of the channel and you will be fine.
There will be a bunch of fishing boats going though the inlet follow them.
I run my boat this way all the time and I have a 4' draft.
Not sure when you plain on doing this but I run my small fishing boat usually on the weekends from Bayshore to FI inlet to fish for striped bass if it works out you can follow me out there, I will only be going out for the next two weeks then pulling the boat.

 

[boatrboy]

Thanks guys.
Spark - this puts me in open water for quite a bit more time - is your experience that this is not too rough?
And thanks for the offer to follow you.

 

[Shaps]

+1 What @Spark600 said
Oakdale out FI Inlet
Buoys should be in where you are, I believe they only are removed on the west side of the Robert Moses Bridge in the North Channel.
If anything, try to hit the inlet closer to high tide, but in general with your draft you will be fine. Call local SeaTow if you want any last minute local knowledge. I do believe they are dredging, or preparing to dredge, the inlet and they will be able to tell you where the pipes are, etc.
It is a beautiful ride.

 

[Spark600]

Thanks guys.
Spark - this puts me in open water for quite a bit more time - is your experience that this is not too rough?
And thanks for the offer to follow you.

It is a half hour to 45 minutes more outside but if you go inside to Jones inlet there is a lot more shallow water to deal with and about and one hour ride.
Once you are out of Jones or FI inlet the ocean is the ocean.

 

[Spark600]

Just throwing this out there if you are not sure about the ocean, You can go east and stay in the bay to the locks, into the Peconic bay and out by Greenport to Block Island Sound.
I have a track on my Navionics app of this route that I can send you, I did this route with my big boat 4' draft, So you can do it with no problem, Just have to do this on high tide as there is a lot of shallow spots until you get into the Peconic Bay.

 

[KevinC]

Thanks guys.
Spark - this puts me in open water for quite a bit more time - is your experience that this is not too rough?
And thanks for the offer to follow you.

Fire Island to Jones Inlet is under a 15 mile run. Since your going to be in the ocean anyway I would go out FI and skip all the navigating around shallow waters between the two inside. If the weather is not being helpful you may want to stay inside but it will add a considerable amount of time.

If you stay inside your probably best running the north side in the East-West channel to the Amity Cut and head south. Then take the State Channel west and north around Zachs Bay entrance and under the Wantagh drawbridge. From there you would shoot west to Jones Inlet. If you go straight to the State Channel you will hit a couple of stretches of 5MPH zones.

Rough approximation of the inside route west of FI Inlet.

-Kevin

 

[bmac]

I've boated my entire life on the Great South Bay, most lately with a 58DB with a design draft of 4'8" and operating with almost a 5' draft, at times. The GSB is generally 8-10 feet deep, though it does have relatively shallow areas (1-3') but they are well charted, as are preferred channels. Because the bay is wide open from east to west, there is a tendency for a very nasty 3-5' very short period chop, which makes it an extraordinarily uncomfortable ride, especially for a bay. You'll find that you have different exposure depending on which route you take. From Oakdale, I would say the safest (and slowest) would be to go all the way west to Rockaway Inlet and then around the western end of LI into the Sound. The fastest and most direct would be across the bay and out FI Inlet, with the next alternative Jones Inlet. Lots of shallows to run through to get to Jones or Rockaway Inlets, but all pretty well charted. The next safest and slowest would be to go east to the Shinnecock Canal, into Peconic Bay around Orient Point to the LI Sound. All of these routes require long periods in open water, so each will be dependent on weather. From bays to Ocean can be a great ride in December or a really nasty one. Over the past 20 years or so I've run all those routes with a 320DA, 40DA, 44DB, 52DB and 58DB (not Moriches Bay to Shinnecock Canal with the 52 or 58DB, went out Moriches Inlet with those). PM me if you'd like to discuss any or all routes. I'm less than 5 miles from Oakdale..

 

[boatrboy]

Wow - you guys are providing me with much to think about. If the deal works out I’ll be asking more questions.
I did not know you could get to the inside of the island through a lock. If I did that, I know last year from Greenport to my dock was a 2 1/2 hr ride in my 270 Sundancer through plum gut.
I am going to look at this on my chart also. While I know nothing about going through a lock, I’m sure you guys could coach me through it.

I had not considered Rockaway either but obviously that’s another option.

Thanks

 

[tdschafer]

Wow - you guys are providing me with much to think about. If the deal works out I’ll be asking more questions.
I did not know you could get to the inside of the island through a lock. If I did that, I know last year from Greenport to my dock was a 2 1/2 hr ride in my 270 Sundancer through plum gut.
I am going to look at this on my chart also. While I know nothing about going through a lock, I’m sure you guys could coach me through it.

I had not considered Rockaway either but obviously that’s another option.

Thanks

The lock is easy peasy if its closed. Just pull up, toss a line on the cleat along the side with a couple of fenders out. They close the one behind you, adjust water level accordingly then open the one in front & out you go. It is the calmest & most relaxing way through Shinnecock. If the locks are open, you will experience different levels of current based on the proximity to them closing the locks. Your handling will be affected by which way the current is running and how fast but, its still not terrible if you power up the boat!

 

[Spark600]

Wow - you guys are providing me with much to think about. If the deal works out I’ll be asking more questions.
I did not know you could get to the inside of the island through a lock. If I did that, I know last year from Greenport to my dock was a 2 1/2 hr ride in my 270 Sundancer through plum gut.
I am going to look at this on my chart also. While I know nothing about going through a lock, I’m sure you guys could coach me through it.

I had not considered Rockaway either but obviously that’s another option.

Thanks

You Tube has some great videos on how to go though the Shinnecock locks

 

[boatrboy]

You Tube has some great videos on how to go though the Shinnecock locks

Thanks - I just watched several of them. That helps a lot.
I’ll keep you guys posted.

 

[Captsteve427]

If you go through the city, once you pass under the Throgs Neck bridge and enter Long Island Sound, make sure you stay North of the Stepping Stones lighthouse off the Great Neck, NY shoreline. The light house was built on a reef and named after the boulders that appear to lead to the shore line, which are only visible at low tide, but well marked on any approved navigational aid.

 

[Irie308]

Thanks - I just watched several of them. That helps a lot.
I’ll keep you guys posted.

Having made that run a few times back and forth from the Housatonic River its pretty direct once you get on the outside. Running on the inside out to the Verizanno via Rockaway would be a long slow ride. Not sure I would do it without someone with local knowledge along for the ride if the channel markers are out. If the waters are calm and you can get outside of Jones inlet a 340 should make quick work of that distance to the Verizanno. Have never done the Shinnecock , but I would opt to go through lower Manhattan just for the views.

 

[Alex F]

... It’s the gsb that has me concerned and is there local knowledge that may tell me stuff like “don’t go by xxxx at low tide” etc.

You should be concerned about two primary areas, Moriches Bay and Shinnecock Bay. Both have very tricky shallow spots. Both options (via NYC or the Shinnecock lock) are scenic and fun. Obviously staying inside and going through the lock keeps you mostly in protected water. However, I can't say it's the safest route. My approach is, I rather deal with seas than getting grounded. For this reason, going via NYC is the safer route.

Regardless of the choice of a route, you'll have to study the charts. But, you'll have to study really hard those trouble spots in the bays I mentioned. The lock is pretty easy and is the least of your concerns. Quick tip, if the gates are open this means that both bodies of water are leveled and there's a great chance that a current might ripping through, unless you hit the slack tide. If that's the case, don't be too shy on the throttles, you need some extra power to plow through or the current will push you into the lock walls. If you're not prepared for it, it will catch you by surprise. Otherwise, it's pretty easy, especially with closed gates.

If you choose the NYC route, pay closer attention to the section from the Sloop Channel Bridge heading west via Sloop Channel. The markers are periodically moved due to shifting shoals. But, if you stay in the channel you should have plenty of water. Big boats go through there all the time. That's not the case in Moriches and Shinnecock. I'm not saying it's not doable, it's just being in the channel is not good enough, as you need help of the tides. Years ago I took my 320DA via that route. I had plenty of info for Moriches and timed it perfectly. However, there wasn't anything about Shinnecock Bay trouble spots, so I was caught by surprise. It was not a good feeling when I saw my depth-finder blinking (it never blinked unless it was too shallow) doing 27MPH, and I was in the dead center of the channel.

I'm not sure if CG removes the buoys in that area. If they do at the time of your trip, all bets are off.

 

[boatrboy]

Alex - thanks
After reading everything here and thinking about it more, I looked into another option. While I still don’t have a deal in place yet, I got a quote to ground transport it to Port Jefferson. The company will drop it in the water for me at pj and from there it’s a short shot in the sound to my marina as I do this trip weekly. For $500 it might be the best way especially since the boat would be new to me and I won’t have any experience with it at that point.
The one negative is that I have to remove anything on the arch for transport, and of course I miss the interesting cruise.
I’ll report back on this.
Mark