New boater in Guntersville, AL

03_240

New Member
Sep 9, 2015
15
Guntersville, AL
Boat Info
240 Sundancer bravo 3 5.0, dodge 2500 tow truck, looking for trailer
Engines
5.0
Hello,

I am a new boater in Guntersville, AL we are currently docked at alreed and looking forward to exploring the area. Anyone else interested in rafting up let me know! I have sailed when I was younger and ski'ed for years but first boat of my own. We moved to Guntersville 2 years ago an looking forward to meeting new people.
 
Welcome to CSR! I'm in Florida so a raft up might be a problem : )

Anyway, enjoy the boat and the site. Lots of great information here.
 
I was at Alred for about 3 years. I've moved 20 miles north to Scottsboro at Goose Pond Marina.
Let me know if you want to venture up... "The Docks" restaurant is @ right at the marina and our favorite cove to float in is a mile or two away.
 
Congrats on the new boat! Bought my first boat off of lake guntersville in 1999. Started a very expensive hobby but wouldn't change anything
 
Hi neighbor, and welcome to the Tennessee Valley. You will not have any trouble making new friends - just fly your burgee (Auburn or Alabama) to make sure you get in the right camp! My SR is on the yard right now getting some work done (new prime movers), but hope to have the ole girl back in the water by Spring. We like to drop the hook at Short Creek or Honey Comb (Snug Harbor) - pop a cork and watch the sun go down (retired). Runs down river to Joe Wheeler or against the current to Chattanooga make for a great couple of days on the river - especially in the Fall of the year. The "Canyon" is usually lit up with color the last week in October. If you really want to raft up - head up river to a Tennessee Volunteer football game in Knoxville - you haven't rafted till you tie up with the Vol Navy! (PAR TI!)

As mwph said, "The Docks" at Goose pond is good watering hole - and The lodge and the State Park is "tolerable" - I think they will still send a shuttle down to the docks and take you up the mountain for the buffet!

Come Spring - give us a buzz on the radio - usually around somewhere.

Larry

PS I've run this river from Pickwick to Watauga since 1959 - I keep coming home to G'ville Lake.
 
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it is funny you ask about the camp we follow, we moved to AL and that was the first question out of our entire neighborhood, We don't really follow sports.

I have noticed we started a expensive hobby anything that says marine triples the price. I am a pretty handy guy and was looking at doing my own maintenance but we are still trailer shopping and things like impellers and outdrive upkeep i will have to pay the pros until i can get it out of the water. (more of a comfort thing than anything)

MWPH we would love to meet up, I have been traveling the last couple weeks and havent had much free time.

Is there a community calendar by chance or is it best to just watch the forums for events, we love it here in AL but being new we aren't in on the skinny just yet.
 
Will keep an eye out for a trailer. If my boat was in the water you'd be welcomed to use mine, but it's sittin on it right now.

As for a local calendar, I don't know of one (start one?). There's the usual boat parade on the 4th and New Years Day, a group that runs up the Chattanooga for river fest from time to time. And the LOOPERS have a conference down river at Joe Wheeler in the Fall - worth cruising down there for the weekend if you are even thinking about trying it. Joe Wheeler State Park.

There is a Power Squadron in Huntsville http://www.usps.org/localusps/hunts/ - seems to be pretty active group. They have a good "Engine Maintenance" course coming up this Fall. Not a bad ride up there and worth the $60 fee. There is an event calendar on their site. And watch the Guntersville CoC web page for local events.

Once you get a trailer, there are some other nearby lakes of interest - Wiess Lake is renowned for crappy fishing - If you have kids, it can be a ball - when they are "on the bed" you can sit in one spot and catch a tub full. Henry Neely Lake at Gadsden is a nice day trip. The Coosa River has some interesting history (cotton and steamboats) - cruise from the old bridge down to the dam and back - lots of big homes and farms along the river -but get a map its has some shallow spots. Several restaurants have docks.

On Guntersville and Gadsden Avoid the big "Fishing Tourney's" - once they spread out its not too bad, but start and finish times can get pretty busy. You know they are serious fishermen, when they climb in a 400 hp bass boat and strap on a crash helment!! Watch your wake when they are out on the water - as always - but when the lake is glassy - wakes can really carry.

Yes "Marine" anything carries a premium price! But if you shop around on the web, I've been able to beat them down quite a bit.

If you need an extra hand don't hesitate to call. I have owned both Bravo and Alpha drives and have some of the special tools. Outdrives are the curse of modern boating. If you are leaving you boat in the water, watch your zinc's very carefully, repaint every scratch at least every year, drain and change the oil in the lower unit - religiously. If water gets in - they will freeze and burst the housing - even if the water around them is not frozen. (BTDT)

Larry
 
We are already planning a run to Chattanooga next year but taking our time maybe a 4 day weekend.

The goal right now is to get the boat back to a good baseline, it appears the last owner was more of a fix whats broken kind of owner, I am more maintain it so it wont break kind of owner.

Still trying to figure out a high pressure alarm on the A/C. it will run and pump water for 10-20 minutes and go into alarm and shut down. I am still trying to figure out how to get to the unit :huh:

We are looking forward to some trailer trips, I used to scuba dive ALLOT when we lived in Nashville (a few quarry's, many runs to FL) so we are looking at running to FL a couple times a year, and once we are comfortable try the run to the Bahamas eventually. We almost moved to lake Weiss, the wife and i (no kids yet) both work from home but i find myself in Huntsville 2 to 3 days a week so Guntersville just seemed the right choice.

if you need a hand war eagle sounds like you are doing a heck of a swap!
 
Welcome, we're up on Normandy on the other side of the mountain in TN. Heard a lot about Guntersville and may try to make it down for a day next season.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi Docs - load her up and come on down - there's always beer in the fridge aboard "SeaBiscuit".

G'ville is a little more "industrial" than Normandy - but there no limit as to where you can go.

240 - I thought I had you a trailer today ... but not for sale.

High pressure -- check the air flow across the evaporator -- no idea how to get to it. Nothings easy on a boat1

Lota work but we like the old Amberjack's layout. Enough wood to remind you she a boat - The hull and decks are solid so when these little 4 cylinder Mercruiser abortions reached end of life ($$) - the options for re power where kinda limited without major surgery. I ran across a deal on couple of 175 Suzuki's and after looking a SR's Ventura (two Merc outboards) - what the hey - can always move them to another hull or sell them if necessary. Unlike the Mercs, the Zuks hp rating is at the prop not the flywheel - in reality I'm adding about 100 hp at the prop and a 200 lbs net. The CG will move aft - but I've added additional fresh water storage up front. With full fuel and water, the weight and balance is pretty close to the original numbers. The Armstrong bracket will add about 3ft to overall length replacing the swim platform and more than enough displacement to float the engines - by leaving a small, vented step in the hull (ah la Regency) at the attach point, on plane it should not add any wetted hull drag. Several folks have done this with similar hulls and the results have been pretty good. Worse case, I'll add a couple of retractable hydrofoils to the front end and see if the Zuks can lift the whole thing out of the water (lookout Goldfinger!)

I'll be happy just to get all the noise and vibration out from under my feet!

Larry
 
DOCS it is a heck of a lake lots of place to explore and tons of good places to tube and ski and drop anchor and pop a cold one.

War eagle Man to bad I have been looking at something like a nextrail or equivalent, basically galvanized tandem axle surge disk brakes rated around 8 -10k, LED's (I can convert if needed) decent hubs and bearings, basically low maintenance. we plan on running back and forth to FL with it a few times a year and want to make sure it is a reliable trailer. Our boat dry is rated at 5500lbs I figure half tank of fuel/water, water toys, bar, and and and... we will be around 7k plus trailer so i like to air on the side of caution.
 
I missed the help with the A/C I have to figure out how to get to this thing, :huh:I have read also that over time growth in the cooling lines can cause heat exchange to be greatly diminished and setting up a closed loop with a mild acid to clean out the lines. the boat sat up for over 2 years before that is was used very little it only has 360 hours on a 13 year old boat even the sink drains had to be flushed to get the mud dobber nests out and I CLR'd the water lines and water heater twice. I am still trying to get to a good base line on the boat so i can just keep up with regular maintenance and fix what breaks.

Then drop in a 383 stroker motor, the 5.0 is ok but it would be nice to get on plane faster.
 
I would love to meet some other boater and cruisers in the area. We like overnight coveing, cursing, and just having fun. This is our first season out on the lake. We've already been out coveing in late march, and have some plans to crusie up to chatanooga a couple times this summer. Is there are good active sites for events, and other boaters in this area?
 
I would love to meet some other boater and cruisers in the area. We like overnight coveing, cursing, and just having fun. This is our first season out on the lake. We've already been out coveing in late march, and have some plans to crusie up to chatanooga a couple times this summer. Is there are good active sites for events, and other boaters in this area?

There is no accurate/up to date calendar for the area. Alred Marina tried to post one up a few years ago, but it was a one & done post. The next year the marina that used to be called Signal Point (and then changed to Guntersville Marina) tried it without much better results.

I had either missed or forgotten that you were at Goose Pond. Chattanooga is out of the question for us, but I'll keep an eye out for you and at the least we can do a floating lunch or maybe dinner at the restaurant sometime.
 
Hello,

I am a new boater in Guntersville, AL we are currently docked at alreed and looking forward to exploring the area. Anyone else interested in rafting up let me know! I have sailed when I was younger and ski'ed for years but first boat of my own. We moved to Guntersville 2 years ago an looking forward to meeting new people.

Welcome to river and lake cruising.

Although my boats are back in Florida, I still spend an obscene amount of time in Huntsville, therefore I am on the water out of Ditto Landing Marina, on a few different boats. As former Commodore of the North Alabama Boaters Association, I can tell you there is a healthy pile of enthusiasts at Ditto. They have several events involving both Wheeler and Guntersville Lake. If you have the notion, joining the Guntersville Yacht Club will get you people with like minds all the time. Watch Ditto's Facebook page, as that has the most up to date info (for now). There are some pretty big changes going on there as the County and Port Authority have taken interest in our "Diamond in the Rough". We will see how that plays out. When you come to Florida, West Coast for cruising and gunkholes, East coast for diving, and fishing. Panhandle will get you both (not so much diving).
Enjoy.
 
There is no accurate/up to date calendar for the area. Alred Marina tried to post one up a few years ago, but it was a one & done post. The next year the marina that used to be called Signal Point (and then changed to Guntersville Marina) tried it without much better results.

I had either missed or forgotten that you were at Goose Pond. Chattanooga is out of the question for us, but I'll keep an eye out for you and at the least we can do a floating lunch or maybe dinner at the restaurant sometime.

That would be awesome!, We will be out on the lake for sure during Memorial Day weekend. Keep an eye out! we like cruising down to the Honeycomb area, and down by the big bridge. I'll keep an eye out for you as well.
 
Welcome to river and lake cruising.

Although my boats are back in Florida, I still spend an obscene amount of time in Huntsville, therefore I am on the water out of Ditto Landing Marina, on a few different boats. As former Commodore of the North Alabama Boaters Association, I can tell you there is a healthy pile of enthusiasts at Ditto. They have several events involving both Wheeler and Guntersville Lake. If you have the notion, joining the Guntersville Yacht Club will get you people with like minds all the time. Watch Ditto's Facebook page, as that has the most up to date info (for now). There are some pretty big changes going on there as the County and Port Authority have taken interest in our "Diamond in the Rough". We will see how that plays out. When you come to Florida, West Coast for cruising and gunkholes, East coast for diving, and fishing. Panhandle will get you both (not so much diving).
Enjoy.

Thanks for the heads up! I will definitely keep an eye on the Ditto Page.. its a bit of a haul for us, but we will be heading that way at some point.
 

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