Newbie from the South

Sadler

Sadler

Member
Nov 29, 2006
907
Live in Western NC, boat in Charleston, SC
Boat Info
2005 Nordic Tugs 37 FB
Mercury RIB dinghy with Honda 2 hp 4 stroke,
sold: 1997 290DA,
Engines
Cummins QSB 380
Greetings from North Carolina! And South Carolina!

I've been a Sea Ray owner for eight years, and have a 1997 Sea Ray 290. I live in the foothills of NC, near Asheville, and dry stack the boat in Charleston, SC. I'm a pretty heavy user, putting about 150-200 hours a year on boat. We do distance cruising, and love to anchor out among the many great spots around Charleston or on the ICW. I do all my own maintenance, and I'm on my second 290, so I'm pretty familiar with 1995-1997 290s. I think that vintage, due to its layout, is among the great boats Sea Ray has made, and my preference is for the simplicity and economy of the single engine version. My latest project was replacing the Sea Ray rack and pinion steering with rotary steering and installing a Simrad autopilot. Looking forward to sharing some of what I've learned and learning much from the experts here on CSR.

Sadler Love
 
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Sadler, welcome to the board. Looking forward to your sharing your projects with us. There is a wealth of info on the board. Several members are not to far from your area. In fact my signature picture was taken at Lake Murray this past 4th of July at a outting when we all meet. :grin:
 
Thanks for the welcome. I've tried to take the boat close to Lake Murray. About a year ago, we drove the boat from Charleston up the Cooper River, and tried to lock through the Pinopolis lock to the Tailrace canal to Lake Moutrie and then on to Lake Marion--close to Lake Murray. The trip was over 100 miles, and I ran low on fuel, and since it was in February, there were no marinas open that far up the river. Plus, Moutrie was too rough for the lock to operate, so we ended up anchoring just below the lock, and the next day slow cruising at 7 mph all the way back to preserve fuel, just barely making it to Daniel Island marina. The run up the Cooper (or down) is a great and beautiful trip. I was amazed at how little development is on the Cooper after you clear the area around Charleston. Do you or any of the other members you know ever boat near Charleston?

Sadler
 
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Welcome to CSR Sadler. you have found a great group of folks here.
 
Thanks. Looking through the posts, it's clear this is a great bunch of people who give a great deal of their time sharing their experiences and knowledge. I'll begin digging through some of my own stuff to see if I can post some things that might be of interest.

Sadler
 
Welcome Sadler. We go to Charleston each year with the Hall Marine group and head to Beufort. This year we are planning to do Hilton Head and Beufort. I would like to do the locks some day. Is there a chart from Santee to Charleston?

Have a great day

Paul
 
Thanks to everyone for the welcome! And thanks to all the people who maintain it and make it so great. Looks like I've found a great home.

Paul,

With regards to the Cooper River trip, there are no good charts that I know of. I went with my "godfather" of boating, a friend named Jeff. Jeff is an avid trailer boater who has probably navigated more of America via a trailer boat than anyone else. He trailered his 21' Striper cuddy to the outside passage in Alaska last year and Lake Powell the year before. Jeff has a nice closed cabin 21' Parker he trailers now. Anyway, Jeff has been up the Cooper many times and knew the way, but it's not very tough at all. You can just follow the river and watch your depth. There's one place where you have to zig zag across the river, but if you look carefully it is marked. There's a low rail bridge early on that I can only get under at low tide, so a much taller boat might not be able to make it. I have the route on my GPS and can send to you. It's off a Garmin 2010, so if you can read that format, I'll be glad to send it. I do have a good map of Moutrie and Marion that I can send the link for if you'd like. The photo in my Mods section (under my boat link) that shows the black dash cover and marker minder was taken as we went up the Cooper. You can see it's desolate, and the Cooper looks pretty much like that most of the way. A great trip. Let me know if you ever want to go together. We could take two boats or pile into one. Another friend has asked to ride with me up the Cooper, and I told him we'll go this Spring when things are open and fuel is available, so maybe we could all go then.

I've been to Hilton Head a couple of times when the Hall Sea Ray Group from Charleston was there. One year there was a manatee right there in Harbour Town! I recall one of the boaters with the Hall group used a hose to "water" the manatee and it rolled over and over, seeming to love it. Maybe you were on that trip. There was quite some excitement. Love Harbour Town and Beaufort. I'll make a point to try to go with the group this year. I'd love to meet you and the other Sea Ray folks.

Regards,

Sadler
 
Sadler said:
Greetings from North Carolina! And South Carolina!

I've been a Sea Ray owner for eight years, and have a 1997 Sea Ray 290. I live in the foothills of NC, near Asheville,
Click to expand...


First I have to say Welcome Aboard, Great looking boat!
:thumbsup:

I assume you mean the south east side of Asheville if you are talking foothill, I'm two hours west of Asheville in the Mtns of North GA about a 1 south of the NC line. Do most of my boating on the inland waterways and lake.
 
Thanks Chuck. Yes, I'm south east of Asheville a few miles off I-26, right at the North/South Carolina line. I work in Spartaburg, SC, but live in NC. Looks like you might be near Lake Rabun in GA. Use to go to my sister's place on Rabun. Beautiful place.

Great looking 240. Love the mods you've put into her.

Sadler
 
Sadler you just made me hungry for The Beacon (anytime I hear Spartanburg it is the first thing that comes to my mind), alright so maybe it is a little too late for the Beacon. :huh:

Wesley
 
Wesley--are you on Lake Norman? Grew up skiing on that lake. I can recall when there were no houses and the lake still had stumps sticking up in the water right after it was dammed.

Funny you guys should mention the Beacon. I had not been in probably twenty five years, when over Christmas my once vegan and oldest daughter suggested we go to show her new husband from Maine what it was like. Sort of like showing him how the barbarians live. The place is frozen in time. The food....hmmm, but deadly.

My nine year old daughter wanted me to snap a cell phone picture of the guy in the ball cap at the entrance to the food line calling out your order to the cooks. Make you hungry?

Sadler
 
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Sadler, no we live in Matthews and we trailer to Lake Wylie and High Rock usually. Thanks for the picture yeah made me hungry.

Wesley
 
Wesley,

Last time I was on Wylie was a long time ago. I recall some friends leaping off the Buster Boyd bridge in high school. My wife and I rented a house right after we were married on Wylie, near the Westinghouse plant. Had a sailboat stolen from that place. :smt089

Thanks again to all who have responded and welcomed me, and to the admins of CSR. It's a great site.

Sadler
 
Welcome aboard. Big Charleston, SC fans here. We vacation in Kiawah, SC once a year. I am a tennis nut and we just love the island.
 
Thanks for the welcome. I see you're from Virginia. Great boating up there. Kiawah really is a beautiful resort with great biking, tennis, and golf, and is one of my all time favorites for boating. We anchor all around it and anchor off of and play on the northend beaches in Summer. Overnight at the Bohicket marina near Kiawah. You should cruise your 330 down the ICW sometime to Charleston. :smt001

Photo taken at high tide from one of our favorite overnight anchorages on Bass Creek on Kiawah Island, looking out at the Atlantic and Folly Island.
 
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