Puddle dweller on big water

Arickosmo

Arickosmo

Member
Apr 10, 2012
307
Middle Coast
Boat Info
2003 400DB
Engines
Mercruiser 8.1L
My wife and I are considering the purchase of a boat up on Lake Michigan. We normally only boat on an inland puddle but since the boat we buy may be up on Michigan, we're going to have to cruise a bit before we pull the boat to ship. It would probably be a once in a lifetime thing.

I'm a pilot, a lifelong boater and a big fat ninny when it comes to my boat. If we need to cruise 100 miles to get the boat to our port for shipping, what do I need to know? It will most likely be a 400 Sedan Bridge so is the lake really an issue as far as swell is concerned? I honestly don't know. Are we better off near shore or out in the middle? blah blah blah...

We don't want to miss out on an awesome cruise on the great lakes before removing the boat but I want to have a good time and not be freaking out about the boat or our safety. Any help/guidance is appreciated. Also, you can throw in all the jabs you like, I am a newby to the Great Lakes.
 
First tool to add to the arsenal:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/gtlakes.htm

Yes, the swells will matter, just plan accordingly. I would suggest traveling along the shore for several reasons:

First, you will want to enjoy some of the ports that Lake Michigan has to offer. Just cruising across the middle gets boring.

Second, since this will be a new boat, I would want to stay closer to ports, just in case you have issues. Until you know your boat and have it in tip top mechanical shape, I would not venture out across the lake until then. Spend as much time as you can touring Lake Michigan, it is a gem.

Where are you planning on hauling the boat? Where is it headed?
 
Planning to haul it in Michigan City, IN. It's headed to Monroe Lake in Bloomington, IN for a few years and then further south, maybe Knoxville on the TN river. Beyond the next four years, we're not sure, one kid is off to college and the other will be in college in four years so....

We want the 400 for bigger water later on. By then we'll probably want a 480 right?!?!

There are restricted areas in the lake? wow....(using Navionics)
 
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The first thing to do is select what marina you're going to have take the boat apart and get it ready to ship. Make sure they are qualified to do the work AND DO IT RIGHT. Also, pick the marina/yard that will be putting the boat back together, then consider having the tech who will reinstall everything supervise or do the tear down. We flew a tech from Portland, OR to Detroit to supervise the tear down. He ended up doing the actual work, not just supervising, because the selling broker backed out of it. That turned out to be a good thing though because the tech took his time, marked every wire and did it RIGHT because he knew he was going to have to put it back together.

If you have some time to spend, here's a link to a thread I did on my experience. it has a lot of information in it that might help you out.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to PM me.

Mike
 
Again, I'm unfamiliar with Lake Michigan. I'm only hoping to drive her to Indiana for fun and have her hauled there. Michigan City and BE Marine seemed like a logical choice for the sling and haul out. I'm open to suggestions.

The few boats we're looking at are in WI and Western MI. Possibly one or two over on Erie as well. If it's on Erie though, I think I'll truck it back instead of cruise over the top of Michigan.

So NOAA says for example, "...7 foot waves...". I've been in 10-15 foot seas on a 48 Cabo recently and this really seems like it's not much. Is there more to the waves up on the lakes? I'm not trying to be silly by any means. If the frequency is greater, 7' waves will really suck! I just have ZERO experience but I would like to boat a bit up there before we ship the ship.
 
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I bought a boat in CT once and spent a few weekends getting a feel for it and visiting some nice places on LI Sound before cruising it back to lake Erie. It would be fun if you could do that, and it would help build some confidence in the boat and yourself before the longer trip to haul it out.
 
Before picking a marina to do the haul out and disassembly work, I'd ask around on here and see who the locals think would be a good one to handle it. MonacoMike lives down in the south end of the lake on the MI side and is an experienced boater. I'm sure there are others on here who could recommend one.

Just a thought--you're headed to Harrison TWP. It would be a shorter distance if you had the boat hauled and loaded in southern Michigan, plus they would only have to buy permits from MI. If you pick a marina in Chicago the hauler is going to need permits from IL, IN and MI. That all starts to add up quickly when you are talking a boat the size of yours.
 
When we get closer to choosing the boat I suppose I'll ask for haul out suggestions. I would have to think that only pulling permits and pilot cars for one state would be cheaper. If I can avoid IL altogether as far as taxes or fees, I will. I never got to land at Meigs Field and I won't let that go.

This forum is such a great wealth of knowledge. Hopefully someday I'll be on the giving end of it.
 
Arickosmo said:
Again, I'm unfamiliar with Lake Michigan. I'm only hoping to drive her to Indiana for fun and have her hauled there. Michigan City and BE Marine seemed like a logical choice for the sling and haul out. I'm open to suggestions.

The few boats we're looking at are in WI and Western MI. Possibly one or two over on Erie as well. If it's on Erie though, I think I'll truck it back instead of cruise over the top of Michigan.

So NOAA says for example, "...7 foot waves...". I've been in 10-15 foot seas on a 48 Cabo recently and this really seems like it's not much. Is there more to the waves up on the lakes? I'm not trying to be silly by any means. If the frequency is greater, 7' waves will really suck! I just have ZERO experience but I would like to boat a bit up there before we ship the ship.
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You won't like the typical 7' wave of the Great Lakes, if you are out in 10-15 footers there's a good chance some folks on board will have tears in their eyes. Not joking when I say that.
 
Woody said:
You won't like the typical 7' wave of the Great Lakes, if you are out in 10-15 footers there's a good chance some folks on board will have tears in their eyes. Not joking when I say that.
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I should have clarified that...it was in Mexico.
 
sorry, I should have clarified that the Cabo was in Mexico. Between Cancun and Cozumel. the Tower was below the top of the waves often. Neat stuff. We did send a few home that day, think we lost 5 of the 12 on board before we really started fishing.

I'm unfamiliar with how the lake behaves. I think the suggestion to take a bit of time and familiarize myself is a good one. I'm not one to back down from a boating challenge but I like to have information and I hate breathing water.
 
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Well, not anymore. H-dock has 3 Regal 4860, a few big Carvers. G-dock is 390MY, a 40+' Silverton, and superdock has a 400DB and a Cruisers about 50'. It would certainly be on the bigger side but we don't intend to stay there too long. We have one more kid to matriculate through high school before we can move further south. My parents are in Indy also and don't want to follow us so I need to stay local.
 
Arickosmo said:
So NOAA says for example, "...7 foot waves...". I've been in 10-15 foot seas on a 48 Cabo recently and this really seems like it's not much. Is there more to the waves up on the lakes?
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Yeah, with the typical wave period on the Great Lakes, once you get over 4' on a 40' boat things start to get uncomfortable pretty quickly. I won't choose to go out at that point. Not that the boat can't handle it, it just isn't fun.
 
If/when I buy my next boat I am hoping to do the opposite of what you're doing. Buy it someplace across the big lake and cruise it around and back up to West Michigan. There are some great ports to be visited. No better excuse to burn that much fuel than when buying it and bringing it home.

My two cents - you'll be pulling into the next port anytime the waves build beyond 3' on Lake Michigan. Even in a 40 footer. It get's to be pretty punishing in the 4-5' range. Not just on the passengers but also on the boat. Beyond 5' waves on Lake Michigan and I'm assuming you're going to be in the "small craft advisory" range most of the time.

Depending on where you buy I would suggest the following: Dinner in Muskegon, 2 full days in Grand Haven, dinner in Holland, 2 full days in Saugatuck.
 
You guys are great!

My hauler says he'd rather just drive up and get it so the new plan is to enjoy the boat a bit up there before hauling it.
 
Arickosmo said:
You guys are great!

My hauler says he'd rather just drive up and get it so the new plan is to enjoy the boat a bit up there before hauling it.
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Well of course that's what your hauler would say - you're probably paying him by the mile!
 
Arickosmo said:
You guys are great!

My hauler says he'd rather just drive up and get it so the new plan is to enjoy the boat a bit up there before hauling it.
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Lake Michigan can get nasty like some of us already said. Often short wave period and steep wave faces, it will not be like your other experiences. Calm and nice is calm and nice everywhere but when the wind blows here things are often a bit different. There are reasons for that, water density, water/air temp/friction.

Don't miss an opportunity to cruise port to port on the lake...just watch the weather. For most the southern 3/4 the lake if you're running the shore you're rarely more than 10-15 miles from a decent port. There's lots of folks here that can give you the scoop on those ports and things to see/do.
 
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