The Lake Champlain Thread...

penbroke

penbroke

Member
Oct 6, 2006
172
Lake Champlain, VT
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Triple Hatch
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Ford/Volvo
I wanted to start a thread to help all the Lake Champlain boaters that check in here keep in touch and keep each other posted on what is going on. Feel free to post up anything relevant. I hope it will turn into kind of an ongoing discussion of all things Lake Champlain.

To the powers that be: If this is in any way inappropriate please let me know or pull the plug...


Thanks,
Frank
 
It's time...

The ice is finally gone! I had my little fish boat out in Shelburne Bay last Sunday and in Malletts Bay on Thursday. The water is high (100.6 ft last I heard) and it was a bit odd to see a Sundancer sitting on blocks in the water. Looks like the high water will cramp the style of some of the local marinas. Lots of small debris in both but not too many big floaters that I saw. I'm sure they are out there though...

The bridge on Harbor Road in Shelburne has been closed. This is the road from Shelburne village to the shipyard. The only other route is Bay Road which has the 11 ft. underpass. If it is closed for long it will become a real problem for the shipyard and it's customers.

The SeaRay is still a couple weeks from being ready. I have the transom assembly apart to change the seal on the upper pivot shaft. The new parts arrived today. This weekend will be spent cleaning, painting and hopefully doing some reassembly.


See ya on the water,
Frank
 
Well it's not raining now. Time to get to work! I should be able to get the transom assembly back together this weekend. A quick buff and fluff and we should be good to go. :smt001

How much do you have to do before you hit the water Pakmule?

I checked the bridge on Harbor Road last night. They have made some temporary repairs. I'm glad my boat doesn't weigh any more than it does. The whole thing looks iffy to me but I guess if it is good enough for the school buss...

Thanks First Born! :cool:


See ya on the water,
Frank
 
Locking through from the Hudson to Champlain is one of planned trips this summer - I can't wait! I have the Dozier's Guide, which is great and packed with info, but I'm definitely looking for some great local knowledge on marinas etc. I'm planning on one overnight a few locks through and then I'll be looking for the best place to stay on the lake, not too far from the canal. I'll probably only be able to do two nights on the lake before heading back. I prefer quainter, park-like facilities to big and industrial marinas and finger docks to piles. Any and all ideas are appreciated - including the must-see, boat-up lunch spots. :cool:
 
We took a trip through the Champlain Canal to the Hudson last fall and had a great time! We went as far as the wall at Ft. Edward. As you probably know many of the towns on the canal have public docks with varying services available. The photo of the Sea Ray below was taken ad the dock in Ft. Anne. (no services at all) We stayed at the Whitehall Marina both on the way down and on the way back. It is just beyond the last lock (lock 12) of the Champlain Canal. It was a nice place with nice folks that couldn't have been more accomodating. Just across the lake (it's not much wider than the canal at this point) is the Lock 12 Marina. We actually stopped there first, tied up at the fuel dock and searched someone to arrange for a slip for the night. After waiting nearly half an hour we gave up and called across the lake.

Heading north from Whitehall there are a couple of marinas around Ticonderoga that I don't know much about. Both the Chipman Point Marina and the Bouy 39 Marina (not at bouy 39) are on the Vermont side. Neither has a web site that I can find but contact info can be found here. Further north around the Crown Point Bridge are the Port Henry Marina on the New York side and the Champlain Bridge Marina on the Vermont side. I've never been to the Port Henry Marina. The Champlain Bridge Marina has a nice park like atmosphere but I think the transient slips are mostly piles.

We spend most of out time on the hook so I don't have a lot knowlage about the local marinas. Hopefully others will jump in with more first hand info. I think most of the marinas on the lake will lean towards quaint rather than industrial. They just aren't that big.

The "Cruising Guide to the Hudson River, Lake Champlain & the ST. Lawerence River" is a good reference and as always, charts are a must.

How far north do you think you will get? I'll be happy to try to find whatever you may need. Let me know if I can help...


See ya on the water,
Frank
 
Thanks for the helpful info :grin: Not sure yet how far North I'll go - I figured I would not venture too far in on arrival and use my full day there to explore. I already plotted the trip on the computer software I have for the GPS and when there was a foot of snow on the ground this winter, did the trip on Google Earth (I know I'm not the only obsessed SRO who has done that!) Looking forward to hearing more & thanks again! Marinas.com also has great photos for anyone who hasn't seen the site - it's a fantastic resource.
 
What a great weekend. I spent all day Saturday and Sunday at the boat. Got the giant gash from transport fixed and all new bottom paint over that. Also got lots of nitpicky stuff fixed. Launch date set for the 17th!
 
The weather last weekend was fabulous! I got the gimbal housing back together and a bunch of small stuff done. Changed the spark plugs last night and put the drive back on tonight. Had to take off the brackets under the swim platform to get some cracks welded up. That's set now. My better half has been buffing on the hull all week and it looks great! A couple more evening sessions and we should be good to go. Maybe Sunday or Monday...


Frank :cool:
 
Well we finally got her in the water on Tuesday. Ran good from the ramp to the marina but I have to mess around with the shift interupter a bit. The pivot shaft seal repair seems to be a success! I do like a DRY bilge! :grin: Hopefully it will stay that way...

Gas at Shelburne Shipyard is $3.50. Not as bad as I expected. They still close at 5:00pm though. Seems a bit early to me for folks to run down after work.

We are headed out for the long weekend this afternoon. We will likely be hanging around the Burlington North Beach / Shelburne Bay area so if ya see us out there swing on by.


See ya on the water,
Frank :cool:
 
Mine went in yesterday at Ladd's Landing. I'll be heading over to pick it up tomorrow. Plus we sold the old boat today :smt038
 
We spent Friday and Saturday nites at North Beach. Some friends were supposed to join us but they never left the dock. We had a good time though. It was nice and quiet with very little activity at the beach. We tend to head away from crowds rather than towards them. The snack bar was open! Being able to get greasy fries and a cree-mee while on the hook is a treat indeed.

Got the shift interrupter adjusted so It doesn't stall in reverse anymore. Boat ran good but a bit on the warm side at low rpms. Will have to keep an eye on that...

Congrads on the sale Pakmule! I should thin my herd a bit but on Monday we went and looked at an old Donzi 16. Turned out to be more project than I want to get into.


See ya on the water,
Frank
 
It's going to be a long summer...

I got on the boat and tested the shifting from forward to reverse on the starboard motor and it was still stalling. I had Ladd's call Northland about what they did and they said something along the lines of "nothing". Well the work order that they had said that the shifter was not working properly and that it needed to be adjusted.

They sent a guy over and he said the cable had to be replaced and that had to be done out of the water. After counting to ten a few times I said that I knew that and that that I had a long conversation with the mechanic working on the boat about this exact subject.

While we were on the boat I noticed that the bilge pump was running about every 5 minutes for a good 20 seconds. I looked at the transom and the starboard side is wet. So the outdrive has to come off for the second time due to leakage.

I need to find someone to work on my boat that actually can do what they are asked to do. :(
 
Wow, that really sucks! I would still be counting... It sounds like those guys require some serious watching in order to get things done. Hopefully they move you to the top of the schedule so you don't have to wait too long.

What do you have for engines and drives?


Frank
 
Twin Mercruiser 165s with Alpha 1 outdrives. We christened her last night during our short evening of good weather. Took out 5 friends into St. Albans Bay for the evening. Wow, what a step up from the 225!

Now docking, that was another story. It's a bit challenging when you can't find neutral on either engine. hehe.
 
I'm glad to see you are getting to use it some. Any schedule on the repairs?

We didn't go out at all last weekend due to the threatening weather. Hope to get out pretty soon.

I have docked with no reverse many times but no neutral is another story...


See ya on the water,
Frank
 
I spent the entire weekend on the boat tied to the dock and shore power. Got all the teak in the back sanded down and re-finished. Got the entire top deck polished and waxed. Polished a ton of stainless. The wife made headway in cleaning up the cabin.

I am waiting to hear back from Northland on when they and Ladd's can coordinate pulling the boat and getting the fix done with minimum disruption. It is looking like a great weekend coming up.
 
Well,,, after some unexpected issues dealt with and the Lake George Classic Donzi Club's annual spring Dust Off in the books it's time to put some hours on Serenity. :smt001 We are planning to hit it hard this weekend. We will leave Saturday morning and hopefully stay out until Wednesday night. Probably spend a couple nights in Malletts Bay and then head to North Beach for the fireworks on Tuesday night. At this point we have no real plan which is the point of the entire venture. :grin: We will just follow our noses and see what happens.

What is everybody doing for the fourth?

If you see us out there swing on by...

See ya on the water,
Frank :cool:
 
OK - I'm heavy into my Champlain trip planning and hope to get underway this week. The one spot I've gotten the most conflicting info about is whether to stay at Lock 12 Marina or Whitehall Marina. I spoke with some nearly locals the other day who said Whitehall is terrific and Lock 12 is not what it once was, so unless someone tells me otherwise, it will probably be Whitehall. Also looking for feedback on Westport Marina and the best place to tie-up in Burlington. Thanks for your thoughts!
 
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