# The 2016 Boating Thread



## Bostonian (May 6, 2016)

I figure a new season and a new thread!  Boat goes in the water within the next week or so!


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## xwhaler (May 6, 2016)

I'm targeting next wknd shakedown cruise in a local lake once we finish getting her ready this wknd.

Then if all goes well we will be out on the NH/ME Seacoast every wknd!   Love this time of yr.  Get on the water...black flies aren't there!


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## yeggous (May 6, 2016)

I've been thinking about learning how to sail. There is a community boating program in Lawrence that offers very affordable lessons.


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## 4aprice (May 7, 2016)

yeggous said:


> I've been thinking about learning how to sail. There is a community boating program in Lawrence that offers very affordable lessons.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone mobile app



Do it.  Sailing is great and will teach you more about boating then anything else can.  Race and you will find out how hard it is to be a good sailor (kind of like skiing).  Grew up sailing before going power.  Power boating is a recreation, sailing is a sport.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## steamboat1 (May 7, 2016)

Going on today & tomorrow in NYC.

http://www.businessinsider.com/americas-cup-why-you-should-watch-2016-4


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## 4aprice (May 7, 2016)

Was out in San Francisco back in 13 or 14 when they were gearing up for the last Americus Cup (sp?).  IMO the modern cats have kind of ruined it, but they are extremely fast.  Go back to a mono hull and may the best man (or woman) win.  JMO.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## steamboat1 (May 15, 2016)

This is my father & brother in the 1st video. I'm the son (not grandson) & got out of that business over 30 years ago. I still help out,  even run the boat on occasion (yes I'm a licensed captain hense my screen name steamboat). This is how I spend a portion of my off season from skiing.





This video taken just this past Thurs.


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## 4aprice (May 31, 2016)

Great 3 day weekend to kick off the season.  No pics but a great sunburn and swimable water temperatures.  

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## xwhaler (Jun 19, 2016)

Incredible Fathers Day out on the NH/ME Seacoast with my wife and 2 boys!
Days like this make the occasional aggravation/cost of owning a boat all worth it!


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## xwhaler (Jun 19, 2016)

Chauncey Creek Kittery for lunch followed by Little Harbor in Rye for some additional fun


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## Bostonian (Jun 20, 2016)

Finally made it out on the lake yesterday morning!

Winni was perfect in the AM


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## Cornhead (Jun 21, 2016)

Did my first paddle on the Susquehanna Saturday. I got about two miles from home when I noticed quite a bit of water in the bottom of my boat. I pulled up to a flat, rocky part of the bank to dump it out. I knew where the water was coming from, the keel right at the stern. It has been scraping/banging rocks on the bottom of the Susquehanna off and on for the last 35 years. I knew it was wearing thin. I could see daylight through a hole about a half inch long, eighth of an inch wide. I turned for home, stopping to empty the boat a couple times. I think a little marine epoxy should alleviate the leak. Was nice to be back on the water.


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## xwhaler (Jul 2, 2016)

Great day out on the NH/ME Seacoast!     Awesome to have DHS on board for a cruise!


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## Cornhead (Jul 2, 2016)

Hit the river at 6AM this morning, it's usually nice and calm that early in the day, not today, windy as Hell, must be the front moving in. If I had a sail I could've sailed all the way home, the wind was blowing directly upstream most of the way. This resulted in some pretty big waves. I got turned sideways once and had to paddle to the shore to straighten the boat out. I wouldn't say I came close to capsizing, but broadside to the waves is not a good position to be.

When I got to the dam I noticed something unusual. At first I thought the sign read "Pueblo Art". I had to fight the urge to chuck some rocks at the "art". I'm curious to see if it is still there when I return.


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## bigbog (Jul 3, 2016)

Congrats to you guys getting out on the water....


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## 4aprice (Jul 3, 2016)

A little peace at the end of a summers day @ Lake Hopatcong.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## dlague (Jul 3, 2016)

First boating experience this season and looking forward to doing it again!

Went on Clear Creek in Idaho Springs.


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## 4aprice (Jul 4, 2016)

https://youtu.be/alWh_6lrt-Y

Greetings from Byram (Party) Cove, Lake Hopatcong.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## Savemeasammy (Jul 4, 2016)

dlague said:


> First boating experience this season and looking forward to doing it again!
> 
> Went on Clear Creek in Idaho Springs.



I missed you by a day...  We were in Idaho Springs today.  I did this, though:




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## dlague (Jul 5, 2016)

Ummmm - where was that and how was it?  I an considering St Mary's.


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## Savemeasammy (Jul 6, 2016)

St. Mary's.   It was fun to ski in July.  I was on Huck-it-baby's powder skis - so it was interesting!  The snow was softened moonscape, but wasn't corn.  It was worth doing.  I'd never made July turns before.


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## dlague (Jul 6, 2016)

Savemeasammy said:


> St. Mary's.   It was fun to ski in July.  I was on Huck-it-baby's powder skis - so it was interesting!  The snow was softened moonscape, but wasn't corn.  It was worth doing.  I'd never made July turns before.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using AlpineZone mobile app



Hmmm that peeks my interests!


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## Cornhead (Jul 30, 2016)

Hit the mighty Susquehanna @ 6:30 AM, glad I didn't go out after work yesterday, Mayflies spawned last night, would've been out at dusk. I've been on the canoe while they were out, creepy, I'd get the heebie jeebies every now and then, bugs in ears, nose, mouth. Had to empty out the pocket of my tee when done.

That's not river scum, trillions of dead mayflies


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## JimG. (Jul 30, 2016)

Cornhead said:


> Hit the mighty Susquehanna @ 6:30 AM, glad I didn't go out after work yesterday, Mayflies spawned last night, would've been out at dusk. I've been on the canoe while they were out, creepy, I'd get the heebie jeebies every now and then, bugs in ears, nose, mouth. Had to empty out the pocket of my tee when done.
> View attachment 20503
> That's not river scum, trillions of dead mayflies



Dead? From what?

I wonder why the fish don't eat them. I know there are fish in the Susquehanna.


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## dlague (Jul 30, 2016)

JimG. said:


> Dead? From what?
> 
> I wonder why the fish don't eat them. I know there are fish in the Susquehanna.



Mayflies die very fast after they emerge.  Mate then die - hell of a post aquatic life.  For the fish, where is the sport in eating dead bugs.


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## JimG. (Jul 31, 2016)

dlague said:


> Mayflies die very fast after they emerge.  Mate then die - hell of a post aquatic life.  For the fish, where is the sport in eating dead bugs.



Excuse my poor writing in my previous reply.

I meant that I wonder why so many die and are not eaten by the fish while they are still alive. I have big mayfly hatches at my house and I have never seen a mat of dead ones on my river like in Cornhead's pic.


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## bigbog (Jul 31, 2016)

Usually, so many are, indeed, eaten by fish(trout or bass)....but with many spinner-falls(mayfly mating/laying eggs, then die)...the fish  can only eat so much....  I've seen video of the Susquehanna hatches....incredible numbers, has to be the most intense hatch anywhere...  The upper branches, and main branch... of the Delaware are just the headwaters of the Susquehanna.   Amazing the length & breadth, in acreage/miles....of this one river system's hatch(Green Drake...aka Shadfly...y/n?)


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## Cornhead (Jul 31, 2016)

Though not as dramatic as paddling through them in the air, it was surreal paddling through the dead flies on the surface. There were times when the entire surface of the water as far as I could see was covered with them. The surface resembling cooked oatmeal.

 The numbers are mind boggling, and I couldn't help but relate my own life to a single dead mayfly amongst the countless others. As George Harrison wrote, life goes on within you, and without you. It's easy to feel you are the center of your universe, when in reality you're just another dead mayfly in a river full of dead mayflies. Life itself, in it's many forms, is the star of the show.


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## dlague (Jul 31, 2016)

JimG. said:


> Excuse my poor writing in my previous reply.
> 
> I meant that I wonder why so many die and are not eaten by the fish while they are still alive. I have big mayfly hatches at my house and I have never seen a mat of dead ones on my river like in Cornhead's pic.



Got it!


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## JimG. (Jul 31, 2016)

bigbog said:


> Usually, so many are, indeed, eaten by fish(trout or bass)....but with many spinner-falls(mayfly mating/laying eggs, then die)...the fish  can only eat so much....  I've seen video of the Susquehanna hatches....incredible numbers, has to be the most intense hatch anywhere...  The upper branches, and main branch... of the Delaware are just the headwaters of the Susquehanna.   Amazing the length & breadth, in acreage/miles....of this one river system's hatch(Green Drake...aka Shadfly...y/n?)



So these hatches are like the ones you get on the Beaverkill in the Catskills. Clouds of mayflies. I guess you don't see dead ones in mats because the water is shallower and faster running.

Driving on 17 in the evening can require stops to clean your windshield with Windex more than once the bugs are so thick.


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## bigbog (Aug 2, 2016)

JimG. said:


> So these hatches are like the ones you get on the Beaverkill in the Catskills. Clouds of mayflies. I guess you don't see dead ones in mats because the water is shallower and faster running.
> 
> Driving on 17 in the evening can require stops to clean your windshield with Windex more than once the bugs are so thick.



Yes....but I suspect there are stretches of the Delaware/Susquehanna that have mud bottoms with a little slower current flow than say the Beaverkill = often producing heavier hatches of that specific mayfly...  Beats me why...they just seem to thrive, in greater numbers, on the slightly slower current...even in still waters(bogs/ponds/lakes) up here.  Have a pic of them covering a parked car's windshield & hood in a lot in Greenville, just off the water(Moosehead Lake's southern end)...have to find it on a CD(will update when found)..  Surprised, with the size of that hatch down there, that someone hasn't produced a B-SciFy/Horror flick from it yet...;-)


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## Cornhead (Aug 4, 2016)

Fun paddle after work today. The usual route, nothing special there, the 4" of rain North and East of Binghamton Monday had swollen the mighty Susquehanna a whopping 4 feet. Judging by the mud on the bankside foliage the level has dropped 2 feet since it's highest point. Still 2 feet higher than last week.

With the high water I made the Rockbottom Dam in record time, a little over an hour. 6mph, is that good speed in a canoe? I have no idea. As I headed for home I barely noticed this 

This is the first Snapper I've seen sunning on a log. I haven't seen any of the smaller turtles this year. They always drop into the water as soon as I get close. This guy wasn't fazed my my presence as I passed. I stopped an dug my phone out of my pack and floated right up to him for this pic.

Pretty good workout paddling back upstream with some actual current. Not too bad though, plenty of pretty slow moving spots right along the bank. There were a couple spots where I told myself the harder I paddled, the sooner the swift spot would pass. You do have to paddle hard enough to overcome the current, if not, you're on a liquid treadmill.

Winter is on its way, got home at 8:30, already starting to get dark.




Tiger lilies, and whatever the red flower is, probably a weed, picked along the bank.


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## Bostonian (Aug 8, 2016)

So far a great season.  Some photos from Winnipesaukee below!




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## steamboat1 (Aug 8, 2016)




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## bigbog (Jun 22, 2017)

JimG. said:


> So these hatches are like the ones you get on the Beaverkill in the Catskills. Clouds of mayflies. I guess you don't see dead ones in mats because the water is shallower and faster running.
> 
> Driving on 17 in the evening can require stops to clean your windshield with Windex more than once the bugs are so thick.



A pity that the water is too warm with a little too much pollution for trout....  Once you get that far downstream in a watershed and the water is quality bass water...trout have, most likely, been long gone for decades....  Once the climate warms so much, trout domains will dwindle to the northernmost and highermost altitudes in the Rockies...or until another glaciation-mode kicks in..  Would be interesting to see which happens, probably both...


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