New member/boat owner

[Motorcity John]

Greetings from the Motown northern suburbs.
I’m a new owner of a 2015 Yamaha SX210.
Look forward to participating in the boating hobby and this great forum.

 

[Ericd]

Welcome and hope you enjoy your new boat

 

[HawaiiBreeze]

Welcome Aboard! The summer is right around the weekend corner...get ready!

 

[HangOutdoors]

Greetings from the Motown northern suburbs.
I’m a new owner of a 2015 Yamaha SX210.
Look forward to participating in the boating hobby and this great forum.

Welcome. A lot of great places to boat around here.

 

[Motorcity John]

Welcome. A lot of great places to boat around here.

Thanks.

What inland lakes in metro Detroit do you prefer?

 

[HangOutdoors]

Depends what you want to do and what area you live in, also on which days... weekdays or weekends?

 

[Motorcity John]

Depends what you want to do and what area you live in, also on which days... weekdays or weekends?

I live in Rochester Hills.
I grew up on an inland lake in northern Michigan and we primarily did water sports.
I haven’t had a boat in decades but I still lean towards water sports as far as boating activities on weekends primarily.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Orchard Lake is your best bet. Get there early. Nice water not a lot of asshats on the water either. Great for swimming, watersports and a sandy area in the north end or around the island. IMO, best lake in Oakland county.
Cass Lake is full of asshats and when they get drinking it is not very safe out there. Had many close calls with watersports and just general boating. Definitely stay away on weekends especially holiday's. We haven't been back in quite some time.

The other lakes in the area feel small. Maceday Lake and Lake Orion are ok.

Highly recommend Lake St. Clair. You can launch at Metro Park Beach or at Harley Ensign. I recommend going across the bay to the East Side. about 5-7 miles across depending on where you want to go. Plenty of restuarants and miles of open water in the bays for watersports, lounging, fishing and we like to cruise up and down the rivers and sight see. "MAKE SURE" you have VHF radio and proper safety equipment. You may get stopped and checked, and it is the safest thing to do. You can also launch on the East Side if you like as well of Anchor Bay or in Algonac, longer drive. In your boat you can easily handle 1-3' seas. Anything more gets rough in the open water. If it is windier just launch on the east side the bays are fairly calm and the rivers don't chop much unless it is boat traffic.

The yellow circles are launches we have used with Harley Ensign and Metro Beach the biggest. There are more but we haven't used them.

The red circles are the watersport areas I recommend. Usually much calmer and you can go a mile or so without any boats around even on the weekends.

I nice day ride is down to Belle Isle and then into the Detroit river. We turn around at the Ambassador Bridge. WATCH the no wake zones around Belle Isle. If the chop and wind is down it is a fun trip. We also go around the Ford Mansion and such, there is a swimming area there. It is about 25 or so miles from the Metro Beach Launch.

Get Navionics at the very least regardless of where you go and keep it up on your phone on a mount on your dash. Even in inland lakes the shallows come up quick and you don't want to suck up rocks and debris in your jet pump.

www.navionics.com

If you have any questions, need help or advice Just ask.

 

[Motorcity John]

Orchard Lake is your best bet. Get there early. Nice water not a lot of asshats on the water either. Great for swimming, watersports and a sandy area in the north end or around the island. IMO, best lake in Oakland county.
Cass Lake is full of asshats and when they get drinking it is not very safe out there. Had many close calls with watersports and just general boating. Definitely stay away on weekends especially holiday's. We haven't been back in quite some time.

The other lakes in the area feel small. Maceday Lake and Lake Orion are ok.

Highly recommend Lake St. Clair. You can launch at Metro Park Beach or at Harley Ensign. I recommend going across the bay to the East Side. about 5-7 miles across depending on where you want to go. Plenty of restuarants and miles of open water in the bays for watersports, lounging, fishing and we like to cruise up and down the rivers and sight see. "MAKE SURE" you have VHF radio and proper safety equipment. You may get stopped and checked, and it is the safest thing to do. You can also launch on the East Side if you like as well of Anchor Bay or in Algonac, longer drive. In your boat you can easily handle 1-3' seas. Anything more gets rough in the open water. If it is windier just launch on the east side the bays are fairly calm and the rivers don't chop much unless it is boat traffic.

The yellow circles are launches we have used with Harley Ensign and Metro Beach the biggest. There are more but we haven't used them.

The red circles are the watersport areas I recommend. Usually much calmer and you can go a mile or so without any boats around even on the weekends.

I nice day ride is down to Belle Isle and then into the Detroit river. We turn around at the Ambassador Bridge. WATCH the no wake zones around Belle Isle. If the chop and wind is down it is a fun trip. We also go around the Ford Mansion and such, there is a swimming area there. It is about 25 or so miles from the Metro Beach Launch.

Get Navionics at the very least regardless of where you go and keep it up on your phone on a mount on your dash. Even in inland lakes the shallows come up quick and you don't want to suck up rocks and debris in your jet pump.

www.navionics.com

If you have any questions, need help or advice Just ask.

View attachment 178937

Thanks so much for the help.
I appreciate the great info. you provided.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Also if you do Wake Boarding or Surfing, the river channel on the north/north west of Fisher Bay is fantastic. It is deep, slow moving and clear green. And you will pretty much have it to yourself most days.

 

[Dixemon]

Welcome, congrats on your new boat.