Shake Down Run on the Susquehanna Long Level *Pic heavy*

[1BadTundra]

Yesterday was the first nice day to get her out and see how all our off-season work pays off. We rebuilt both outdrives, oil/grease in the cones, cleaned and resealed the whole jet assembly, fresh oil and plugs, added a ton of audio and lighting, wake tower parts fresh outta powdercoat all cleaned and lubed up. She hauled ass!!! no cavitation, smooth operation all around. This was also our dog's first time on the boat too. Good day. I do have some issues with the steering being a little off center, small alignment adjustment, and we'll be 100%. Lot's of wake boats out there yesterday, a few Yamaha's too!

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

What a great April weekend it was! Glad you were able to enjoy it.

How far up the Susquehanna can you boat?

Jim

 

[steveinmd]

Nice! Wanted to go out but we gotta get my buddy's done. Congrats on a good run after all that work

-Just south of the Susquehanna-

 

[1BadTundra]

It gets rocky north and south of where we boat. I believe this section is Lake Clarke.

 

[1BadTundra]

Nice! Wanted to go out but we gotta get my buddy's done. Congrats on a good run after all that work

-Just south of the Susquehanna-

We'd rather hit the bay, but with those toxic numbers lately coming from the treatment plant, it'll be a while before we head back down there.

 

[BigT51]

What a great April weekend it was! Glad you were able to enjoy it.

How far up the Susquehanna can you boat?

Jim

There are basically three lakes on the Susquehanna south of Harrisburg, all formed by dams. We've boated on all three and the largest is Conowingo which the dam is in Maryland (route 1 goes over the dam) and the last one before the Chesapeake. Clarke Lake (near Wrightsville) is the next one up the river and probably the most popular - Long Level Marina is located there and where BadTundra was. The third is by Three Mile Island at the York Haven Dam and this one can get pretty shallow in places but is well marked. We spend the majority of our time on the Conowingo since it's the largest and least crowded plus the bald eagles are really cool to see flying around and grabbing fish out of the water.

 

[BigT51]

We'd rather hit the bay, but with those toxic numbers lately coming from the treatment plant, it'll be a while before we head back down there.

What's the story on the toxic discharge on the Chesapeake, I haven't heard about it yet?

 

[1BadTundra]

Back river leached out a ton of shit into the Bay... We heard that the water levels are toxic near Hart Miller... https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/environment/bs-md-back-river-unsafe-20220422-3imi7twzxbg5tcvrdyx4yvvcbu-story.html

 

[MrWizard]

...plus the bald eagles are really cool to see flying around and grabbing fish out of the water.

Depending on the day, you can see multiple Bald Eagles at Lake Clarke. We were there last Monday and saw numerous flying high, unfortunately none came to the water to eat

Nice to know there's more Yami owners in the Central/S. Central PA area! I'm always looking for other jet boats on the water, saw one on the 4th @ LL and said hello (he was doing a touch and go off the dock, not much time to chat)

 

[1BadTundra]

Depending on the day, you can see multiple Bald Eagles at Lake Clarke. We were there last Monday and saw numerous flying high, unfortunately none came to the water to eat

Nice to know there's more Yami owners in the Central/S. Central PA area! I'm always looking for other jet boats on the water, saw one on the 4th @ LL and said hello (he was doing a touch and go off the dock, not much time to chat)

Was that us? We were out there on the 4th, hung out at the sandbar for a while, parked near the booty shakin party, was prompted by the Admiral to relocate immediately. Hung out with the pontoons for a few hours. She was driving to the dock to pick me up after I parked the truck, then to the other dock to grab some tag along friends that showed up last minute LoL. We try to get out in the evenings, as the ramps are more packed with knuckleheads earlier in the day all weekend long. We usually launch around 4ish and hang out until sundown.

 

[MrWizard]

Was that us? We were out there on the 4th, hung out at the sandbar for a while, parked near the booty shakin party, was prompted by the Admiral to relocate immediately...

Its possible! I have a '18 blue/white AR240 - I believe the boat coming in was a 242? Can't recall the colors now

Annnnd about the booty shaking... My admiral wasn't impressed. We didn't stay terribly long

 

[1BadTundra]

We'll be back at it tomorrow afternoon. Same spot

 

[MrWizard]

We'll be back at it tomorrow afternoon. Same spot

We're on vacation in NC this week but we'll be back on the river the end of the month!

 

[jamesk]

Live in Reading and have not done the Susq. yet.....Blue marsh has algae issue right now....What boat ramp do I use? Is there much current at the ramp? They say it is fairly well marked...do we head north or south and about how far either direction can you travel from the ramp?
THANKS for any info! Jim

 

[1BadTundra]

Live in Reading and have not done the Susq. yet.....Blue marsh has algae issue right now....What boat ramp do I use? Is there much current at the ramp? They say it is fairly well marked...do we head north or south and about how far either direction can you travel from the ramp?
THANKS for any info! Jim

Search for Long Level Marina. About 1/2 mile further down is the first of 2 ramps and parking lots.

 

[1BadTundra]

Here's the address...
1809 Long Level Rd, Wrightsville, PA 17368

 

[MrWizard]

Similarly - you COULD boat the Susquehanna at Goldsboro. I'm not sure I'd recommend it though due to the fact that the river is low at this point (8' is the highest I saw last weekend) and it can get treacherous, quickly - if you don't know where NOT to boat.

Goldsboro Boat Ramp

Goldsboro Boat Ramp · 45 N River St, Etters, PA 17319

★★★★☆ · Boat ramp

maps.app.goo.gl

This is definitely a boat at your own risk area of the Susquehanna - just wanted to give you options. The areas I selected in red are the borders of what I'd consider the "safe" waters at Goldsboro... Again BAYOR!

I'd recommend that you go to the Long Level area - Public Boat Ramp · Clarke Lake,, Conestoga, PA 17516

And there's overflow parking here: 39°57'37.4"N 76°29'11.1"W · Lower Windsor Township, PA

Hope this helps and have fun boating, my dude!

 

[MrWizard]

Is there much current at the ramp? They say it is fairly well marked...do we head north or south and about how far either direction can you travel from the ramp?
THANKS for any info! Jim

I'd say the current isn't bad, or maybe I'm just used to it? I doubt you'd have any issues with loading/unloading the boat.

You can head both N & S, you have about 1.5 miles N and approx 3 miles S to travel!

It is well marked and the further south you go the deeper is gets (be careful close to shore though it gets SKINNY quick!

 

[jamesk]

Thinking about trying lake clarke area tomorrow....anyone know if the water level is still ok....we have had soo little rain and I heard other parts of the river are low? Sounds like it's well marked and just need to stay away from the shore.

 

[BigT51]

Thinking about trying lake clarke area tomorrow....anyone know if the water level is still ok....we have had soo little rain and I heard other parts of the river are low? Sounds like it's well marked and just need to stay away from the shore.

This website reports the water levels at the dam on Clarke Lake - Safe Harbor Dam. It looks like the water level is close to normal, only about a foot low (227.2 is normal and current is 226.3).

https://safewaters.com/facility/safe-harbor

I was on the river Saturday at Goldsboro on a friends fishing boat and it was really low. But there was a sign on the map at the ramp that said the water level was lowered for Maintenance and would be through October. Not sure what maintenance their referring to unless it's the York Haven Power Station at the dam. Like MrWizard reported in his post above, i didn't see over 8' on the depth finder and usually I can see 12 to 15' down towards the dam. But this could be artificially created as referenced in the sign I saw at the ramp.
The biggest issue I've seen at the public ramps at Clarke is the road runs through the middle of both the upper and lower ramps and you need to make a 90 degree turn when backing down the ramp (look at the google maps satellite image of the ramps). Also the upper ramp's parking lot is on a pretty good slope so set up and tale down can get interesting with the boat and trailer "leaning". Also be careful if the wind picks up, the water can get stirred up (white caps) and it can be challenging coming into the ramp docks. Goldsboro had been our go to spot lately because it's less than 30 minutes from our house but the current conditions are not good for jet boats - a lot of grass along with the low water levels. We may try Clarke this weekend. Conowingo is really big (bigger than Raystown) and no depth issues there but it's further down the river near Delta PA.