What was your 4th of July Boating Outing

[kgower]

She was in the garage getting prepped for a road trip to ME tomorrow. If we can get enough done this morning we may put in for a couple of hours today at Pohick Bay and out to the Potomac River..

 

[Tjw961]

My wife and I hit our local hangout lake on Saturday, knowing the "fun" folks would be out on Sunday the 4th. We got in just before the crowd started showing up and anchored in one of our favorite spots. Eventually the kids being towed showed up, normal stuff. Got to see some talented skiers at young ages....more than I ever was.....having some fun. Only had one pontoon boat get about 10ft from us while dinking around swapping people back and forth with a big pull circle thing for no reason but stupid. We were all the way off to the side in an area difficult to pull anyone in/out but he seemed to still get that close to us. There's always at least one! Had a nice nap, had some lunch, floated on our blowups for a bit, took a dip, and played a new to us dice game called "Catan Dice Game" that was fun. Ended up being out there for about 6+ hours and had a really relaxing time overall. I did have some low battery alerts going on my GPS and fridge that ended up being a bad house battery, so Sunday went to Wally World and got two new deep cycle replacements. Best part of Saturday was when my wife nailed the landing perfectly with cross winds and choppy water like a Pro right up on the trailer as straight as an arrow! Was so nice to see that smile on her face after all of the other stressful landings - where she still did great, just a couple extra runs at in once in a while, but she's getting really good and putting it back on the trailer without me pointing or anything. We were both pretty tired when we got home, but really enjoyed our time out!

 

[Julian]

We typically avoid holiday weekends but were out both sat and Sunday -just couldn't miss the perfect weather!! Busy day for Falls Lake....but I always remind myself, a busy day here is a DEAD day when we boated in Chicagoland! As you can see....never a boat in the background (didn't do that intentionally)

 

[jocolo21]

Three rooker island,

 

[deubank1776]

If I had a dime for every time that my second family's battery on the boat is dead. I would have 292 dollars. They complain that they have to keep replacing it weekly. To which I so badly want to reply, First, stop leaving the boat on. Second, get a tender.
Be proactive.

 

[anmut]

 

[Dfred]

Cape May & Wildwood NJ. Saluting the Semper Paratus coasties at USCG Training Center Cape May from the harbor… and watching the patrols pulling over , or “safety checking” boats as they pass by. Heh.
Tubing and anchor float-party in Sunset Lake (it’s actually a Sound, or Bay). Then heading back in before the drunks wrecked any fun, and the kiddos were spent anyway. Hit the beach for viewing guerrilla-fireworks displays that the cops kept chasing away… then the main-event fireworks launched from the pier. Perfect Jersey shore day!

 

[Speedling]

Lake Michigan! I manage a fireworks store but take my religion serious and don't work Sunday so 1 in 7 years i get the 4th off! Finished my crazy anchor Saturday night, did plugs and oil Sunday morning then went out on the big lake with wife and kids BUT stayed the night on the water near shore. Woke to the sunrise and i gotta say it was one of the most beautiful things in my life. Had to go in to work to clean up the mess by noon though.

 

[RobbieO]

Picked up my boat from the dealer on Saturday so didn’t get her wet this holiday weekend. Waiting for a an impeller that is on B.O. unfortunately.

 

[anmut]

Picked up my boat from the dealer on Saturday so didn’t get her wet this holiday weekend. Waiting for a an impeller that is on B.O. unfortunately.

Waiting on a drive impeller or a ballast?

 

[Ronnie]

I usually boat with friends at Lake Berryessa in Napa County in the 4th of July but stayed away this year as this lake is one of the few that has a decent water level during this year’s drought so it was supposed to be really busy (30k people sharing boat ramps at 3 to 4 marinas).

My wife and I ended up taking the waverunners on a 40 mile (80 miles round trip) lunch run to old Sacramento. Had to dock side by side at the public marina which is free and used on a first come first serve basis during the day. It was crowded at old Sacramento, I realize now that the fire works show is at a minor league baseball stadium next to the river. We were on the water by 1230 and off by 730 and only spent about an hour on land in old Sacramento eating lunch.

We drove back through Oakland to see the illegal fireworks shows which honestly are more impressive than the city sponsored events because there are so many more of the former and the fireworks explode a lot lower to the ground so it a lot closer as well.

something is wrong with the fuel gauges in both new waverunners. They read that we only used 30% of our fuel (18.5 gallon tanks each) on the way out but 90% of our fuel 20 miles from the ramp on the way back. I thought i was on fumes when I pulled in to buy gas on the water for $4.95 per gallon (only $.50 more than on land and I would have paid $14.95 per gallon at that point). Anyway I put 10 gallons in each ski and both read full afterwards, I did a visual inspection adter we got off the water and found that both are still about 80% full. Overall a good but unplanned day on the water with my wife.

 

[RobbieO]

Waiting on a drive impeller or a ballast?

jet pump impeller

 

[anmut]

jet pump impeller

Ouch! Sorry to read that.

 

[RobbieO]

I usually boat with friends at Lake Berryessa in Napa County in the 4th of July but stayed away this year as this lake is one of the few that has a decent water level during this year’s drought so it was supposed to be really busy (30k people sharing boat ramps at 3 to 4 marinas).

My wife and I ended up taking the waverunners on a 40 mile (80 miles round trip) lunch run to old Sacramento. Had to dock side by side at the public marina which is free and used on a first come first serve basis during the day. It was crowded at old Sacramento, I realize now that the fire works show is at a minor league baseball stadium next to the river. We were on the water by 1230 and off by 730 and only spent about an hour on land in old Sacramento eating lunch.

We drove back through Oakland to see the illegal fireworks shows which honestly are more impressive than the city sponsored events because there are so many more of the former and the fireworks explode a lot lower to the ground so it a lot closer as well.

something is wrong with the fuel gauges in both new waverunners. They read that we only used 30% of our fuel (18.5 gallon tanks each) on the way out but 90% of our fuel 20 miles from the ramp on the way back. I thought i was on fumes when I pulled in to buy gas on the water for $4.95 per gallon (only $.50 more than on land and I would have paid $14.95 per gallon at that point). Anyway I put 10 gallons in each ski and both read full afterwards, I did a visual inspection adter we got off the water and found that both are still about 80% full. Overall a good but unplanned day on the water with my wife.
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That looks like the boat house in Walnut Grove?

 

[BigT51]

Went to Havre de Grace, MD, for the 4th to watch fireworks on the Chesapeake Bay. Really nice show and beautiful day on the water. My sister and niece joined us for the outing and had a great time.





The barge they towed out into the bay to shoot the fireworks from.

 

[portlandbucfan]

Skipped the 4th, went out the 5th, Was great!

 

[Ronnie]

That looks like the boat house in Walnut Grove?

It is, their mailing address is in Locke, the town next to walnut grove.

 

[the MfM]