Washington State COASTAL Cruising in my 2900 SCR - Maxum Boat Owners Club

jeffmeans · 02-16-2011, 03:49 PM

I've been contemplating a cruise from Lewiston, ID to Astoria, OR... locking through all the dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers, etc... Then cruising up the Washington State Coast and into the Strait of Juan De Fuca (sp-?), coming out in Lake Washington. Gas costs are huge of course, and convincing the wife of this three week cruise will be a challenge, too. But my biggest concern is cruising north out in the big, bad Pacific Ocean! Is this a dumb idea in my 2001 Maxum 2900 SCR? I think I've recuited a friend to accompany me in HIS 29' SeaRay.

Any thoughts from folks in the Pacific NW?

seapuppy · 02-16-2011, 03:59 PM

Hi Jeff and welcome to the zoo....first off...nice boat....I had the 2700 scr and sometimes miss it ...2nd off.....the trip down the river sounds awesome...I've always thought that would be a fun cruise....3rdly....your nuts ....and I mean that in a good way...in the Pacific ocean, the waves can average 11-30ft in height....periods of about 11 sec....meaning big big rollers....you'd use most of your gas up just climbing the rollers....your wife would have her hands wrapped around your throat, while shaking your head like a maracah and screaming "GET ME OFF THIS BOAT"........
then ...if the weather gods all blessed it from day one you enter the oregon bar...(if you survived that one)....you'd have to have perfect weather all the way up to Tatoosh and around the point...then into the Straights of Juan De Fuca....now if the Straights stay down (not a predictable event )....you will have a nice ride all the way to seattle and into the locks heading into lake union and lake washington......

now if your wife survives all of that...and stays married too you...you better keep her happy the rest of your days....

now if your goal is just to come out here and have a nice time in the sound....trailer it...it will save you lots of money and may even prevent a divorce and your death....and the loss of your boat...

personally???...I wouldn't do it with a single engined boat...twins I might think about it...but like I said ..the weather gods have got to smile on you when you hit the bar all the way up to Tatoosh....and that ain't likely to happen......you may get lucky and get a window of op where everything works out...but that would be danged lucky imho........

but do take lotsa pic's and post them here....we'd love to join in the adventure from the comfort of my laptop.....

SP

jeffmeans · 02-17-2011, 05:42 AM

Oh I can see I'm going to like this forum/website! Great reply, SeaPuppy... I'll probably modify this cruise to stop in Portland and call it good! 30 foot waves would scare the sh*t out of me, to say nothing of my wife Tracy!!

seapuppy · 02-17-2011, 02:10 PM

Jeff..
truck that sucker up to the Everett area and enjoy some of the finest boating around.........

SP

shrew · 02-17-2011, 02:21 PM

Living on the East Coast, I take for granted that weather moves West to East, and we're on the leeward side of an entire continent. We obviously get big water when the weather is right. However, i've frequently been out 20 miles in 1-2's. I take for granted that the same weather moving west to east leaves a very, very long fetch across the Pacific until it reaches our west coase. The first time I went out to Vancouver Island to fish for salmon and hlaibut, it didn't take long to be in giant 15+ ft. rollers. The kind where you drop into the trough and loose sight of the horizon in all directions.

Though, my experience was big long, spaced out rollers. That is where I learned the TRUE meaning of "One for you and one hand for the boat". Or as my wife refers to it, "The art of leaning on things". Her theory being, you can't bang into what you're already leaning on.

seapuppy · 02-17-2011, 03:50 PM

Shrew
even on a calm day ...we still get 7 ft rollers.....the only time I've seen it flat on the pacific outside of Vancouver island was when we were on a cruise ship in sept....zero winds...zero waves...but that's not the norm out here.......in 14 yrs...that was a first for me.....(musta been the size of the boat making them look smaller)....but still.....I wouldn't venture out there and just expect to make nice with neptune!!...
the oregon bar is where the coasties train for big water rescues....that's also where they test new survivable motor rescue launches..these guys will take them into the bar and see if they recover during a complete broach....
so..would I go out there in my 35 ftr???haaaaaeeelllll no!!!..

also.....I spent 17 yrs designing nuke subs....I've been 2k ft under the water....and have never been more scared of the water until we hit 14 ftrs in the sound...in our 35 ft boat....we climbed to the top of one wave at about 35-40 degs and then bury the bow in the next.........talk about a pucker factor....

SP

jeffmeans · 02-18-2011, 06:23 PM

Well, I think you guys may have saved my marriage... if not my LIFE Ya got me convinced, SeaPuppy?---we've been trying to get Endless Summer over to the Puget Sound area since we bought her four years ago out of Lake of the Ozarks (MO). Just a little hesitant on towing her with my standard Suburban (11,000lbs including the trailer, Suburban's rated for 8,600lbs!) and also of course the buck$.

Soon we'll be there and look you up! For now... we'll be staying on Lake Coeur D' Alene, ID... thanks again.

tex'npepper · 02-21-2011, 06:02 AM

Jeff, Your idea's not bad, you just need to cut out the ocean piece. If you have the time, cruise down the river as far as Portland or Longview. Then get trailered up to Olympia WA and travel up the Sound. From Olympia northbound, it's a beautiful trip with lots of coves and marinas to check out. Don't rush. It's quite a trip. The Columbia Bar can be crossed in the summer, (fishermen do it all the time) but I won't.

jeffmeans · 02-22-2011, 07:45 PM

Great idea, in fact that was my original plan (to cruise from Lewiston, ID to Portland and then tow it home, but then I "expanded" it to go North via the Pacific Ocean/Washington State Coast). However towing it to Puget Sound AFTER arriving in Portland, and then towing it back to CDA Lake to end the trip is a better idea! The thought of burning all my gas trying to get over large waves/rollers from Grays Harbor/Westport to Neah Bay convinced me, as it's 125 miles with no marina/civilization from what I can tell on Google Earth between those two locations. My wife strangling me as SeaPuppy described last week was also a motivating factor in my decision!

Having someone follow me w/the trailer will be another challenge, but my folks are retired and I think they'd enjoy the trips.

seapuppy · 02-22-2011, 11:20 PM

Great decision.....looking fwd to hooking up with you guys ...

SP

II Lucky · 02-24-2011, 09:12 PM

You can get some big water in the Columbia River Gorge as well. Nothing like the Columbia River Bar but the trip can be uncomfortable. I have talked with a few locals that have gone from Portland upriver. They tend to travel early morning, stop for the day and then travel in the evening when the winds die down. Not many fueling opportunities in the gorge either. Plan your segments around the fuel. It is a beautiful trip and by boat would be spectacular. Make sure your charts are current and plotter is updated as well. Lots of spots on the Columbia to end up on the beach. The sand bars come up quick and change all of the time and with not much tidal exchange you can be there awhile. Not trying to discourage your trip but the water from Boneville to Astoria is beautiful and you could spend all summer and more in that 75 mile stretch. I have been out over the Columbia river bar many times but would not trust a coast line cruise with just one wheel. If you get down this way let me know. Lots of great places to explore, then load er up and drive north for the great waters of PS.

ShoreAcres · 02-25-2011, 10:34 PM

When I first read this I was thinking: What? You can cruise from Idaho to the Pacific? I looked it up on Wikipedia
Lewiston is located at the confluence of the Snake River and Clearwater River, thirty miles (48 km) northwest o:f the Lower Granite Dam. Because of dams (and their locks) on the Snake and Columbia River, Lewiston is reachable by some ocean-going vessels. The Port of Lewiston (Idaho’s only seaport) has the distinction of being the farthest inland port east of the West Coast of the United States.

That is really cool and I would love to do it some time. I would definitely go for the round trip.

jeffmeans · 02-26-2011, 06:57 AM

II Lucky; this is what I was hoping for... advice from "locals" in OR & SE Washington state. I've driven that Columbia Gorge drive on I-84 over the past ten years or so, dozens of times and have noticed very large waves, mostly heading "upstream" when the wind kicks in... nothing like the 30' rollers Seapuppy described thankfully. But nonetheless large enough to make the trip challenging. Good advice you've passed on with doing the cruising in the mornings and evenings when the wind dies down. That would add another dimension to the overall plan and trying to keep within the thee hour intervals the dams have for locking through. I've "mapped-out" gas stops along the Snake River about every 80 miles or less. Then after doing the Water Follies/Hydroplane races in the Tri-Cities in late July for the weekend there's gas at Umatilla Marina Park (where I-82 crosses the Columbia River), then again in Hood River and The Dalles. I even thought it would be a good idea to strap two five gallon gas cans to the transom on the swim platform, filled up before the longest span between marinas (or to "fight" over rollers on the Columbia) as a precaution.

I spoke with a casual acquaintance last year about he and his wife making the trip the Summer before and they had a disatrous time they said. Lousy planning in my opinion resulted in them running out of gas and drifting into the rocks, while "huge rollers" (as they described) made the trip in their 24' cuddy a lousy time she said. Thank God for Google Earth, as I took another look at the trip to make sure there are sufficient inlets and bays along the way that I could pull into if the weather turned on us in the Gorge. Looks like there are, but I think having flexible plans and not being in a hurry would be our best option in an effort to "cooperate" with mother nature.

Getting the buck$ together to make the trip is the first hurdle (minimum two 102 gallon tanks of gas is one major cost), then convincing the wife that it wouldn't be as BORING as the drive is, is my NEXT objective! As with most vacations, PLANNING the damned thing is usually more fun than doing it!

Thanks for the input, anyone else know of folks that have done this trip---or part of it?