12/16 - Lake Washington/Locks Cruise - CANCELLED

Warren brings up a good point. We have about a dozen boats signed up so far. Regarding the locks, I would like to know how many people feel passing through the locks is a priority. On the other hand, how many people will be staying in the fresh water? Regarding the stop at dealer, how many feel this is a priority. Now these are not mutually exclusive events, and this is not a scientific study, we just want to do our best to give people what they want the most out of this"First day of C-Dory Boating Season event. Also, I would appreciate it if you would respond by private message (PM) rather than by a post on this thread. Thanks again for all your help. Marty
 
Marty, I don't plan on going thru the locks. I hope to be on the water early but due to time I just as soon stay in the fresh stuff.
I am up for stopping by the Sea Ray dealer. It would be nice to get the relationship off to a good start. After this said weather is always the deciding factor. Is there a time that we are meeting at the dealer just in case we come by car?

Fred and Robbin
 
Patti and I would like to come down for this event but we're not sure whether to launch somewhere on the southern end of Whidbey or to drive down closer to Seattle. South Puget Sound, lake Washington, etc. is all new territory to us. I see that there is supposed to be a launch ramp down at Clinton or Langley but don't know anything about it. Also, we will probably spend the night somewhere around Seattle. Any ideas and advice would be gratefully received
 
Fred and Robbin-We hope to arrive at the Lake Union SeaRay aroud 11Am. They are expecting us "by land or by sea" and will make their staff available to us. They will have dockage for around 9 or 10 boats, if we raft up.
 
Patti and Barry-There are several good ramps on Lake Washington and they are mentioned earlier in this thread. I think several people can give you info about the Whidbey Island ramps. Try sending a private message to Rev. Dave on Sea Shift, Brock(Catman) on Bambina, Dusty(Sawdust). These people have loads of good information. Regarding overnight moorage in Seattle, I made some calls and essentially struck out. Fishermans Terminal has an ideal location right there on the ship canal but they told me they are undergoing renovation and only have static docks that, with the Lake being drawn down for the winter, would make it tough for you go get on and off. If you are athletic, and routinely carry a 6 foot ladder and don't mind having your bow tied up to a piling 40 feet away, then it might work. But next year they will have floating slips! The only other suggestions I have for overnight moorage are across Lake Washington at Kirkland, a very nice place right in downtown Kirkland, or that marina in Elliot Bay near the Aquarium. I hope anyone who can help about moorage will help us out here. I think I'll start a thread about overnight moorage in Lake Union and see what develops. Boy, every answer brings a whole new set of questions! Thanks for your participation.
 
The Locks-For those of you who plan to go through the locks and are a little concerned about your first trip through, Chubby Bunny has agreed to be our C-Brat "lockmaster". He will make sure you get through safely and have a good time doing it. Not to worry!
 
Here's a nice interactive map which shows our cruise. That's Lake Washington on the right. Just zoom in AS FAR AS YOU CAN.It's a virtual cruise!

http://web1.seattle.gov/doit/seastats/Services.aspx

That is the extent of my computer literacy. If you can do better, please do. Thanks.
 
colobear":301iqk1h said:
I see that there is supposed to be a launch ramp down at Clinton or Langley but don't know anything about it.
Click to expand...

Barry,
The Langley launch appears to me to be a fairly tough one to deal with...(a lot of sand to deal with, no floats at the ramp etc.). I'm not certain about "launch areas at Clinton"....I have seen one from the water that is located quite some distance south of the ferry landing. It likewise has no float at the launch ramp.
On page 2 of this thread, I endorsed the launch ramp on Lake Washington at Magnusen Park (which is next to the old Sand Point Naval Facility).
 
Thanks to all for the good information. I think we'll plan to drive down and launch at Sand Point or thereabouts. We will probably want to do the locks since we've never done anything like that. We will plan to spend the night somewhere down there, Shilsoe Bay or some other place and explore the area more on the 17th.

Thanks for getting this going. We've wanted to see the Seattle waterfront/Lake Washington area but needed some push. This is it. We would be happy to meet up with someone for the night of the 16th, Morning of the 17th have dinner/breakfast, drink wine, tell lies, etc. Since we don't know the area at all we are very open to suggestions. I don't know whether we'll do the Sea Ray visit as we're close to EQ and Les is our dealer; it will depend on timing.

I'll probably have more questions and really appreciate everybody's help. C-Brats!! C-Brats!!
 
You might want to call for a slip reservation at Bell Harbor marina - this is so close to all of downtown Seattle, cheap compared to a downtown hotel.


colobear":3lncijqz said:
Thanks to all for the good information. I think we'll plan to drive down and launch at Sand Point or thereabouts. We will probably want to do the locks since we've never done anything like that. We will plan to spend the night somewhere down there, Shilsoe Bay or some other place and explore the area more on the 17th.
Click to expand...
 
OK, usual disclaimer, "not intended for navigation," etc. - here is kind of a high level look at the area between Webster Point and Shilshole...

Lake_Washington_to_Shilshole_Map.jpg

And here is a link to download the Lake Washington Boater's Guide.
 
Dotty and I just spent a delightful few hours at Fishermans Terminal. When last I spoke to the guy in the office by phone, he said that, although he has space, he was quite pessimistic about us tying up there. He suggested that I stop over and see for myself. Well, in summary, the pluses far outweigh the minuses.
Here are some of the minuses
1. There are no floating docks
2. All the slots are the same size-big.
You have to angle in with the bow against (or held away from)the wooden pier and a stern line over a piling at least 20 feet away. Maybe it would be better to back in.
3. The guest moorage slots are at the far end of one of the piers (Dock #6) If you have difficulty walking this is not for you (Dotty does).
4. The vertical distance from the water to the wood dock was 4'6" today.

Here are some of the pluses
1. It is located right on the ship canal near the Ballard Bridge
2A 16.foot boat could tie up both lines on the dock cleats parallel to the pier on the large available cleats.
4. There are showers available.
5. There is a great fishermans diner located right next to the terminal office. It's wonderful having coffee surrounded by these guys and gals and listening to their doing fishing boat business The diner is the closest thing to a Jersey diner west of the Mississippi. You can get anything on the menu, any time! In addition to booths there is a long counter with beautiful round stools. But I digress.....
6. In the terminal area there is also Fine dining and retail shops.

The marina part of the terminal is undergoing a major renovation The area to the west of the Fishermans Memorial (another must see) is now completely blocked off. That's where boats stopping for a few hours tied up in the past. There are still two concrete floating piers but they are reserved for the Charter and tour vessels on the weekend.

Overnight moorage costs 75 cents per actual boat foot (a 16 footer pays $12.) If anyone is meeting you by car, the parking is free. Also, if you wish to raft up with another boat they have no objections.

They do not take reservations and they monitor Channel 17. Their phone number is 206 728-3395.
Hope this helps.
 
We've checked at Bell Harbor Marina (Thanks Pat), they don't take reservations for anything under 25' but said we're welcome to show up and see if there's any space. I think we'll pass on Fisherman's wharf. Sounds fun but Patti (and I) would have a little trouble getting the pogo stick to bounce high enough to get up on the dock. We will contact other marinas in the area and post results here.
 
I would second Pat that Bell Harbor Marina is an excellent choice if you're venturing through the locks because all of downtown Seattle will be at your doorstep. Shilshole Marina is also available and much closer...probably a half mile from the saltwater side of the locks.
 
And Elliott Bay Marina is right around the corner in the other direction. But Bell Harbor would still be my first choice...

Chubby Bunny":1ohhdtd5 said:
I would second Pat that Bell Harbor Marina is an excellent choice if you're venturing through the locks because all of downtown Seattle will be at your doorstep. Shilshole Marina is also available and much closer...probably a half mile from the saltwater side of the locks.
Click to expand...
 
To help us prepare for the big event I would like to post random "factoids" about what we will see along the way as well as interesting facts about the neighborhoods we pass thru and historical events that took place on or near the the "ship canal" Here are three to start us off;
"
1. The "ship canal" from Puget Sound to Lake Washington opened in 1918. (The myth that Dusty was the first one through is not true. He was second)
2. The first Boeing plant was on Lake Union, at the foot of Roanoke St. The first flight of a Boeing plane, a single engine sea plane designated the B&W, was in 1916 on Lake union.
3. The first airmail flight took off from Lake Union in 1919. It landed safely in Vancouver B.C

Now it's your turn
 
4. HOOTERS on Lake Union, serve up some great Hot Wings! :smilep
 
Nice Dave, nice. There used to be a Hooters outside of Philly I would pass frequently while delivering auto parts to the chop shops around there. In the Spring the waitresses would play frizbee on the small lawn out front. Four lanes of traffic had no trouble observing the... ah... speed limit. But I digress...
As long as we are here. Factoid:

5.The Burke-Gilman Trail runs along and near the Ship Canal. It runs 27 miles, from Shilshole to Redmond. It opened in 1978, along what was theB -G railroad bed which it self was established in 1885 "so that the young city might reap the economic benefits of trade.""If, at the end of the trail in Redmond, you continue on your bike eastword for about 2800 miles, you will come to Hooters on Academy Rd. in Philly. Get a cheesesteak....
 
Hay youse guys! As long as wee're on the topic..........

I seem to remember eyeing a Hooters on the West side of !-5 somewhere along the road to Seattle in upper Washington State the last time I drove up there for the Boat Show/C-Brat Convention. Was it somewhere around Fort Lewis?
 
By the way, I've got this event on my schedule, but I don't have a boat! I'm hoping that I, and one of my two daughters, could hitch a ride on somebody's boat.

Even better would be to get my wife out on one...so maybe I should have her ride along with one of you, and I'll tag along shoreside with the kids.

Since we're currently considering a 22 cruiser, it would be maximally splendiforous if we could get a ride aboard one of those, in particular. But we'll take what we can get! :-)

Thanks,
Tim
 
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