Yuma Az cruising possibilities

G

ghone

New member
Happy New Year C Brats!!! Best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2013

Kerri On will be leaving the San Diego area soon, heading east to Yuma. Just wondering if any c brats have input of cruising possibilities in the Colorado at Yuma? It looks to have some meanders and open areas that are intriguing. Any thoughts team? Thanks George and Carolyn
 
In Dec 2000, we tried to use our 22 in the Yuma area. What we found is that the available ramps were way too shallow for a 22.

The river there has very little water in it.

The closest boatable water was Lake Havasu or Lake Mojave.
 
George & Carolyn, Unfortunately you will not find the depth required for the 22' cruiser at Yuma, particularly this time of year. If you have the "need" to cruise the river, take state highway 95 northbound out of Yuma up to Lake Havasu City. There you will have the opportunity to launch above Parker Dam in deeper water and be able to cruise on up to Bullhead City. Just above Bullhead is Davis Dam which prevents further up-bound travel.
 
Hello George
I think you would find the area upstream of the Imperial dam very interesting.
I did not have a boat with me the three years we wintered in that area but we watched many boats launching above the dam, Boats that drew much more water than ours.
There is 90 some miles of water backed up including Martinez lake and Ferguson Lake.
On the east side of the dam there is a nice park with boat launch near the army proving grounds.
The Yuma visitors guide will get you started and the local boaters will be only too pleased to fill in the blanks.
I did not see any boats in that area that drew less water than a 22' C-Dory.
Check it out.
Ed
 
A trip up and down the Colorado River around Yuma should be interesting to someone from Nanaimo. The Colorado at that point is a managed canal until it gets to Mexico. The lakes are reservoirs, from which to drain off water for irrigation in the Imperial Valley and Mexico. The river becomes a meandering stream in Mexico, finally emptying into the Golfo de California, at which point the tides can be pretty high.

The lakes are smooth, getting right up to the desert in places and becoming swamps where the desert is flat. "Going to the river" means partying and water-skiing. After the 2 lower dams (Imperial and Laguna, north of Yuma,) the river flows down to Mexico, where the remaining water is diverted into a last canal for irrigating Mexico, (where the land is owned by US corporations and the produce is exported to the USA.) There are some interesting places where California is east of Arizona, and Mexico is west of Arizona (as opposed to south.) BC South is a lot different from BC North. Water is more important for farming than floating boats.

So here are a couple of suggestions, up to you. Put your boat in the Colorado River in any reservoir so that you can say that you have done the River. Camp on the boat and tour the desert. It's beautiful, different and can be exciting. Get a local desert guidebook and do some hiking. There's no underbrush, so once you get on a hill, you can see for miles. Look up old mines. Visit desert oasiss (sic.) Find Indian petroglyphs. Drive around. We did the old Mohave Trail on our pickup, sleeping in the back for a couple of days. After you've looked around Yuma, head north on Hwy 95. When you get to Quartzite, say hello to all your neighbors from up north. A lot of snowbirds camp out there. There are more dams on the way up: Lake Havisu, Parker, etc. Remember, they're all reservoirs. A whole different country from up north, and it's wonderful. As is up north.

Have we ever put Journey On in the Colorado river? No, but we live here. Have we ever been to the desert? Our whole lives, and we love it, just don't expect much water. Just enjoy a different experience.

The San Juans and Gulf Islands are 1 of the 2 best cruising grounds in Norte America. So is the Southwest desert, just not on water.

Boris

The views expressed herein are those of the author. Different views are not solicited.
 
Interesting thread. I especially like to hear ideas and details on "unexpected" cruising areas.

journey on":1oehbyki said:
The San Juans and Gulf Islands are 1 of the 2 best cruising grounds in Norte America. So is the Southwest desert, just not on water.
Click to expand...

Just curious what you consider the other best North American cruising area? (Or did you mean the Southwest/land-cruising as the other one - I couldn't tell for sure.)

Fun to hear of Kerri-On's travels.

Sunbeam :hot
 
George -
Some of the finest fresh water cruising on the North American continent, in our opinion, is along the reservoirs of the Colorado River. Check out:

cruisingamerica-halcyondays.com/locations.htm

And click on Colorado Canyons. We would suggest heading north from Yuma along the Colorado and visiting as many reservoirs as you have time. As far north as Lake Mead should still have good winter weather, keeping an eye on the weather radar for northers and fronts that can bring some brisk wind and cool air. Our website describes the launch sites we have enjoyed and also illustrates much of the beauty that the Colorado can display, any time of year. Lake Mojave is particularly dramatic and up in the northern canyon region more wind-sheltered.

Drop a line if you have questions -- we have spent many weeks exploring the Colorado and it's tributaries -- on our CD-22, canoe, and by raft. Enjoy the beauty, and best wishes to you.
 
Our experience with the Southern part of the Colorado River is that it can be very windy. The winters are not crowed with the nuts in the wake board boats and ski boats/ PWC as they are in the warmer months. A lot o depends on the water flow and what level the lakes are at this time of the year.
 
Thanks everyone! What a help. It looks like above the Imperial dam and north would be boatable. Some 20 miles or so from Yuma. We are meeting friends in Yuma so we'll explore the marina and opportunities above Imperial. Last year I spent some time in Lakes Mead, Mojave and Havasu and of course Powell so am familiar with desert boating. We'll head on over to Yuma and check it out. Thanks again team!!! Happy New Year to all


George and Carolyn :smiled
 
Hi George,
I suggest that you contact the mgmt. at Hidden Shores RV resort located north of Yuma. I believe you could launch your C Dory at that location. They have boat docks, etc. You must be aware of the many sand bars in the river and proceed accordingly. At any rate, Hidden Shores RV resort is a fine place to stay and many operate power boats from that location. Hidden Shores is located very close to an Army proving ground (base) where civilians (including Canadians) have been welcomed in the past with appropriate i.d. and auto insurance. I'd certainly recommend a cruise from Hidden Shores...very different and unusual landscape, but not what I would describe as beautiful like Lake Powell.
Best of lucks and safe cruising.
Ken; aka: wood duck
 
Well, Sunbeam, the other great cruising ground is the Chesapeake Bay. and on up all the way into the Great Lakes. Is that somewhere around Md?

We did the Chesapeake Bay one summer, which wasn't the best time of the year. OK, we weren't smart, but that's when we went through. Wonderful places to see, you can tour DC, poke into small places, eat a lot of crab (of which the Bay is running out of.) And when you ask about the depth coming into a marina the answer is "what do you draw Cap'n?" If you gave them any number, their depth was always a foot deeper. We had a west coast boat with a 6' keel, so we always drug (dragged?)

Had a blast, with a few ups and downs. Spent weeks in Annapolis, ate at the Academy, anchored in Oxford, moored in Hampton roads.

I would love to take the C-Dory back there in the spring or fall. However, it's a loooong trip.

Here's a pic of my daughter and me getting ready to leave Annapolis/Fawcetts to head to the Eire Canal.
7_New_Crew_Member.jpg

Boris
 
We own a home in Ocean View DE on the other side of the DelMarVa penninsula from the Chesapeake Bay. The Bay is a great place to explore. You can even get to Delaware up a couple of rivers on the eastern shore of Maryland.

Good fishing in Delaware bays and close in ocean sites and in Ocean City MD and off the Virginia shore. You could circumnavigate DelMarVa using the C&D Canal and some close to shore ocean running in good weather.

As to being a long way -- we left Ocean View about 8:00 AM January 1. Overnighted in Worthington OH, Omaha NE and Little America WY. Arrived in Reno NV on Friday afternoon about 3:00PM. Basicallly 12 hour days on Wednesday and Thursday. Speed limits on I70 and I80 are generally 65 to 75 with no lower limit for towed trailers like in California.

Back in Nevada to prep for what I hope is my last legislative session before retiring to Delaware in 2014.

Bill Uffelman
 
journey on":11ial13r said:
Well, Sunbeam, the other great cruising ground is the Chesapeake Bay.
Click to expand...

Thanks for responding. I always enjoy hearing which cruising grounds are people's favorites (and why), so when you mentioned "2 best," I really wanted to know what the other one was!

Fun to see the (semi-)vintage pic, too.

Sunbeam :hot
 
We launched at Squaw Lake above Imperial dam. The caretaker said "good luck" as he hadn't seen the water that low before. We had no issues. The main channel to the Colorado was 3 ft deep but other places in the lake was 9 ft or more. We had a delightful cruise around the marshes and looking at the abundance of water fowl. Calm night on the hook and glorious desert sunrises and sets. We worked our way out to the main channel Colorado and found a little mud beach to set the bow on while we had lunch. The corps was still dropping the water levels and coupled with a weather forecast of west 25 to 35 knots, we hauled and headed back to Yuma. We needed ice and groceries too. We got the chores done and headed for Paradise casino literally 10 minutes before the dust cloud which was the edge of the storm. We got in the lee of a big rig and hunkered down. We had a nice evening by candlelight and a great meal aboard. The wind howled and dust obliterated visibility. If you have not seen a desert sandstorm it is quite the thing. We were safe aboard and the wind only lasted a few hours. Everything is some dusty. We are heading to Martinez lake today for a few days. Photos soon. George and Carolyn.
 
Welcome to the desert. Now you've seen both the pleasant and the not so enjoyable.

A quiet evening in the dez is wonderful, especially if you're in the water on a boat. There's more out there than you would expect and it's a heck of a thrill. You probably missed a fire, but I hope you'll get there. I assume you'll meander around and see more of the sights.

And then you got the wind. If there's a high over Utah or a good northwester coming through the wind, she blows. There's a lot of sand and the wind doesn't miss a bit. You did the right thing and found a quiet spot. I've spent a day out there in the wind (oh, boy, we're all racers, aren't we?) and to be blunt, I hate it. And think of the snowbirds up at Quartzite, spending a nice winter in Arizona instead of Canada. As you pass through, wave.

Good luck and enjoy the next few stages. It's supposed to be cold out there and here.

Boris
 
After the big sandstorm, we headed out to Martinez lake to the "resort" there. It sounded so much better on their web site! Really broke down, condemned docks and very much not a place to launch or store your rig. No room for them either. We back tracked a mile to Fishers Landing. Much better. Lots of room to launch and store the rig. They have 3 concrete ramps, unfortunately the water was too low to use. The bass boats were using a gravel ramp between the concrete ones. I asked one about that. He said in low water it was the only one to use. It was deep and firm for wheels he said. We launched there after dry camping over night in their lot $5 person per night. Launch and parking is free. They have a nice little store for ice, beer etc and a "honky tonk" style bar. They have a "hog shed" BBQ area that in summer sees a lot of the hog folks for parties. The launch went fine and no problem getting the trailer back out. I must say I wondered if it would go as well on the boat retrieve. We explored little Fishers Landing checking out the $650 to $799 K houses out there. Some big haciendas. and then went on out into the Colorado which was running 5-8 knots near the entrance to Martinez lake. Very shallow in the river 3-4 feet and sandbars all over. Very challenging. Once in Martinez lake it was deeper about 6 feet. Shallower near the reed beds than Squaw lake had been. A lot of dead trees and stumps all over. Not as intriguing a cruise as around Squaw. The Imperial refuge is next door so lots of waterfowl were around. We got back over to the Fishers landing near dusk and found a quiet nook near the reeds in 5 feet and dropped the hook. What a nice night! It got cool but we had brought out our extra blankets so were toasty. 36F overnight. Just after dark we were visited by a dozen or so ducks and coots and a few geese. They were not timid of us and maybe folks feed them. We didn't. Not good for them. In the morning after breakfast we put the boat on the beach and went up for showers. A really hot 5 minute shower for 25 cents. As wind was again predicted we hauled out on the gravel ramp and had zero issues. Again we overnighted in their lot and got underway back to Yuma in the morning. Overall we really enjoyed cruising the desert lakes. They are really shallow right now so care is needed. As Bob suggest, there is a lot of wind. Not like at sea as there is no fetch, but with the cold front with it, it was cooler than normal. The bird life is fascinating and we enjoyed it all. A bass boat guy told me that the water near Imperial dam is being held so the lake there (squaw) is deeper than at Martinez. We are back in Yuma for a couple of days to visit friends and get some maintenance on the F150 then we will head for Tucson. More soon.
 
Well we've been in Yuma a while now. Today hit 72F after a week of cold. I had some maintenance done on the truck and the shuttle driver taking me home told me this is the coldest they've seen since 1987. It's been windy and raw. Kerri On is warm and dry with shore power available. Locals don't own clothes here for this. We've been at the Gibsons family rv park and it is a great little family park. 55 plus and repeat folks. Happy hour in the club house is at 1530. We've been welcomed to the family. First boat to be here and the rv'ers are tickled to have us. Friday am at 9:00 is coffee and donut hour. Fun. We'll be heading out to Tucson Saturday. Higher and cooler so we'll be in rv parks likely. Then up to Phoenix and Roosevelt lake to splash if it looks good. Then into Cottonwood and Sedona for a few weeks till Lake Powell is toasty! Yeah.....right. Will keep you posted. Travel for summer may change a bit with a trip to the canals of England hopefully. Still planning to run east after that to at least Ontario and south to Nashville for fall on the Tennessee/Cumberland rivers. What fun. Long term is then to loop back via Florida and chase spring north into New England and the Maritimes in 2014 I really want to run a dory in Lunenburg Harbour Cheers George and Carolyn
 
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