http://clubsearay.com/ General Sea Ray discussion. Chat with fellow Sea Ray owners about cruising destinations and more... en Fri, 24 May 2013 04:04:43 GMT vBulletin 60 http://clubsearay.com/images/misc/rss.png http://clubsearay.com/ http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59655-Planning-a-wine-tour-by-boat?goto=newpost Tue, 21 May 2013 21:14:10 GMT We are fortunate enough to have our boat on cayuga lake. A lot of the finger lakes wineries are located on the lake and have boat docks. I am... We are fortunate enough to have our boat on cayuga lake. A lot of the finger lakes wineries are located on the lake and have boat docks. I am planning a trip with the admiral and some friends. It should be a blast. Ill be driving so there will be mo wine tasting for me but ill still have a blast. Have any of you ever done anything like this? ]]> jobofly http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59655-Planning-a-wine-tour-by-boat http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59521-Spending-the-day-on-the-boat-with-the-family?goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 12:06:47 GMT Man I'm so excited, we are going to hang out all day on the boat. The kids are pumped, we packed food and drinks and fishing gear. It's going to be a great day. Have a fun weekend everybody ]]> jobofly http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59521-Spending-the-day-on-the-boat-with-the-family http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59357-Planned-a-great-Kentucky-Lake-trip?goto=newpost Sat, 11 May 2013 10:26:35 GMT Can't wait till the third week in June. We are going to Kentucky Lake for 7 days. I have been to Kentucky Lake several times in the past but it has always been to fish. This time we are doing nothing but boating. We have rented a cabin with a covered boat slip. We plan on 7 days of cruising, going to all the different marina's to look at the boats( and food of course), and then finding different coves to throw out our floating island and just relaxing. The boat is finally shaking off the winter. I have de-winterized it. All fluids are changed, all filters are changed, and most of the teak has been touched up. I did have to change the fuel pump this spring ( it went out on our last boating excursion last year), but that job is done. Also changed all fuel lines and cleaned and replaced the fuel vent line. We plan on taking it to our local lake this weekend and giving it a shake down run. We also have friends of the family that are taking their 21 ft bowrider and staying in the cabin next to ours. That way when we are out cruising around and Murphey's Law shows its ugly face (and it will) we have an auxillary power plant to pull each other back to the marina. I know Kentucky Lake is not a big deal to some ppl but to us in west central Indiana it is huge. We have several lakes close to home, the closest being Raccoon Lake, a quaint little 2060 acre lake just 6 miles away. It is great to camp on the boat for the weekend. Kentucky Lake is about 300 miles south which brings up another point. The trailer will be completely inspected this weekend. I just thought I would throw this out there and see if anyone wanted to share war stories about their Kentucky Lake experiences. ]]> riverrat77 http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59357-Planned-a-great-Kentucky-Lake-trip http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59323-Memorial-Day-weekends-day-trip-in-Northern-Ca?goto=newpost Thu, 09 May 2013 19:36:07 GMT Hello everyone. I posted this on iboats.com but thought I would try my luck here too. Im planning a day trip with my youth group leaders... Hello everyone.

I posted this on iboats.com but thought I would try my luck here too.

Im planning a day trip with my youth group leaders (21-30), I'm the oldest (38), about 10-12 of us. So I'm looking for a fresh water spot that we can take our 280, anchor it and have fun. I also have some inflatable rafts, tubs and jet ski.

Most of us are about 100-130 lbs, some in 140-160. Should we have any problem just touring around/anchoring, hosting 10-12 of us? :)

Thanks. ]]> Hai Nhi http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59323-Memorial-Day-weekends-day-trip-in-Northern-Ca http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59250-Sleeping-on-our-cruiser?goto=newpost Mon, 06 May 2013 23:49:11 GMT Hey guys we just bought our first boat, it's a sea ray weekender 230. I'm excited about staying on our boat at the marina but my wife is not. She doesn't think she will be able to sleep on the boat. Have any of you ran into this problem with your significant other? If so how did you address it?


Thanks ]]> jobofly http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59250-Sleeping-on-our-cruiser http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59224-If-it-s-spring-it-must-be?goto=newpost Mon, 06 May 2013 06:11:34 GMT Time for another cruise to Fishhook Park. So this weekend GW and I took off for a long weekend trip up the Snake River to one of our favorite... Time for another cruise to Fishhook Park. So this weekend GW and I took off for a long weekend trip up the Snake River to one of our favorite destinations—Fishhook Park. There’s a Corps of Engineers park there and it’s a beautiful place to camp. They also have a decent dock (no power or water) that’s sheltered from the winds but not from the wakes of passing tugs and barges.

The weather for this trip was darn near perfect. Temps were in the low 80’s and the winds were light for most of the trip. We took off Friday around 1:00 and just slow cruised about 5 miles down the Columbia then 11 miles up the Snake River to Ice Harbor Lock and Dam. I called the lockmaster on the VHF as we were approaching and he had the downstream gate open and gave us the green light to enter as we got to the lock.

Here’s what the lock looks like from about ½ mile downstream….


And as we approached the lock….


At this point we’ve pulled into the lock and have tied to the bollard at the side wall. The bollard floats up and down with the water level changes. The lock is 68’ wide by about 668’ long and the walls are 120’ high. It can be very intimidating when you first enter the lock….


It’s always kind of fun to see how much we are lifted as the water rises. Ice Harbor is among the largest lifts in the US. Normally we go up/down about 100-105 feet…

Here’s our starting water depth….


And the ending water depth. If my math is correct, that’s a lift of 115’. That’s the highest I’ve ever seen it….


Here’s a shot of the water as we’re being raised. The water enters the lock through large valves in the bottom of the lock near the center…


Here we are at the top waiting for the cantilever gate at the upstream end of the lock to open…


And a shot looking back as we exit the lock. Don’t ya just hate boating when the water is so rough…


(continued) ]]> Gofirstclass http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59224-If-it-s-spring-it-must-be http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59214-Four-Suns-Chapter-2-Thanks-Sea-Ray?goto=newpost Sun, 05 May 2013 22:11:24 GMT I finally had some time last week to head down to the boat and start getting it ready for the season. The 480 DB will be 10 years old next week and... I finally had some time last week to head down to the boat and start getting it ready for the season. The 480 DB will be 10 years old next week and this will be our 11th season on it. Started poking through some of the drawers and cabinets and found old journals from the kids along with some pictures from the years we have spent on it. It made me realize how much has changed...

My two oldest sons are out of the house now and my third is leaving for college in the fall. This leaves me with one teenager who thinks he has more world knowledge than God. My two Golden Retrievers are more gray than gold and the highlight of our day now consists of going to the medicine cabinet where we all take our pills at 7 pm and fall asleep by 8 (they are on more pills than me). Hip problems, thyroid problems and too many burgers have started to show their influence (the dogs... not me).

I found this picture of the three oldest boys sitting on the bow of my previous boat (2001 380 DA) while tied to a dock in Maryland:



and the journal entry from my oldest son:





You can tell he had a clear understanding of boating at a young age and is now in the Navy.

There is no doubt it was a privilege to be able to raise the kids on Sea Ray boats and spend the summers like we did. They hated it some of the time... threw up over the edge many times.... but now when these young men call home, they tell me how great the memories are they have from these boats. Both Four Suns (I and II) have been up and down the east coast and there is nothing wrong with going to the CT/RI border from VA to pick up lobster for a Sea Ray gathering in NY... it's about the ride.

I've met some great people and made some great friends along the way and even wrote a book I never published...



(we'll ignore the stalker problem in this post)

"Chapter 2" in our boating journey is fast approaching and I fear my new "signature" will be:

The kids moved out
The dogs passed away
One bored wife

What I would like to say is Thank You to the Sea Ray team that designed, built and supported this boat (esp. Rusty Higgins) and for all of you that have kids, I encourage you to buy the biggest boat you can afford and dump all your cash in the water. You won't regret it.



That's it for today... and no I'm not drinking. ]]> Four Suns http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59214-Four-Suns-Chapter-2-Thanks-Sea-Ray http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59100-Any-Chesapeake-Bay-Boaters-Here?goto=newpost Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:16:14 GMT A newbie to the site and just closing on a new boat (new to me) this Friday. Looking for "friends with boats" on the Chesapeake Bay that are interested in meeting up for dock bar get togethers, daytime & overnight raft-ups, poker runs, etc... on the bay this summer. If you're in the Upper, Middle, or Lower Chesapeake bay, message me or give me a shout right here in this thread.

Thanks ! ]]> NaptownLarry http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/59100-Any-Chesapeake-Bay-Boaters-Here