calling Cleveland searay'ers

[Taradise]

I am insterested in some info on boating in Cleveland...I am not familiar with the area...just know it is on the great lakes and cold up there in the winter. How long is the boating season? Would my 240SD be a bit too small? What's the fishing like? anyone head to the coast from there or is having the big lake in your back yard enough? other than lake Erie...is there good inland boating? With the cold weather...what do you do in the winter layup? i know this is alot of questions...thanks in advance for any replies...

 

[Dave S]

Being from greater Cleveland I can answer a few of your questions.

The winter threat (snow and cold) doesn't really go away until mid April. Even then it may or may not be very warm on any given day. May is generally pretty nice but it too can be a bit cool. Boating for an open bow rider like your Sundeck is pretty much over by September except for occasional nice days you might see in October. If you have camper canvas you can probably stretch the season until the end of October. The biggest issue with boating on Lake Erie though will be the North winds because the lake kicks up real fast and can get extremely nasty. However, if you boat right in the downtown Cleveland area there is a huge break wall maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile off the shoreline. If you stay behind the break wall you can still boat on the lake even if the winds are blowing and have caused the waves to kick up outside the break wall. I'll leave it up to the locals to tell you about places to go on the water up in Cleveland because it's been a long time since I have lived there.

As far as inland lakes go there are not too many choices close to Cleveland. There is only one fairly big inland lake called Grand Lake St. Marys in west central Ohio and a few smaller lakes or reservoirs scattered around the upper part of the state. Most of these lakes won't be nearly as big as the choices you have in Georgia. Now if you want to travel a bit there are all kinds of inland lakes in Michigan.

As far as your Sundeck goes, that's a pretty good choice for Lake Erie as long as the lake is reasonably calm. When Lake Erie kicks up it tends to have steep choppy waves with white caps. It's not like the "rollers" you see in the Ocean. I would stay off the lake in anything over three foot waves myself.

I hope this helps somewhat.

Dave

 

[Taradise]

how far it it from Cleveland to Put N Bay? would you make this trip in a 240SD?

 

[RollerCoastr]

I agree with everything Dave said.

He's right about what we call "Lake Chop" too. In the ocean, a 5 foot roller can be fun. On Erie, a 3' chop can kick your butt, and of course, the smaller the boat the worse it is.

The breakwall in Cleveland is extensive and offers some limited boating when the lake is in a bad mood. If anyong recommends "The Flats", they haven't been to Cleveland in a while. The party flats as we knew it no longer exists. There's still some fun to be had in the river though.

I have it plotted on my other computer, but from memory, Cleve to PIB is just over 60 miles. There are plenty of boats smaller than yours there all the time, but it's likely that they came from closer ports, such as Catawba and Sandusky. With a good forecast, I'd make the run in your boat. I'd have a contigency plan though, in the event of a (likely) change in weather.

If you're willing to drag the boat, or drive to it, the Sandusky/ Marblehead/Catawba Island area might be better suited to your boat. Sandusky Bay offers protection from the lake conditions and is only 15 miles from PIB, 9 miles from Kelley's Island etc.