Seattle Newbie Multi-day Cruising Suggestions?

[huskylawyer]

So I'm getting my '09 240 back on Monday after adding some fishing mods. The girlfriend and I want to start overnight cruising in it (us two, the daughter, and the dog). Does anyone have any good recommendations for "newbie cruising" so I can get my sea legs and learn the ins and outs of doing overnight trips in the PNW. I'm moored in South Lake Union. I was thinking of doing an overnight stay off the shore of Seward Park in Lake Washington for my first overnight trip (very easy and close by), then, the next overnight stay would be Blake Island, as it is close by, in the Sound and looks very easy to get to. Good starter areas? And after that, what is next?

Thanks in advance.

[Bob & Sue]

Seward Park is a nice spot to start quiet easy to anchor, are you sure your ready to make your second day a trip through the locks ( be sure and have 2 50' ropes ) in case your put in the large lock. Check out the locks website for details. Going through the locks will take some time you may want to try that in one trip. Blake is an easy trip if you stay at the docks this time of year shouldn't be any problem. I grew up on Alki spent a lot of time around Blake. Watch out for the shipping lanes the container ships can put up a huge wake. There are so many spots from Elliott Bay to go I'm mainly in the South Sound now fuel cost make it tough to travel north a lot. You may want to post on I Boat North West there are a lot of folks that cruise the PNW on that site with some great advise.
www.iboatnw.com/forum

[Pack66Dad]

Blake can be very crowded and hard to get a spot at the dock. Here are some alternatives within a few minutes of there:

Bainbridge Island is fun and lots of shopping for the Admiral http://winslowwharfmarina.com/

Brownsville is our personal favorite, very quiet and nice docks http://www.portofbrownsville.org/moo...e/moorage.html

Poulsbo is about everyone's favorite place, lots to do and see http://portofpoulsbo.com/reservations.htm

Bremerton and Port Orchard are very nice also http://www.portofbremerton.org/marinas/bremerton http://www.portofbremerton.org/marinas/port-orchard

I'm assuming you will want to dock up since you have a child and dog on board.

[Pack66Dad]

One thing about your plan to go to Blake, between Lake Union and Blake is the Ballard Locks......
Are you going to trailer around to the sound or go through?

If your going through you must have two 50 foot long lines on board.

[Covedog]

And, as you go thru the locks - have fenders for starboard and port - also note that your fenders can get pretty messy if you're up against the side of the lock.
Destinations depend on what you like to do. I live on Hidden Cove on Bainbridge and our Cove is a very nice, quiet and well protected anchorage. There's a nice park with a float just south of the Seattle Yacht Club outpost accessible by tender where your buddy can go for pit stops. I agree that Winslow (Eagle Harbor) has great shopping and food.
Poulsbo offers protected anchorage, a great marina with lots of guest slips, and a fun Norwegian themed downtown.
Head further north and around the Kitsap peninsula and Port Gamble bay is a very nice rural anchorage but no shore access. Continue northwest and Port Townsend is a great and interesting destination with great downtown and great marina.
Want to explore further? San Juan's up north have many many great destinations.
South sound has a really rural quiet feel with many state parks and anchorages. Water down south always seems less choppy. i like Gig Harbor as an interesting stop on the way and it has great facilities as well.
In all cases, make sure you have good charts and are aware of tides, currents, and weather. Get a good cruising guide like "A cruising guide to puget sound and the san juan islands" by Migael Scherer. It contains great comprehensive information along with small chart reproductions that really help you decide what destinations are best for your personal cruising goals.

[huskylawyer]

Thanks for the great suggestions. I have gone through the locks once with an experienced boater on board, which was nice. Thankfully, it was a slow day (we went through the small lock), and I parked perfectly. It is nerve racking, but it is what it is.

Gonna follow the advice on this thread. I also just picked up a dingy with a 2.5 outboard, so that will help if I need to anchor up and sleep overnight.

[funtide]

Kingston is an easy trip from the locks as well. We have some more info for you at www.cruisingnw.com too! Check out this "cruise" a cool weekend trip that includes Kingston!

For a couple of beers, I'd go through the locks with ya to get comfy with it!

[Gofirstclass]

Your first post didn't say how much (if any) experience you have on your boat, but I'm assuming from your comments that it's very little. With that in mind,, let me suggest that you take several overnight trips on Lake Washington before you venture out into the open waters. You should want to develop a fairly strong level of confidence in your ability with your boat before you get in over your head in open water. You should do this for yourself but also for the safety of your wife, kids, dogs and other passengers.

Also, if you haven't taken a boating safety course I'd recommend you do that. Take it with your wife and it will build your level of confidence (and competence) in both of you.

Another good reason to take a boater safety course and do some cruises in Lake Washington first....the people on other boats inside the lock don't want you banging into them because you haven't mastered handling your boat in close quarters. Your wife will be the one on deck handling lines and also handling the wrath of other skippers if you bang into their boats.

Safety First My Good Man