Lake Boating Questions
 

Good afternoon all,

This summer my family and I will be renting a house in Moultonborough on the water. We will be boating on and around Green Basin and Hanson Cove where the house is located. I will be purchasing a navigational chart for use on the water but I wanted to reach out to the forum and see if anyone had any advice on boating in that area. Any major hazards or tricks to know about boating in and around there? Thanks for the help.

LA

Follow charts closely and pay attention. Always know where you are or stop immediately. Careful getting over-confident with depth gauge. There are plenty 23' boulders in 24' of water.

As you also will likely hear "avoid following someone thru sketchy sections". They could be clueless, or they could be a local with daily knowledge, avoiding obstacles by a foot or two.

Thanks NH_BOATER. Ive heard of an area called the witches and the graveyard on the forum are they anywhere near where I will be in Green basin and Hanson Cove?

Best thing i learned in boating class was that red is hot and black is cold so stay north and east of black buoys and South and west of red buoys i live in greens basin and things are pretty well mark with buoys

OP, the section called the graveyard is over there, but not the witches. I have found that if I stay close to the map's suggested route, there's no issues over there. Godspeed!

Boating
 

,

The Witches are in the middle of an area just south of Governor's and Timber Islands, well marked with lighted buoys and red and black markers. In general, steer north and east of black markers, south and west of red markers. Go between red and black markers when they are close to each other, and go slow.

Get a good map and study it.

If you get a chance this winter, take the on line boating course at:
http://www.boat-ed.com/newhampshire/

Better yet, if you are going to be here for a while, take a classroom course in Moultonborough. There you will learn a lot of tips for boating on the big lake that you don't learn in the on-line course.
http://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/n...ing-education/

You can also pick up an on-line NH Boating Guide at the above link.

I've taken the class and am totally legal. I've seen the complaints on this forum of uneducated boaters on the lake and I didn't not want to be one of them this summer. Ill be taking a few hands on classes down here in NJ before the trip up there.

Hmmm.....Not exactly. There are red top and black top markers that you stay south/west or north/east of. The solid color red and black markers are the ones that you go between.

There are places where red top and black top markers are close to each other to keep you from hitting the rock that is between them, not to indicate that you should go between them.

As others have said: Watch the chart!

Not sure what chart you bought but make sure it's Bizer. You are in the most difficult part of the lake...one man's opinion. As someone esle stated, when in doubt just stop. You'll be fine and have a ball.

Went with Bizer, Im also going to download it for the iphone.

http://i44.tinypic.com/1499wms.gif anticd70, I was just browsing through the forum and noticed that you are fairly new to posting on the forum after joining back in October 2008. We are glad that you have come aboard and joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends.

It's great to see you back after being away for a while. We hope to see you more often now.:)

http://i54.tinypic.com/2e56yqf.gif

Fun boating
 

In other places, it would be called "Gunkholing", exploring coves and inlets, maybe dropping anchor for a swim or lunch. Slowly. The intricacies of navigation are way over rated. You look at the chart and the dotted line says go close to shore, or it says go wide around the buoy or between the buoys and away from shore. You don't have to go fast to enjoy boating, and if you're going slow, you can enjoy your moving picnic and the scenery. Take some pictures. They don't come out as good at 30 knots as they do at 8 knots. Just don't go 15 kts and raise a big wake.

I bet your neighbors (maybe you won't know them yet) would love to go out with you (best to learn: you drive, your boat) and give you some local knowledge. Do you/they fish? There's a match made in heaven. Fish in the early am, take your family out after lunch, 'cuz now you know where to go.

My kids used to think it was an adventure to get up early and go out to eat breakfast and watch the sunrise (bowl of Cheerios). We only went a few hundred yards but it was a boating adventure. Sunset cruises too. Slow with hors d'oeuvres, you don't have to go far from home and the conversation is better at slow speeds. Invite the neighbor on the other side who doesn't fish.

Boating is so much more than going fast from A to B and in a day or two, you'll learn what fits you.
Then, you can go fast to get where they sell ice cream.

PM me when you get to your place. I will show you around. The Graveyard is quite a distance from Green's Basin. I have boated in Green's Basin my entire life.

Right you are, Tilton!
My mistake

my best advice is take GBG up on the offer to give you a help with the big lake. In all the years I've been on the lake it amazes me to this day how many people even with a chart and compass you will see flagging you down only to find out they are lost. The slow and steady keeps you in the water and not on a tow rope.

Boating Safely
 

Amen to that!
Slow and steady has kept me out of trouble in my 25 years on the lake!
Also, fishing in a small boat has enabled me to see what's down there, especially near The Witches and in between Timber and Mark, not to mention Fish Cove.

Chances are you will not be just boating in Greens basin after your first few trips. The family will want to go find a place to get ice cream (19 Mile Bay), grab a bite (Wolfboro) do some shopping (Merideth) and you will find that the lake is a very big place and that the areas north and east of Moultonboro Bay are only a small part of the big lake.

When that hankering to explore catching you - you will have found the real adventure of the lake. To get there, you will have to pass through what I feel are some of the most challenging parts of the lake for people not familiar with them. The stretch from Lees Mills out to the open area of Moultonboro Bay is loaded with hazard markers. Once out of that area, getting past 20 and 19 Mile Bay (through the Graveyard or around it) requires paying close attention. Don't just have the chart...learn it before you leave and break your trip into segments. when you finish a segment, stop and pull the chart and review the next segment. Know where you are or stop and get your bearings and proceed with caution.

I love my Navionics chip in my GPS and believe there may be a navionics app for iPhone. That is an electronic map integrated with your GPS so you know exactly where you are and where you are in relation to hazards and channels. Even with 10 years of experience on the lake, Navionics has provided valuable assistance on almost every trip I take.

I have said (along with many others) many times before .... And I am sure that MikeF will agree also ..... There is NO substitution for "learning the Lake" from a good chart and looking around to get your bearings. Electronics (GPS's) are great - WHEN USED as an accessory to your knowledge.

I too have a GPS (love the damn thing--especially at night) but only rely on it, at this point only to pick up (locate precisely) a stick in the horizon that I am already anticipating being there.


Boat cautiously, Boat with care, boat with knowledge, boat to enjoy !


.

Thanks everyone for the advice and offers to show me around the lake. Wish August would hurry up and get here already!

GPS/Radar
 

I have Raymarine GPS and Radar for night and fog. GPS is great but won't show what's in front of you--like a fisherman in the fog with no anchor light. I was able to dodge a small boat one morning when radar showed a blip in front of me. Of course, going slow in poor visibility is essential!

I will throw my offer out there as well, assuming I am at the lake at the same time as you... I am down on Long Island, but have ventured many times up to Greens Basin. I love the Northern part of the lake, it tends to be less busy for the most part.

As others have posted you probably will not want to limit your boating to the immediate area... Venturing down towards moultonborough bay, and 19 mile really isn't that hard, and is very well marked.

The best advice has been made several times alread, take it slow and consult you map....

As for the uneducated boaters, capt. Boneheads etc. that you see receive criticism here... Let me point out how you have separated your self from them....
1. They claim to know it all, and better then people who have been on the lake their whole lives.......
2. They don't ask for help....
3. They take offered help and suggestions negatively....

No one on this forum, that I have ever met, will give someone such as yourself any grief.... And as you have seen most of us love this lake, and simply want to see other enjoy it safely as well.

I hope you continue to look forward with this happy anxiety, for your vacation, and may the weather cooperate, so that you can boat every day.

I think it's great that you are asking and I highly recommend that you take up the generous offer from GBG. I spent a day on the lake with someone in the exact same situation last Summer. He came up for a day prior to his vacation and we tooled around the lake with him driving and me pointing out things on the chart and on the water. I had a great time and his week on the lake was nothing but fun.

Good for you!
 

You're way ahead of the boneheads already anticd70, just in trying to get educated before you hit the water. Good advice already given. One more tip.... plan your cookouts, beach play, and family gatherings at your camp for the weekends and do your boating during Monday through Friday noon. It's a whole lot less busy on the lake during that period and you can watch all the crazies from the comfort of your camp on the weekends.

Also, when in doubt, going real slow and watching the water ahead of you works really good getting out of a trouble area because you can usually see the rocks before they are a problem in the clear water (when doing no wake speeds).

Sad to say, it's going to be a long winter for you!

I find the LakeWinni app very useful and use it all the time on my iPhone and iPad. It is Basically the Bizer chart with gps so it has all the markers on it. Great for getting home at night. I also keep a hardcopy of the Bizer map onboard for continencies.

Have a great time at the lake!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Last year was my 1st year on the lake and that LakeWinni app was very helpful. I also would put the chart in front of me every chance I got….eating meals, bedtime, etc.
I am in 20mile bay and the Graveyard is not as scary as it sounds! Just stay down the middle of the markers!

Enjoy!

Hanson Cove
 

I own a house on the lake not far from where you will be renting and I will tell you that that whole area in and around Hanson Cove is treacherous for boating. Too many rocks and very little room for maneuvering. It is not impossible to navigate you just have to be very careful every time.
Good luck and maybe I see you around.

Anticd70- Do not worry about a thing! I will personally take you out and show you how to maneuver around the area. Relax this winter and think about your great vacation next summer on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee. It will be all good!!!

Thanks for the offers Green Basin Girl and LIforrelaxin. I am renting from Melvin Village Marina. They seem to be very helpful and offered to set me up with someone from the marina to go over the boat and show me the lake leading to the house.

This may be off topic but does anyone know if any companies offer boaters rental insurance? Melvin Village Marina offers physical liability up to $1,000 but does not offer coverage if I damage another boat, property, personal injury or general liability. I've had insurance policy in the past when renting an airplane; however I cannot seem to find a company online for rental boaters insurance.

Boaters Insurance
 

We got our insurance through Melcher & Prescott in Meredith. 603-279-4591