Renting a boat for a day to explore. Tips?

[RyanDe]

So after some great feedback from the people on this forum were going to explore Winnipesaukee and it's island before we more forward with buying a place next year.

We want to see how crowded things get, just how big it feels and the best areas both on and off the islands. Our plan is to rent for a full day 9-3 on a Friday and just drive around as much as possible. We'll probably plan it out on a map but -

• Are there any specific things we should definitely check out and/or avoid?
• What's a good place to hit up for lunch on the lake?
• What's a good reputable rental place?

Thanks, and any info you can give would be greatly appreciated!

[noreast]

Just a few things....I wouldn't book to far in advance till you know the weather that day,could be a waste of time and money otherwise,If it's rough you'll get about 1/4 as far as you would otherwise.Every time I set out to see the whole lake in a day, I see about half. You'll want to stay close to shore to get a feel for the area so that will take even longer. Good luck. all the marina's are fine, just look to see who has a good size boat available. Same with lunch, so many good choices I guess it would depend on where you are at that time.

[camp guy]

I would suggest renting from a marina. There are marinas all over the Lake, so, probably you want to find one near where you are. I would ask the people at that marina some of the same questions. Local knowledge is always helpful.

I would probably forego having a lake-side lunch simply because it will take up more time than you want to spend away from touring the Lake.

If you have any idea of where you might like to live, concentrate on that area of the Lake. Also, remember, the Lake changes depth during trhe season. Some passages are a little less passable in the late summer and fall, and, strangely, high water in the early spring can cause problems.

Think about power, telephone, internet, emergency services, routine maintenance services (septic, etc).

Remember, when you are on an island, you can't just run to the store, everything you need is on shore, so this may be a factor in where you live.

I hope you get a lot of answers to your questions.

[rsmlp]

this may be pricey but is a gps unit available? winni is formidable for those unfamiliar with hazards-especially with water level so low.

[noreast]

Originally Posted by rsmlp

this may be pricey but is a gps unit available? winni is formidable for those unfamiliar with hazards-especially with water level so low.

Good suggestion. I know the high end pontoon rentals all come with one. I'm sure there lower versions don't.

[Woodsy]

1. Rent from Anchor Marine! Bob & the staff there are top notch...

2. Get a Bizer map! and study it....

3. Download the Navionics GPS app for your phone and make sure to download the map of the lake...

4. Lots of great places for lunch... depends on what side of the lake you are on at lunchtime.

5. have fun! go swimming!


Woodsy

[Slickcraft]

I would suggest a different day to go exploring. The Friday of Labor Day Weekend can be very busy out there including the usual small percentage of idiot boaters.

A weekday after that weekend would be much better for exploring. Look ahead at the long range forecast for a day with under 10 mph winds, makes for easier poking around.

[radioman]

Ryan, make certain that you have a Safe Boating Cert. and that you understand how the Spar navigation system works Without either, you will not have a good day. BOL

[Rich]

Have someone point out where the Witches are on the map and on the lake, and keep an eye out for them! They can ruin your day faster than most places on the lake.

Then of course, watch the chart and the side of the navaids you pass, it's important!

Thar be Rocks out there!

[WINNOCTURN]

Check out the Cruises offered by the "Mount". Sophie C and Doris E

They have destination points to every basic area of the Lake.

Weirs Beach

Meredith

Alton

Wolfeboro

Alton

Between these three Cruise Boats you can see 80% of the Lake. They also have one of the Crewmembers giving a narrative of where you are and interesting high lights of specific points of the Lake.

It's how my wife and I got hooked on the area.

If you are not an experienced Boater you can be tricked by the "serenity" of this Lake.


Not sure of the size and type of boat you may be able to rent. I would not rent any thing smaller than 20'

Conditions on the Lake can change quickly.



WINNOCTURN (WIN - WINNIPESAUKEE) - (NOCTURN - Prefer being on the Lake at Night)

[feb]

The Sophie C suggestion is a good one, it gets much closer to some islands and I'm sure you can ask questions while you are on it.

Alternatively, maybe ask a marina or two if you can hire someone to give you a guided tour. This would allow everyone to look at the shoreline/properties and not have to worry about any navigational issues.

By the time you get a boating permit, rent the boat, worry about where you are on the lake, gas up the boat and return the boat it will leave less time to accomplish your mission.

Sounds like a perfect task to outsource leaving you to enjoy the ride and the view.

[thinkxingu]

As others have mentioned, at the very least you need to have a detailed plan (and weather on your side). I'd begin by narrowing down the locations you would want to have as home base. For example, I'm in Merrimack and wouldn't want to travel much further than Gilford or Moultonborough if I knew there'd be another ride to get me to my home. Anything you do to narrow your search area will give you more time to actually check things out.

Good luck!

[Dave M]

Rather spending the time stopping at the lunch places, bring it with you.
Stop somewhere and get sandwiches, etc. Put in small cooler and your all set. You can continue to look around and stop when you want.

Dave M

[TiltonBB]

Originally Posted by feb

The Sophie C suggestion is a good one, it gets much closer to some islands and I'm sure you can ask questions while you are on it.

Alternatively, maybe ask a marina or two if you can hire someone to give you a guided tour. This would allow everyone to look at the shoreline/properties and not have to worry about any navigational issues.

By the time you get a boating permit, rent the boat, worry about where you are on the lake, gas up the boat and return the boat it will leave less time to accomplish your mission.

Sounds like a perfect task to outsource leaving you to enjoy the ride and the view.

Make sure if you hire someone they have a NH Commercial Boating Certificate. Anyone operating anything on the water for compensation needs one. Don't let them just grab the "kid" on the dock.

[Descant]

In the original thread, I think you mentioned larger islands: Bear, Rattlesnake and Cow? If that's correct, then that crosses a lot of home port (martinas) off the list of places you want to start from. On a huge island like Bear, there are several home ports depending on which end of the island you might be interested in. Are there any camps for sale there? The idea of asking a Realtor early in the process applies here too. Let your Realtor help plan your route. If you're going to go slow and look at camps, docks, water depth, solar orientation, topography, etc. you could spend most of a day just on one island, allowing time to transit in both directions.

The Sophie C and other tour boats suggestion is superb. But the Sophie doesn't go near Cow or Rattlesnake. She'll give you a great view of Bear and many of the (smaller) Gilford Islands. Did I read somewhere that you have small children? 6-8 hours on a small boat can be a long time, and for all crew members you may need a relief stop even if you don't go to a restaurant for lunch. I've been on the lake all my life, and I still enjoy a ride on the Mount Washington. Check her schedule. You can ride, stop for awhile and get back on for her second tour to take you back to the starting point. Lunch and potty on board. Highly recommend.

The suggestion about going after Labor Day may allow you to negotiate a better rental rate. After Labor Day, weekends are a lot less busy too.

[Joebon]

The Sophie C makes a stop at Cow.


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[RyanDe]

Originally Posted by Descant

In the original thread, I think you mentioned larger islands: Bear, Rattlesnake and Cow? If that's correct, then that crosses a lot of home port (martinas) off the list of places you want to start from. On a huge island like Bear, there are several home ports depending on which end of the island you might be interested in. Are there any camps for sale there? The idea of asking a Realtor early in the process applies here too. Let your Realtor help plan your route. If you're going to go slow and look at camps, docks, water depth, solar orientation, topography, etc. you could spend most of a day just on one island, allowing time to transit in both directions.

The Sophie C and other tour boats suggestion is superb. But the Sophie doesn't go near Cow or Rattlesnake. She'll give you a great view of Bear and many of the (smaller) Gilford Islands. Did I read somewhere that you have small children? 6-8 hours on a small boat can be a long time, and for all crew members you may need a relief stop even if you don't go to a restaurant for lunch. I've been on the lake all my life, and I still enjoy a ride on the Mount Washington. Check her schedule. You can ride, stop for awhile and get back on for her second tour to take you back to the starting point. Lunch and potty on board. Highly recommend.

The suggestion about going after Labor Day may allow you to negotiate a better rental rate. After Labor Day, weekends are a lot less busy too.

Yeah, we're interested in the islands but we've only ever been on the shore of the lake so we want to get a feel of the lake to see if we both like it. If that makes sense. Assuming we do we'll start to narrow our search and explore the areas that interest us but our first go around will be a general get to know the late excursion.

We have kids but they're staying home, that's why we're going during the week so we can go alone. I wouldn't want to drag them along at first, too much work.

We're thinking Friday Aug 19th, not a holiday weekend but it should give us a feel for how busy the lake feels on average. We're leaning towards the morning sophie cruise but that's only two hours on the lake which isn't great since we have the entire day and want to make the most of it.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by RyanDe

...will be a general get to know the late excursion.

We have kids but they're staying home, that's why we're going during the week so we can go alone.

We're thinking Friday Aug 19th, not a holiday weekend but it should give us a feel for how busy the lake feels on average.

Without kids, you'll be able to cover a ton of ground in one day. In my experience, though, that day and the days after (other than Labor Day weekend) are much slower because schools are already starting back. I know because it's the first day of my vacation every year after I finish summer school but before returning the Tuesday after LD.

That being said, so you know, a generality is that the northern part of the lake, from Long Island up, is a much quieter section than the southern, with the Weirs being the busiest/most choppy--I've seen bigger wakes there than on the Broads (open part of the lake).

I would start by picking up a Bizer map ASAP and just looking at it to get a sense of what you're looking to do.

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[Fargo]

Go on the morning and afternoon cruise. You'll be able to talk to island people when they drop off mail.

[RyanDe]

So we went out yesterday and it was great. Since we waiting until the last minute (2 days before) to rent a boat the only thing that was available was a 25hp pontoon. It was slow as hell but got us all around the lake which is what we wanted. We got to experience how large the lake is, how the islands look from the different sides, how scary the broads and witches are (they are not) and how to dock at the public docks.

Thanks everyone for the tips and suggestions, we were less nervous because of them! We're not planning our next trip with a faster boat. :-)

We really like bear and cow island but they're probably just a little too far for us drive then boat so we'll probably continue to look at sleeper and rattlesnake since it's an easy ride to west alton marina. We really liked the south west side of Rattlesnake, even when the other side was really choppy that side was nice and calm and easily swimmable. We were surprised at how steep the "backyards" were though, half the houses seem to be built right on the cliff edge.

[Cobalt 25]

After nailing a rock and ripping off our outdrive we looked into renting a boat for a day last Thursday. Two things to consider:

1. You will need to show a boater's education certificate (I had one).

2. I called 5 marinas and no one had any boats available except Fay's for a sailboat or a 14' aluminum boat. Plan ahead!

Good luck and enjoy! Oh yeah, especially based on my experience, know the waters- charts charts charts!

[RyanDe]

I'm renting again this Friday/Saturday. I'm assuming since it's labor day I'll get a better idea of what a busy lake looks like? Some friends are in weirs on Friday and want to meet up for lunch, are we crazy to try and dock there the Friday of labor day? Looking over then weather too it might be 14mph winds, that sounds fun in the broads. 😉

[thinkxingu]

Weirs is tricky--we found a dock there a few times on busy days, but it seemed like it was so busy/choppy that people were avoiding it. Of all the ports, Weirs is the least fun in terms of docking for us.

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[RyanDe]

Is there a better place we could meet them? Maybe they can just park and come hang out on the boat with us for a while. Is there a good dock they could park at for a few hours that we could pick them up at?

[tis]

I would not want to rent a boat to look around on Labor Day or Fourth of July. Right now I think Fri is supposed to be very cool too.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by RyanDe

Is there a better place we could meet them? Maybe they can just park and come hang out on the boat with us for a while. Is there a good dock they could park at for a few hours that we could pick them up at?

Parking at the Weirs isn't too bad, so you could pull up to a temporary dock and take them away.

Most ports will be busy that day, but if I were to choose one on that side it would be Meredith, which is much less choppy than Weirs and has much more docking space than Alton Bay.

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[RyanDe]

Originally Posted by tis

I would not want to rent a boat to look around on Labor Day or Fourth of July. Right now I think Fri is supposed to be very cool too.

That's the point, to see how the lake is when it's busy, rough, cold, etc since we're looking to buy a place. The last time we went on Thur it was hot and very quiet so we want to see how it feels on a busy day which is most of the summer weekends. Since we're looking at islands too we want to see the shore during windy days.

[Descant]

Once you have your own place, you probably won't go to the Weirs (or other places) as often. Friday for lunch is still a weekday and not as busy as, say, Saturday. If you're going for lunch, I'd try the Naswa or Akwa Marine, both nearby. If your guests need parking, Weirs is OK and you can pick them up at the public docks and go wherever you want. Wind, waves won't matter much if you're just coming to the dock for them to jump on. Put out a couple of fenders and come across the end of the dock if there isn't much space, but I think on a Friday, you won't find it overcrowded. If you pick a dock behind the Mount or Winnipesaukee Gardens, it is protected.

[tis]

Originally Posted by RyanDe

That's the point, to see how the lake is when it's busy, rough, cold, etc since we're looking to buy a place. The last time we went on Thur it was hot and very quiet so we want to see how it feels on a busy day which is most of the summer weekends. Since we're looking at islands too we want to see the shore during windy days.

I didn't miss that point in your first post. It is just that Labor Day is usually crazy busy. So you will certainly find out what it is like. I was just saying, it's not a good day to look around at islands or areas.

[RyanDe]

Originally Posted by Descant

Once you have your own place, you probably won't go to the Weirs (or other places) as often. Friday for lunch is still a weekday and not as busy as, say, Saturday. If you're going for lunch, I'd try the Naswa or Akwa Marine, both nearby. If your guests need parking, Weirs is OK and you can pick them up at the public docks and go wherever you want. Wind, waves won't matter much if you're just coming to the dock for them to jump on. Put out a couple of fenders and come across the end of the dock if there isn't much space, but I think on a Friday, you won't find it overcrowded. If you pick a dock behind the Mount or Winnipesaukee Gardens, it is protected.

Yeah, we went up there last year and it wasn't what I remembered as a kid. Our friends are taking their kid to Funspot so they're close which is why we want to pick them up there. I'm assuming I can park on the purple to pick them up? What about the green area above, what's that?

[Lakeboater]

Originally Posted by RyanDe

Yeah, we went up there last year and it wasn't what I remembered as a kid. Our friends are taking their kid to Funspot so they're close which is why we want to pick them up there. I'm assuming I can park on the purple to pick them up? What about the green area above, what's that?

Yes to the purple area. They are the town docks. The green area is private. The Mt Washington and mailboats (among others) use those docks.