First time out on Winni

[WinniGuy07]

Went out on the boat for the first time ever on the Sunday before memorial day (the 27th) and i was wondering if the lake was rougher than it is normally. However I'm from New Jersey and the lakes here are nothing compared to Winnipesaukee. So far we love it up here, we recently bought a house in Meredith, and we plan to move up to Meredith for good next summer. Well i just wanted to ask that and express how much i love this area.

[Dave R]

Welcome!

I wasn't out that day, but don't recall any stories about rough water like we heard last Autumn (8 to 10 footers from what I recall hearing). It can get awfully choppy out there.

5000 lbs or more of boat with some decent deadrise makes the lake far more pleasant in the typical afternoon, wind driven, chop. We went from a 3400 lb, 21 foot boat to a 5900 lb, 25 foot boat and choppy days went from being exhausting, to a non-event. The ability to stay on-plane while not pounding makes for a far nicer day on the water.

Where in NJ? We have wonderful friends in Jackson and visit them often. They also spend a week with us on Winni every year.

[Dave R]

Wanted to add, the numbers I gave above are real, not manufacturer "dry weights". A 5900 lb dry weight is going to tip the scales at close to 7000 lbs with typical fuel, batteries and gear aboard.

To get to a 5000 lb wet weight, you'd need a 4400 lb dry weight I'd guess.

[jkjoshuatree]

I was out on a jet ski for about on hour with two little ones and the lake wasn't too bad at all...nothing compared to a busy holiday weekend. The boat traffic alone on the 4th of July can sometimes be five times worse than what it was on Memorial Day.

Add wind to that and it can be extremely choppy. The longer you're on Winni, the more you'll realize that if you're going to do a lot of serious boating, you'd be better off with a heavier boat. And something 24' or bigger usually helps too.

Actually I was on the east side of Bear Island and couldn't believe how calm it was. The west side was choppy, but it's usually the other way around due to the winds coming in off the Ossippee Mountains.

Even the kids commented on it...they said there weren't enough waves on that side of the island.

Welcome to the lake!!

And check back often if you have any other questions...the people on this site are a wealth of information.

;)

[cowisl]

8'-10' footers? Not on Lake Winni! I have seen max 4'-5' before in the late fall...

[WinniGuy07]

Yeah well it was 2-3 foot waves around the north side of governors island, it wasn't too bad i was just trying to get a measure on the norm for winni. Also i feel we may not have near the size boat to be "comfortable" using a 16 foot aluminum boat weighing in at about 1700 pounds with 3 people and a dog onboard. We may just have to boat winni on the calm days. However i feel as though we are going to have a lot of fun on winni this summer. :D

[Dave R]

8'-10' footers? Not on Lake Winni! I have seen max 4'-5' before in the late fall...

The numbers are from this thread:

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3932&highlight=wild+ride

I was not there, wish I could have been though.

[Dave R]

Yeah well it was 2-3 foot waves around the north side of governors island, it wasn't too bad i was just trying to get a measure on the norm for winni. Also i feel we may not have near the size boat to be "comfortable" using a 16 foot aluminum boat weighing in at about 1700 pounds with 3 people and a dog onboard. We may just have to boat winni on the calm days. However i feel as though we are going to have a lot of fun on winni this summer. :D

Was it boat wakes or wind driven chop? That area can be a real mess when it's crowded. The "sea state" gets awfully confused when the wakes collide and/or combine. Not as bad as the west side of the island though. That's an area I tend to avoid on busy days with a 25 foot boat.

[kchace]

As Dave said, the North side of Governors Island can be some of the worst water on the entire lake due to the high degree of boat traffic there. Also, keep in mind that a 16' aluminum boat has a limited ability to deal with waves and on a big lake like Winni, the waves can get pretty big.

but 8-10 footers on Winni?? I think somebody would have to prove that to me. The biggest I've ever seen were 4 footers and even those were in pretty extreme conditions. I personally believe that its easy to overestimate wave size.

Ken

[Nauset]

We were there late Saturday (the 26th) afternoon. We came up the west side of Governor’s Island heading north under the bridge there was a good chop from the wind coming down from Meredith. Once we got out to the Weirs area it was combined with the usual boat wakes for some confused conditions. We were in a 26ft cruiser so aside from some refreshing spray coming over the windshield there was no problem. I would not have wanted to be out there in a smaller boat. You will probably have more pleasant experiences by boating in some of the less congested areas on weekends, I know we do. The wind should be less during the summer as well.

[WinniGuy07]

it wasn't that bad though we had the expected spray but we did alright. Mabey a new boat coming in a year or so but i wouldn't call it uncomfortable.