Thinking about a day cruise from Rye, NH to Portland, ME and back

Mischief Managed

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
1,928
Looks like it would be around 65 statute miles each way and I have the range to do the round trip on 2/3 tank of gas. Marine forecast looks ideal and I generally run 30-35 MPH at cruise, so less than two hours each way. Can anyone recommend a place to tie up for a couple of hours and get lunch in Portland? Looks like public docks are not available there...
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,583
Did some searching and didn't come up with much in the area. Appears there is very little in the way of mooring for the afternoon. Might want to pay the freight for a night and only spend some hours. That said the walk might be a ways.
A post from THT in 2011
http://www.thehulltruth.com/northeas...lic-docks.html
Here is Costal guide
http://www.mainecoastguide.com/servi...arinalist.html
The active Captain
https://activecaptain.com/quickLists...ME&i=288129773
This appears to be the start point and DiMilli's list dock space
http://newenglandboating.com/numbers/portland-names-numbers.html#dock
 

Mischief Managed

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
1,928
Yeah, pretty much the same stuff I found before I posted here. Thanks for the effort. I called Dimillo's and they charge 20 bucks for 3 hours, even if you eat in their restaurant. We're bringing lunch and will just enjoy the trip aboard the boat the whole time. No overnights on this trip, gonna be on Winnipesaukee the next day. Really enjoying the cheap gas this year.
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,583
Really enjoying the cheap gas this year.

Oh yea, aint it great, makes me want to take another ride from Louisville KY to Pickwick MS again. Hope you have a great trip and have a wonderful time. Wouldn't mind doing one of those myself some day
 

Mischief Managed

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
1,928
What a great trip! Did a little over 150 miles of boating over a period of 7 hours without ever shutting the engine off or docking Took a direct route to Portland from Rye Harbor, cruised around Casco Bay for a bit, then took the scenic route (hugged the coast) all the way back. I knew (from driving on the coast) that there were lots of nice houses, but WOW, the mansions were unreal. As nice as the Bush estate is in Kennebunkport, it was nothing compared to some of the homes we saw.

We saw two pods of dolphins, a gray whale, and a solitary seal (all quite near the boat). I have never seen dolphins of the New England coast before, so that was cool.

I washed the boat and flushed the engine thoroughly when I got home, but we did end up boating over 100 mniles on Winnipesaukee the next day (had guests on board that had never been, so we gave a grand tour), so it was probably not necessary. Thinking about a trip from Salisbury Reservation to Boston and back now.
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,583
That does sound like a great trip. Been a while since I have seen any of the manuals swimming around, but sure were a sight to behold.
 

2000silvers2k

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jun 11, 2010
Messages
77
Sounds nice, we had lunch in Portsmouth yesterday at surf and were watching all the boats out on the piscataqua, looked like a great day to be out there. Saw one of the freighters come in to harbor and couldn't believe how big it was, barely fit under the draw bridge.

I have always been tempted to put my boat in the harbor there, maybe one day.
 

Mischief Managed

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
1,928
Sounds nice, we had lunch in Portsmouth yesterday at surf and were watching all the boats out on the piscataqua, looked like a great day to be out there. Saw one of the freighters come in to harbor and couldn't believe how big it was, barely fit under the draw bridge.

I have always been tempted to put my boat in the harbor there, maybe one day.

I would highly recommend a GPS chart plotter if you do. You can certainly stay within the shipping channels using ATONs alone, but a chart plotter lets you get much closer to things outside the channels. There are many underwater obstructions on the coast that are not marked and would wreck your day...

If you can plan to put the boat and trailer in fresh water soon after an ocean trip, you can prevent a lot of corrosion damage without a lot of effort. Every time I dunk my boat in brine, I run it in fresh water the next day. I also wash it down and flush the engine with salt away as soon as I get it home from an ocean trip.
 
Top