Re: Boating on a River vs a Lake
first, i grew up lake boating.
i just had to try some river runnin though. i've done the missouri river at omaha many times.
from what i've observed, it's nothing like lake boating.
-the ramps are steep to launch.
-preferred launch is on the down stream side of the boat dock. as soon as ya clean the dock you'll need to throttle up to just shy of plane, to stand still!.
-on rivers, the outside of the river curve is deep, the inside of the curve is shallow.
plan your fuel stops. when going up river, you'll burn a bunch of fuel.
-river levels can change drastically overnight.
-debris is everywhere. it's luck of the draw not to hit a dead head log or the likes.
-you may encounter large vessels, with large wakes. if your in a small bow rider, your susceptible to scooping up a wave. i did in a 16' trihull after a 35'er or so went by. there's no where to run.
-i've camped over night to find i was near high and dry due to river level drop
-watch large rain up river. it swells the river up stream and picks up debris off the beach and sends it down river. where if your boating, you'll encounter it for sure.
-steep ramps may be dry for launch in the morning, but be totally wet and slick for evening retrieval when everyone is going home.
-if going down river from launch, plan on a long ride back at high rpm. you'll cover a lot of ground when going with the current.
-preferred destination is up river from launch. that way if ya break down, at least you'll float back to your launch site.
-have your boat in max good tune up. ya break down on the river, your at it's mersey. better have a good anchor on board too so as to be able to at least try to stop you down river run.
-never anchor from the stern on a river
-i had a cb when i bought my boat, since i was doing river running, a vhf upgrade was a no brianer. uscg runs the river
-where your pfd on the river. folks drown in rivers, even with a pfd on.
-i ended up getting into the us power squadron because of river running. i needed to know what the signs and makers meant.
i think there's more but can't remember them. i've not been doing the missouri since the last large flood here. it wiped out most of our fuel stops and boat ramp access best i know.
river runnin is great and a whole new experience from lake boating. try it. it's a blast. just be as best prepared as ya can be. get yer ducks in a row prior to launch.
