Lower Susqehanna/Upper Chesapeke

[edsblack81]

So I have a 27 foot pontoon with a Mercury 3.0L I/O. I live about an hour from the Port Deposit Havre De Grace Area and my sister lives on an inlet of the Chesapeake. (See circles on map.) Would this be a trip that would be safe to make in my pontoon boat. I know a v-hull would be better but could my pontoon make this trip on a nice calm summer's day?

On the map I also broke the Chesapeake into three sections. Would the northern and middle sections be acceptable for a pontoon boat?

 

[UncleSpidey]

Re: Lower Susqehanna/Upper Chesapeke

Okay....I'll take a stab at this. Yes, I think you can make it but I'm not sure it'll be a fun trip. A pontoon boat is really designed for a nice smooth lake. If the waters were lake calm, which they can be, no problem. However, the bay very often has a nasty chop that you're not going to cut through well. I think there is a significant risk of being tossed around and pounded A LOT for over an hour each way. After a while, you start admitting to yourself that this just isn't as much fun as you though it was going to be.

If you do try, make sure you've studied your charts and choose the day very carefully.

Maybe this will help...

Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum • View topic - Chesapeake Bay Use of Pontoon

 

[edsblack81]

Re: Lower Susqehanna/Upper Chesapeke

Uncle Spidey,

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate your input. Also thanks for the link, I didn't see that posting when I was searching on my own.

 

[KD4UPL]

Re: Lower Susqehanna/Upper Chesapeke

The problem with "nice calm summer days" is you have no idea how long that will last. Thunderstorms happen. I wouldn't want to try that trip in a pontoon on a calm day. I would want a V-hull with enough power to make some good speed, outrun weather, and handle rough water if it happens to appear.
I guess what I'm saying is, what's your plan B when you're far from home, far from shore, and the water gets rough?

I wouldn't do it.

 

[DBreskin]

Re: Lower Susqehanna/Upper Chesapeke

I boat the upper Chesapeake frequently. As KD4UPL wrote, a nice day can turn ugly surprisingly fast. The Chesapeake can get very choppy in the afternoon and while there are a lot of places to duck into and hide from the weather, that doesn't get you home quickly.

The Chesapeake chop usually rolls north and is worse on an outgoing tide when the weather-driven chop fights the tide.

I've had difficulty in my 20' bowrider scooping waves occasionally. I wouldn't try that trip in a pontoon of any size.

 

[Billdc]

Re: Lower Susqehanna/Upper Chesapeke

I have been on the Bay for four or five years (maybe 100 days) on my very first boat so take this for what its worth. I would not do that trip in your pontoon or my boat. You are talking 40+ miles with almost always some chop/wave action. What I have found to be more enjoyable for my family is trailer to where I want to be and explore from there. I am not sure about where your sister lives, and I have never been to that area, but I would think leaving from her house and running up the river to the inner harbor on a nice day would be enough. Again I am a fair weather boater and only deal with rough water when I have to. I left my boat in the middle river at a bar one night during rain and wind and took a cab to my truck rather than deal with the bay.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Lower Susqehanna/Upper Chesapeke

Crazy. I would not do it. I sailed on the bay for years and it can turn nasty quick. Not to mention that there seams to always be chop out there.