Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

[LuvBoating]

While living south of Denver, CO, we put our old Bowrider on two different lakes/reservoirs......Chatfield and Cherry Creek. Boating on both of them was definitely fun and easy. Since living here (4 1/2 years) in the Jacksonville, FL area, we have found out that it's NOT so easy boating on this river or the Intracoastal due to all the navigational things that have to be learned and used. The different buoys, warning signs and navigational maps.......GESHHHHHH! Have taken two CGA Boating classes and still get confused on the waters here. Perhaps it's our age (mid 60's) and just plain lack of experience.

Both, wife and myself, had boating experience growing up close to lakes in Michigan and Indiana. Heck, I was in the Navy back in the late 60's to mid 70's, but my rate had nothing to do with Navigating a ship!

Anyway, if you've been on all three bodies of water, which do you prefer??

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

I have been on all three and prefer lakes, but not for reasons of navigability. I live in NH and our lakes are typically more challenging to navigate than our coast due to the rocks and the unique and sometimes ambiguous design of our inland aids to navigation. I prefer lakes here because they are usually very clear and warm in the Summer Our coastal waters are almost never warm and our rivers are murky.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

I like putting the boat in the lake for a nice chill day laying in the sun
I like the ICW for a weekend trip, its fun to go to different places, dock up at the public docks and go walk around. I think I like docking up in Wilmington, NC the best. I like getting up in the morning and walking off the boat to get coffee for the lady and myself.

 

[LuvBoating]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

The river (St John's) here in our area is "brackish" (salt/fresh combined). We call it "Root Beer" water and it definitely looks like that! We couldn't believe how it looked when we first moved here and took a test-ride on a boat we were thinking about buying.
Another thing to think about is the tides. We didn't have that to think about in Colorado.

We have friends down by Ormond Beach that love going out on the IWC........but they've been doing it for "upteen" years. They are our age, but have ton's more experience with navigational stuff than we do. Sometimes, the older people get, the less they want to learn. The way we look at it is "older mean easier, NOT harder".

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

They all have their pros/cons. I mainly stick to lakes simply because it's easier to navigate, especially when you have a few local lakes that you know very well. Rivers/navigation channels are also nice because they generally are less busy than lakes are. I like intercoastal/ocean settings, but sometimes the hazards (quick weather, tidal changes, fish with teeth, lol) of boating there outweigh the pretty water.

 

[BobGinCO]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

Yikes - if you boated on Chatfield and Cherry Creek, you weren't on especially "friendly" lakes. I prefer Horsetooth, and Pueblo (not to mention Blue Mesa and Powell). I would love to try the ICW or a river some time, but those both require "full time navigation", where you can be a lot more relaxed on lakes.

 

[LuvBoating]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

Yikes - if you boated on Chatfield and Cherry Creek, you weren't on especially "friendly" lakes. I prefer Horsetooth, and Pueblo (not to mention Blue Mesa and Powell). I would love to try the ICW or a river some time, but those both require "full time navigation", where you can be a lot more relaxed on lakes.

It wasn't THAT bad on Chatfield and CC! We only went on CC a few times.......Chatfield was our favorite. Generally we'd launch at 8:30AM, with very little lake traffic going on. Now, when we returned to the dock at noon to retrieve the boat, that was somewhat different due to all of the boaters launching at that time. We drove up to Horsetooth once and put-in there and found out just how deep that lake was.......compared to either Chatfield or CC, Horsetooth was DEEP!! Visited Pueblo, but not with our boat.
When we gone on the river here, we done our "relaxing" tied up at the Jacksonville Landing. The current is pretty swift there though, so really have to have control of the boat!
Your are totally RIGHT........MUCH MORE relaxing on a lake!

 

[LuvBoating]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

Lakes, hands down.

That is why, when my wife retires in 4 1/2 years, we will move to where a lake is.......most likely not here in Florida. Not sure, but thinking about Las Vegas/Lake Mead or Laughlin/Colorado River. We don't really want to live in a "snowbelt" again.

BTW, every time I look at one of our navigational maps at home, I feel like I'm studying for a Master's or PhD!

 

[Cptkid570]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

I've heard that Jacksonville has some strong currents. I've never boated there, but I really like how the river goes through downtown. You will learn the waters that you are on now and will laugh about your current stress. Just drive slower in areas where your attention is needed more.

Don't give up on Florida. You can always come to the Gulf side

 

[barrynfla]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

I only fish on Tampa Bay so I'm pretty familiar with the areas I fish. Tides are really one thing you have to watch out for that you don't on lakes. Retrieving on a really low tide can be a challenge. There are also areas in the Gulf north of Tampa that have many, many rocks and oyster bars just waiting to catch a lower unit. I'm with Cptkid on this.......you'll learn the river. Just takes a little time.

 

[grbeasley]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

I, too, live in the Jacksonville area. One thing you need to keep in mind on the river is that it is not as wide as it looks. I was running full throttle many years ago about 100/150 yards from shore and decided slow and check the depth. I was running in 2 feet of water and could have hit all kinds of submerged things. I puttered out to the channel before getting back to plane.

Just learn the rules about red/right/return and keep the bouys on the correct side......(return on the ICW is south)

Happy boating.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

I guess "relaxing" for some is "boring" for others. Kinda like how sailing is harder than motoring, but those who do it, love it.

what I love about coastal boating is the greater access to more places and to different places. Here, many of our rivers are actually tidal estuaries, but in a lot of ways they are like lakes with an open end. If your boat is too small to go out past that end, then it may as well be a dam on a lake--so in some respects it might not be that different. But if you can venture out or along the shore, it's like an unbroken chain of lakes or a great river, full of possibilities.

In a few minutes I can go from watching freighters, trawlers and submarines to small fishing boats, herons and paddlers, from a busy urban harbor to a quiet marsh or historic waterfront homes. Few lakes have all that (and really, the Great Lakes is more like coastal than what the question and answers suggest.)

Every time I draw mud, or worse, I am thankful for our soft bottoms--but that's not on all coastal boating, I know.

Tides aren't just an up/down thing. They affect the water temp and clarity, fishing, duck hunting, access to areas at high tide and access to clams and oysters at low. They affect the surface weather and surface conditions. And they provide the dynamic of current, that river boaters know, but lake boaters don't. Tides are not a problem; they are the pulse of life. To me, boating wouldbe empty, not simpler, without tides.

Coastal boating puts you over usuable but shallow water, from 2-20', where you can anchor, wade, skin dive, bottom fish. Except for deep-drop fishing, 40 to 400 feet doesn't do us much good since what we do is in the top 20'. And the sides will have more beaches and marshes than walls, as well as towns, friends, restaurants, etc.

And coastal water is salt water--more like our blood. So that's where I'll be.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

Sweet water guy here, never boated in salt. The Detroit River is about all we have for rivers and I do fish there, it has a 3-5 mph current so it's fast and deep too. Get out on the great lakes and you would think you are on the ocean, just no tide.

 

[blackhawk180]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

If this is a multiple choice question, I'd take D; all of the above. If the body of water has edible fish, you'll probable find me there one time or another. From white water rivers in my drift boat to big rivers (Columbia) to lakes to puget sound to offshore. Like every one for different reasons but I do like every one. Just wish I had a bigger boat to run farther offshore but I'd bet I'm not the only member here hoping for some lucky lottery numbers.

 

[scubacuda]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

love them all ,your in florida ponce inlet is a great ride near the light house St. John's river was nice when you could travel to the cape to see the shuttle launch , lakes are great place to get to know your boat . alafi river inlet you can go into the river or a short trip thru the channel to get into the gulf . but feel comfortable and try a trip up rainbow river .

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

Never saw a body of water I wouldn't want to be on in a boat

Most of my boating/jetskiing has been in Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River, though.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

I have not boated in a lake or on a non-tidal river in almost 20 years. I find them too small and restrictive for my liking. I like the openness of the coastal waters where every outing is an adventure.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

I started boating on a large dam... then I learned about Lake Erie and Lake Ontario-- that made me realize just how boring being confined really is. Yes, fished the big rivers too. Going through locks was fun at 1st, then it seemed to waste too much time. Here at the coast there are restaurants, rivers, and towns to explore along the ICW. There are inlets that lead to the Atlantic. Yes, there are buoys and cans and markers. They are AIDS to Navigation. Really easy when learning and 2nd nature with a little experience. Tides? Anyone that can read a menu can read a tide table. Staying on ONE or a few lakes is boring. OP-- I'm 65 and am a youngster compared to others so don't talk about age. One man fishes 40 miles offshore alone in a repowered 79 Stamos 25'er and he is 76. No matter your age, we all have to choose whether we live or simply exist.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

'Openness' is my thing, too. Never boated on a lake and never want to if I can help it, except maybe on a vacation. I frankly can't imagine anyone who has years of experience in coastal boating, being happy to move to a lake unless it's the Great ones. Just doesn't compute for me.

My .02

 

[coolbri70]

Re: Preference: Lake, River or Intracoastal Boating?

i like boating in any body of water, lakes are my favorite, big, open, usually a beach w/ eye candy. the river is closer to me, and is nice with scenery on both sides, i dont have to wonder what the other boats are going to do, i know theyre either going upriver or down. on the ocean/bay, i love rolling and rocking in the waves, and fishing, ++ never know what you might reel in