New Member in Maryland-gctid819042

[bdavy92960]

Wanted to say Hi and introduce myself. Have boated for 50+ years, mostly in Upstate New York (Adirondacks) but always on someone else's (usually family) boat. This past spring I finally got the go ahead from my wife to buy a boat! After a lot of research and reading, then looking, we settled on a new 2017 VR5 with the 4.3L MPI A. Had the maiden voyage in June from Sandy Point to the Magothy River, then took a trip on the Severn from Annapolis, then a trip up the Patuxent from Solomons Island, and finally a couple weeks in New York. Finally through the first 20 hours for break in, and am looking forward to MANY day and weekend trips around Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania. Our next planned voyage will be a trip from Washington DC down the Potomac towards Mt. Vernon,and another trip from the St. Mary's river to the Potomac.

I have been very impressed with the VR5's ability to handle the rough boat wakes around Sandy Point and the Severn. Skiing in New York was great, with ton's of extra power. The boat is roomy, comfortable, and very versatile.

Looking forward to learning more from this forum, and becoming part of the community.

Brad

[Chief_Alen]

Welcome Aboard !

I envy your adventures, especially boating around D.C researched a voyage to D.C from Jersey and have returned from a week stay just outside of D,C in my MH.

Alas my 2452 is not with us anymore, however boating in and around D,C is on the bucket list.

Be well !

[rbrauerei]

Welcome from another Chesapeake Bay Bayliner! You are right about the rough water sometimes from the Bay Bridge to the Magothy in smaller boats. My 642 is the cuddy cousin of your VR5 and it's good to hear the bowrider handles the chop as well as the cuddy. Wait until we have one of those sweet days where the Bay is smooth - and there aren't many boats out (weekdays) you will really enjoy flying along with that 4.3L engine.

[6104696]

Welcome to the Forum. You are boating in my present and former playgrounds.

DC to Mt. Vernon is a nice pleasant ride. BUT, stick to the marked channels and be very careful when you launch. If you launch at the Gravelly Point ramp there are several shallow spots at low tide, and there is (unless they have dredged it recently) a shoal at the entrance/exit to Roaches Run where it meets the river. Tilt up. Also, FWIW, the "jackass factor" at the Gravelly Point ramp is very high. The launch at Columbia island is much better, but there is a launch fee of a few bucks. Trailer parking can be a hassle at all of the ramps in this area. In my trailering days, I would always launch early, and would always dread the retrieval hassle because of the idiots.....

I am pretty sure that the pier at Mount Vernon is for the sightseeing boats only and that you won't be able to tie up and go ashore....

I can't stress enough how important it is to stick to the marked channels unless you know what you are doing. Depth can go from 15 feet to 2 feet in an instant. By Fort Washington the channel depth is about 75 feet, and can also go down to 2 feet very quickly.

Final warning.....watch for logs, hydrilla and other junk. If there has been a recent storm and the river looks like chocolate milk, don't launch. Go to Old Town and have a beer instead.

[Sta-K-Shun]

I am so glad I found this forum. I am also a new Bayliner owner in MD. Happy to see there are a lot og good tips about local waterways and places to avoid that can be rife with knuckleheads.

[bdavy92960]

Thanks for the heads up about Gravelly point. We will probably use the ramp at Joint Base Anacostia, since I'm a retired reservist. And sticking to the marked channel is definitely the plan. Its an old habit from my active duty Navy days. We also had a depth finder installed recently, which will hopefully help warn us of coming sand bars.

Brad

[rbrauerei]

"bdavy92960" post=820486 wrote:
We also had a depth finder installed recently, which will hopefully help warn us of coming sand bars.

Depth finder will tell you when the depth under your boat has changed suddenly (if you are watching it). But remember that a depth finder or sonar will only show what is already under the boat/transponder. Chartplotter or paper charts better way to guess-timate the location of shoals and sand bars.

Not sure about the Potomac, but at least most everywhere in the Chesapeake is either muddy or sandy bottom; so, a little more forgiving if you should run aground (which you will).

[bdavy92960]

I use a gps enabled tablet for navigation. Works very well. As for grounding - got that out of the way on the maiden voyage on the Magothy. Wife and daughter were complaining that they wanted to stop, so I pulled out of the channel. We were moving very slowly when I felt the outer unit go into the mud. Raised the trim, drifted off, no problem, but wife was in a tizzy. Hence the depth finder. She thinks it will prevent grounding. Tried to explain that it will basically tell you how deep the water you just ran aground in is B) . Oh well.

Brad