Great Bay/Little Bay boaters out there? (Dover, Portsmouth: for sale, refinance)

[Movingback]

Hi all,

Are there any Great Bay/Little Bay boaters out there? My wife and i have purchased a home in Dover that has access to the Piscataqua River, and wanted to hear of your thoughts of boating and fishing in the area.
Looks like we will be able to get a mooring (have the permit in hand), and currently have a canoe to use. But are seriously considering either a power/fishing type boat, or a small/mid sized sail boat.
I would love to hear any info/stories you might have on boating in the Great bay area.

Cheers, Paul

[Annabelle]

It is such a pleasure to write about boating in Great Bay when it is so cold outside! My husband and I have a 19 ft. Stingray power boat that we bring on to Great Bay often. We put the boat in at the Squamscot River near the Newfields/Stratham line and sometimes spent 4 or 5 hours just cruising the bay. We usually bring the fishing rods and try out different coves to try to catch anything that might find its way on to the hook.

We see all types/sizes of boats out there...from kayaks to the Thomas Laighton cruise ship. The water tends to get rough in some areas (under the bridge and near the marina in Newington) but other than that, I find the waters pretty calm. However, there are a few negatives to boating in the bay. There are no restaurants to pull up to grab a bite to eat or places to visit on land to stretch the legs if you've been on the water all day. And you have to pay very close attention to the tides. Great Bay is very, very shallow in many places so that can be tricky if you aren't paying attention to where the channels are from mid to low tide. We did not know this the first time we took our boat out and it was dead low and it was a pain.

Another option for boating in the area is cruising out to Kittery, Portsmouth and NewCastle harbors. There are so many creeks and coves and the scenery is beautiful. However, the Piscataqua River is wild most days. I don't like being on the Piscataqua but my husband thinks its fun. I think bringing me out there is his strategy for getting a bigger boat!

I hope this info is helpful. Can't wait until spring to get back out there!

[399083453]

The piscataqua is kinda like the wild west. You have tanker ships, kayaks, speedboats, helicopters, lobstermen, marine patrol, homeland security, tugboats, etc. Yes, pay attention to tides. If you have a small boat you might not be able to go against the current.

[rmcewan]

Paul,

FYI: When they say the Piscataqua is wild, read: 2nd fastest flowing navigable river in the U.S. (after the Columbia) and perhaps the 3rd fastest in the world. You might want to take a couple of Coast Guard courses.

Safety aside: the river, the Great Bay, bridges and scenery are just beautiful around there. The East side of Great Bay is good place to see a West Coast style sunset.

[buck naked]

we go into the bay a few times each year - we put in on the Maine side - it's tricky maneuvering against the tides at times -


never purchased a mooring as the fees were too high - a friend keeps his 38' fishing boat on the bay but the mooring fee runs in the thousands

[estock]

Mill Valley is a nice place to live if you're retired. However, if you're still working it;s akward to put yourself in a false circumstance where you're working just to keep up with the incredible cost of living. It's materialistic in a sense to think that a setting is more important than your time.


The Seacoast is a "real" place. Not much of that pretentious nonsense. But what do you expect Californian's to be unpretentious? No, maybe except for the Central Valley.

[399083453]

Originally Posted by buck naked

mooring fee runs in the thousands

Ahh..... those are the illegal moorings which cost so much. A legal NH mooring only costs $25 per year.

[Annabelle]

Here's some info from the Port Authority Harbor Management regarding moorings:

Currently, there are approximately 1,400 active mooring permits that have been issued by the Port Authority. The first step in obtaining a mooring permit is to go through the waiting list process. This process entails filling out an application for one or more of the established mooring areas in the state. Boaters pay a yearly fee of $5 for each mooring area wait list they wish to be on. Waiting times for a mooring permit range from over 20 years for the more accessible areas closer to the ocean to 2 years for mooring sites in the bay and river areas.

[pmjinnh]

Lucky you..moorings are hard to come by.
I have a 21 ft sailboat for sale in Alton if interested send me a private message.

The Quickstep 21 is a sweet sailing boat. Good
stability and built solid. When we bought her we had
downsized from a 28 ft sailboat and thus I was looking
for a boat that had good stability. I always feel safe
sailing on her.

You can read about the Quickstep, history and specs at
the Quickstep owner's website:

Welcome to Quickstep

Specs:
1990 Quickstep 21 (manufactured in Rhode Island,same
company that made the SeaSprite)
LOA 20' 10"
LWL 18'
Beam 8' 0"
Draft-Board up 1' 11"
Draft-Board down 4' 4"
Displacement 2,500 lbs
Ballast 950 lbs
Sail area 201 sq. ft.
Cockpit 8 feet
dark blue hull
teak and holly sole
CDI roller furler on fractional rig
Hood sails
Yamaha 6hp (original motor,well maintained,reliable)
(takes gas/oil mix)

Tiller recently refinished
1995 Load-Right trailer

Pictures:
Picasa Web Albums - J - svCarina

We are asking $7500
The boat is located in Alton,NH

[Movingback]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the great responses.

AnnaBelle-your comments get me excited to get going there

I hear you all on the need to be careful on the Piscataqua. I have been boating since i was 4 (sailing/canoeing/power boating on lake Winnisquam)
And have also spent a lot of time sailing around the San Francisco bay. (also pretty wild tidal rip, but very pretty) And have a few bare boat charters under my belt in the Sea of Cortez, and the Bahamas. So hope i am fairly prepared for it.

As for the latest on moorings, Apparently in the great bay, they have redone the way permits are issued. The bay was redivided into sections, and a certain number of permits are issued for each section. (the section we are in currently has more available)
The cost wasn't too bad. To get a mooring for a 16 foot canoe (to lock in the mooring spot) Had like a $5-10 application fee. And the total cost for the permit was like $106. Permit costs are figured by the length of the boat that you register to the mooring.

ESTOCK-
"Mill Valley is a nice place to live if you're retired. However, if you're still working its awkward to put yourself in a false circumstance where you're working just to keep up with the incredible cost of living. It's materialistic in a sense to think that a setting is more important than your time."


A bit off topic but I'll bite.
I kind of see it the other way. Is a good proximity to SF. So we can work in the city and earn a good wage and get a nice jump on retirement and other savings. (living well below our means). We purchased our current home here in 1995 so the costs are very reasonable compared to the wages you can earn nearby. OA though, living costs are high here, so we are moving back to NH in a few years to enjoy NH and all it has to offer at a much more reasonable living costs (property taxes aside) in our semi retirement.

"The Seacoast is a "real" place. Not much of that pretentious nonsense. But what do you expect Californian's to be unpretentious? No, maybe except for the Central Valley."

I sense some bitterness here
I do however have to agree with you in part on this one. In general it looks like a good deal of Californians are living way beyond their means. A lot do that by continuing to refinance/cash out on the increasing home values here.
This continuing siphoning of their savings and lack of Retirement holdings and fiscal discipline is going to put a large part of the population here in a world of hurt come retirement time.
I have met some very nice people here, and some great friends, but don't really care for a lot of people/attitude here. A lot seem carry around an attitude of I'm better than you, and common courtesy is sorely lacking. This pervasive attitude has me longing to get back to my roots in NH, (as well as family).

Anyway, thanks again all for the great posts

Cheers, Paul