As with the others, feel free to pm for advice. There is one cruising guide out there that might be of use.
You might want to consider launching in the Bay Area (I recommend Berkeley) and enjoying an extended cruise up into the Delta. There are so many great places to stop on the way (Angel Island, downtown Petaluma, Benicia, Suisun, etc.). Also, consider launching in Stockton (nice ramp, sketchy neighborhood) and paying someone to store your truck and trailer. There is also a nice ramp on Brannon Island State Park. Your truck and trailer would be safe there, but it would be expensive to leave it i think.
One very important word of caution. The west slope of the Sierra Nevada has a near-record snowpack that is just starting to melt. All runoff projections point to high flows well into summer, depending on how things heat up. For major parts of the Delta (a tidally-dominated freshwater estuary that supplies 15% of the state's water supply), this is no big deal, but there is talk about closing some parts due to high flows this spring. Something to keep in mind. You will be battling some impressive flows. We were going to bring our R-29CB up from San Francisco for a week at the Sacto Marina in late May, but have put this off until mid-June when flows should start coming down. But I caution, conditions can change.
One bit of good news about this high runoff year: it blew a lot of the nasty aquatic weeds, like hyacinth, out of the Delta and out the Golden Gate. Good riddance to this stuff. This will be a great summer to mess around in the Delta.
Have fun exploring 500 miles of waterways in California's best (in my opinion) cruising ground!
Jeff
