Washington 1/2 loop

[Uboatcdr]

Has any Tug nut ever thought of launching your boat at Grand Coulee and cruise down the Columbia river to the mouth, turn right up the coast, turn right again into the Strait of Juan de Fuca then back down to your home port? I wonder how long a trip like that would take. I think you could do it in two weeks with stops in the Tri cities, Cascade lochs, Portland and Astoria. It would be a great shake down cruise.

 

[JamesTXSD]

Do you have experience in running off-shore on the Pacific Coast?

 

[Uboatcdr]

Yes I do. I have fished anywhere from 1 to 60 miles off shore. Have to pick your weather and be willing to call it if conditions are not in your favor.

 

[Gin]

Can you carry enough fuel for the off-shore stretch?

 

[Spinner]

How do you plan to get around the dams?

 

[Two killicks]

How do you plan to get around the dams?

I was going to ask the same question, is there a service provided for a boat to go around somehow?

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

I've only been as far up the Columbia River as Cascade Lock so I have no first hand info for further up river then that. With that said almost all Dams have a Lock for locking thru with you boat, as in the Bonneville Lock and Dam. To find out more info on Locks, Dams, marinas, anchorages and hazards I use http://www.activecaptain.com. Active Captain is a free service and once you sign up click onto the icon at the top called "Live Map". Once at live maps move the map to your desired location, say the Columbia River. Zoom into an area of interest, say the Bonneville Lock and Dam. Open that by clicking onto its reference number and you'll see a wealth of information. In this case you see that they do have a lock, what its hours are and how to get ahold of them, etc. Hope this helps,

Jim F

 

[Lobo]

I can give you a bit of an idea. I've done one trip from Port Angeles to Astoria, and one from Astoria to Victoria. Both trips on the same boat, a 38' Liverpool built trawler that plods along around 8 knots.

First trip, down: Left Port Angeles around 1900 hours, arrived and anchored in Neah Bay around 0100 hours. Left Neah Bay late morning and arrived in Astoria the following day around 1400 hours. Weather was calm for this trip. At Columbia River Bar the swells were somewhere north of 15' feet. We had a car carrying freighter behind us. Interesting. The channel out of Astoria and the bar is dredged, it goes about 13 miles south west, and this is where you enter or exit the channel.

Second trip, up: Left Astoria around noon. Radio reported Bar closed to vessels 30' and under. Swells north of 25', good winds, we plodded along. Had to do the 13 miles of course, before we could head north. Did that and motored all day in reasonably crappy weather and around 1800 hours pulled into Westport for the evening. Left 0900 next morning and entered Neah Bay around 2200 hours. Left Neah at 0900 and arrived in Victoria Harbour around 1400 hours. Weather and sea conditions from Westport to Victoria calm with fog.

Both trips were done around Labour Day; the down a week after and the up a week before.

Would I do it in a Ranger Tug? No way, not enough gas stations or bolt holes. The boat I was on was designed for the North Sea, was around 20 tons, had two diesel engines and lots of fuel.

I will probably guide the rest of my life with "NEVER AGAIN" when thinking of crossing the Columbia River Bar.

I would love to do the Columbia River as far as Astoria. Lots of marinas and services there.

Dave
LOBO

 

[Uboatcdr]

As Dave suggest, Astoria my be the end of the line as not sure how far it is from Westport to La push. Those are the last places to get fuel it looks like. The cruise down the river is doable as there are lochs to get below the Dams. Would be fun in the summer. Now just need to get a bigger boat.

 

[Lenny and Louise]

I have been studying the possibility of going up river from Portland to the Snake river at Kennewick, thence up the Snake to Lewiston, Idaho. That is the end of commercial navigation. Tidewater Tugs used to carry barges with containers between Lewiston and Portland until the Portland container operations pretty much died. Well, we are tug boats, yes?

Active Captain, as others noted, is a good resource and has a seemless interface with Garmin Homeport, once you have joined.

The Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, has information on their web site concerning all the locks along this route, including the ones upstream of their jurisdiction. (I think it is Walla Walla District on the Snake.)

The limiting factor is fuel. I haven't located a marina with diesel on the Snake. A full tank at Kennewick would get us to Lewiston, and halfway back down. I can't find an oar that fits Louise's hand. I may try to find a way of getting fuel from a truck at the upper end. The other option is to trailer to Lewiston (or Clarkston on the WA side of the Snake) and make the trip down. I would then need to rent a car to rescue the truck and trailer.

 

[jcarrdive]

HI- I have often thought of doing that trip (just the downstream leg from Clarkston to Astoria).
The dams are not a huge deal. Barge and boat traffic go through all the time. The biggest deal for me is wind. At night it often calms down, but you are probably thinking of doing this in the daytime for the views, so wind will be a major concern. It can blow like there is no tomorrow up the Gorge on any given day. If I had any recommendation, and I am sure this goes without saying, it would be "don't have a rigid schedule and be prepared to wait out the wind".

I've been across the Columbia River Bar about 150 times though not in a Ranger Tug. The bar can be nasty, but it can also be quite easy. Each day is different. In a small boat, you just need to wait for the right conditions going out, and coming in, be sure you get it right (and don't wait to make your entry plans at the last minute in bad weather).
Let me know if you are going! I would love to hear about the plans!

For trailer retrieval, Greyhound Bus goes to Lewiston. Grab a good book and a sack lunch/dinner and let someone else drive. It is a very economical way to get your truck and trailer back. Some of the busses have WIFI now!
Jeff and Ela
Bobolink

 

[dkoivu]

Bobolink,
I've have done that trip in the year of 2000, Sept 2 - 13th. The reason for that particular date was suggested via a tug captain that lives near me. He suggested that this is a better time for less winds. I buddy-bloated with another boat but he didn't understand early morning cruising until Hood River where he took on water through his v-berth hatch. This made him an early morning cruiser. The whole run of 407 miles was very pleasant other than one day of a late start. It is a very enjoyable trip and I feel that would be a good time of year for the weather is still doable and there are a lot of beautiful parks with moorage along the way. Hope this helps. The idea of using greyhound to retrieve your tow rig sounds great. By the way, we launched at Hells Gate Marina. Nice place.
Dave