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10/15 - 10/29 - 2017 Snake/Columbia River C-Dory Cruise
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Two Bears



Joined: 07 Nov 2009
Posts: 296
City/Region: Orofino
State or Province: ID
C-Dory Year: 2006
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Two Bears
Photos: Two Bears
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TyBoo
Where does the "time stamp" or the "time posted" come from? I've seen times later than the time I was reading the post and I've seen posts out of order, ie a later post has an earlier time stamp than the post ahead of it in apparent chronological order. I first I thought it was the individual's computer setting the time, but I've seen east coast west coast mix also, so it does not appeart to make sense.

Chuck

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Orofino, Idaho
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Jim Gibson



Joined: 21 Feb 2006
Posts: 612
City/Region: Sacramento
State or Province: CA
C-Dory Year: 1998
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Pounder
Photos: Pounder
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kath and I just pulled into the driveway. We are happy to be home safe and sound.

The trip for us was 2,100 land miles and 495 water miles, 18 days all total - through a vast and vacant landscape. We slept on our boat last night at an RV park near Lake Shasta as they shut down Interstate 5 in both directions due to a forest fire.

It was a fantastic journey with wonderful C-Dory people, each making significant contributions. We could not have done this trip alone as it was much too big and complex.

I will post more later laying out some valuable trip details if others want to replicate our journey. It is a very worthwhile expedition cruise, obtainable on a C-Dory.

Special thanks to Floyd and Eiko (Far C'R), Bernie and Bob (Vega), Colby (Midnight Flyer), and Lewis (Cat Claw). This was a hardy group that was very competent and never cracked in any way.

Also a thanks to Mike (Tyboo) and his girlfriend Lois. Mike was a wonderful host to our group on our arrival to the PNW. We appreciate the ride from East Basin to West Basin on our boat retrieval. Finally, the crabs you gave us were a big hit. Very generous of you Mike.

We also want to acknowledge Chuck and Penny (Two Bears) who did so much upfront planning to help make this trip a success and who came out to meet us on our departure from Hells Gate State Park. We were so sorry that you both could not make the journey.

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Jim on M/V Pounder
And the C-Tales Continue
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hardee



Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 12632
City/Region: Sequim
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2005
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Sleepy-C
Photos: SleepyC
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 6:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jim, Great to know you are home safe. And hope home is safe. Seems like half of California is burning, or has, lately.

Thank you for all your hard work, planing and perseverance to make this trip possible for the rest of us. I am looking forward to your notes for future planning.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon


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Jim Gibson



Joined: 21 Feb 2006
Posts: 612
City/Region: Sacramento
State or Province: CA
C-Dory Year: 1998
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Pounder
Photos: Pounder
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 9:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Below is summarized a day by day itinerary for the Snake River/Columbia River Cruise. Some key takeaways. Plan on at least 9 water days of which 2 could be contingency wind days. The weather changes fast out there on the immense bodies of water, and wind will slow one down. It would be difficult to do this trip safely and enjoyably in less than about 9 days total on the water.

I put about 45 engine hours on my 22 foot C-Dory doing this trip. The total nautical miles measured on my GPS was about 370 Nautical Miles. Many days I kept my engine running the entire day from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. I kept my engine running in the Locks because I wanted to make sure it would start quickly when leaving!

There are good facilities throughout most of the trip. Most of the marinas are quite reasonable dollar wise. Many charged just $10 a night.

Take this trip with a fellow C-Dory friend. These are big waters and a lot can go wrong, especially in the Gorge Area of the Columbia, though we were quite lucky and had no breakdowns or incidents.

Bring good size bumpers for the Locks. The ball bumpers work particularly good in the locks. Have good mooring lines.

Take the trip one-way, down river. This gives you an extra approximately 2 NMPH over the ground. More importantly it helps with wind management.

Go in the month of October when you have the opportunity to have the wind coming from the East. Our worst day had 30 MPH winds at our backs going downstream. It was a little hairy but manageable in a C-Dory that can punch above its weight. If we were taking that kind of wind head on we would have been in a real mess.

Get a good set of hard charts such as the Evergreen Pacific River Cruising Atlas. Some legs of the two rivers were uncharted on my Navionics chart plotter.

Below Bonneville Dam it is tidal, with current, and wind. Plenty of variables to mix it up pretty fast.

Have someone along (like Colby) with good radar, AIS, and a fog hailer. It can go to near zero visibility pretty fast out there.

Our longest day was 75 NM and our shortest day was 23.5 NM. We averaged about 50 NM per day to complete the trip in 7 travel days out of 9 on the water days. We actually planned for 10 days on the water but we completed the trip one day faster than originally planned.

We usually got up about 6:00 AM each morning and left the dock at about 7:30 AM. We would usually always end our days before 3:00 PM. We always traveled in the daylight.


Day 1
Hells Gate State Park to
Lyons Ferry Marina

• 75 NM
• 2 Locks
• 20.9 Gallons
• Fuel/Showers/Electricity

Day 2/3

Lyons Ferry Marina to
Kennewick Marina

• 54 NM
• 2 Locks
• 15.0 Gallons
• Fuel/Showers/Electricity
• Used 1 of 2 wind days

Day 4/5

Kennewick Marina to
Port of Arlington

• 74.6 NM
• 1 Lock
• 21.4 Gallons
• Fuel – No Showers/Electricity
• Used 2 of 2 wind days

Day 6

Port of Arlington to
Port of Hood River

• 63.6 NM
• 2 Locks
• 17.0 Gallons
• Fuel – Showers closed for season, No Electricity


Day 7

Port of Hood River to
Port of Camas/Washou

• 42.1 NM
• 1 Lock
• 11.9 Gallons
• Fuel/Showers/Electricity

Day 8

Port of Camas/Washou to
Cathlamet

• 37.6 NM
• 0 Locks
• Fuel/Showers/Electricity

Day 9

Cathlamet to
West Basin, Astoria

• 23.5 NM
• 0 Locks
• Fuel/Showers/Electricity


The eight locks on this trip are really quite interesting and add to the enjoyment of the journey. Partially because we were a fleet of 5 vessels we never had to wait too long to transverse any of the locks. We would call ahead on the cell phone to each lock telling them we were coming in about an hour. This seemed to work well. When we got closer to the locks we talked to the Locks on VHF Channel 14.

This trip is a pretty remote excursion. It was not until we got below Bonneville Dam that we began to really see any people. There was very little small craft or even commercial traffic upstream of Bonneville.
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hardee



Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 12632
City/Region: Sequim
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2005
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Sleepy-C
Photos: SleepyC
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks again Jim. I just copied that summary and some other notes from this thread into a word file for future reference.

Thanks too to Colby for all the photos and trip updates in real time.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

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nimrod



Joined: 15 Jul 2008
Posts: 268
City/Region: Mount Vernon
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 1996
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: 'Berta's Boy
Photos: 'Berta's Boy
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 6:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great adventure! Sorry we couldn't make it.

Questions: If a person wanted to spend more time on the Snake R. leg of the trip, are there places to anchor or tie up besides Lyons Ferry? For example, near the mouth of the Palouse River or at Charbonneau Park?

jd
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hardee



Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 12632
City/Region: Sequim
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2005
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Sleepy-C
Photos: SleepyC
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 6:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know there is dock, mooring and anchorage at Chief Timothy State park, not far down river from Lewiston and have stayed there, and there are a few places to duck out of the main river, I think it is Truax Bay, and then Wawawai county park just above the Lower Granite dam. The river is pretty narrow for much of that run, maybe just 1/4 mile or so wide, with pretty steep hills on both sides. There are more "duck in" places as you get down closer to Little Goose dam. and then closer to Starbuck too. I don't remember mooring or anchoring around the Palouse confluence, but there is a state park there "Lyons Ferry" and a fair amount of protected waters, mostly busy with skiers from what I remember.There is also a Corp of Engineers park on the south side of the river above the Lower Monumental dam that had a nice protected area. Charbonneau Park, down closer to the Columbia confluence, and just above Ice harbor dam has a nice launch and mooring area that is out of the main river current.

It has been several years so things have probably changed but that may help.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

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colbysmith



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 4523
City/Region: Madison
State or Province: WI
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Traveler
Photos: C-Traveler and Midnight-Flyer
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 6:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

JD, we were making so much progress, I can't really remember, but I think there were. Just get off the main channel. As an example, there were some coves in Lewiston that I believe one could anchor or tie up. In fact, because I wanted to pick up some more cold medicine, and didn't feel like walking the 5 miles, I took my boat up the river from Hell's Gate and found a little cove with a boat ramp in Clarkston. There were a couple of spots that I could select from to beach the boat and tie it up while I walked the 3 blocks to a Walgreens. I don't know if I could have overnighted at that specific place, but I think if you look at the charts, you could find some possibilities.

Colby
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ssobol



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 3362
City/Region: SW Michigan
State or Province: MI
C-Dory Year: 2008
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: SoBELLE
Photos: SoBelle
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 7:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jim Gibson wrote:
.... I kept my engine running in the Locks because I wanted to make sure it would start quickly when leaving!
....


I thought the standard procedure was to turn motors off once you are settled in a lock to avoid the accumulation of exhaust gases. Yeah, one C-dory in a big lock is not much of a risk, but a smaller lock full of running boats (e.g. Ballard) might be a different story.
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colbysmith



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 4523
City/Region: Madison
State or Province: WI
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Traveler
Photos: C-Traveler and Midnight-Flyer
PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 8:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Technically speaking, yes, they do ask for motors off. Seemed from what I saw, I was the only one turning it off... Smile But many don't in these larger locks, and in fact on the Mississippi when things are slow, sometimes the lockmasters will let you just "float" in the middle, whereby you do need to keep your motor running. Also suppose to wear PFD's in the lock, but only one, maybe two, lock masters specifically stated to be sure we had them on. I've just gotten in the habit when going thru locks of putting it on. Too easy to fall over the gunnel while hooking up lines or just leaning over to look at something.... One other word of advice/warning, as we did have a few times where lockmasters had to say something. Be sure to stay on the lock side of the wall between it and the dam. The area in front of the damn is a restricted area where no boats are allowed. It is very easy to float into that restricted area if you are not paying attention while fendering up. And if you have other watercraft or tows coming in or out, stay off to the land side to give them plenty of room. If you've never locked through, it really is pretty simple and easy. Just read any of the advice papers put out on it, and ask the lock master if you are unsure about something. Colby
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Bluechablis



Joined: 17 Aug 2012
Posts: 171
City/Region: Redondo Beach
State or Province: CA
C-Dory Year: 2001
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Far C'r
Photos: Far C'r
PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2017 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Far C'r and Vega are back home as well. Driving back in to LA after so long in the boonies was quite a shock. This trip has been one of the highlights of our lives and the reason we all have a boat, thank you again Pounder for being the instigator and orchestrator of this adventure. Otherwise it would be quite possible that we all would have gone on dreaming about it but never doing it.

Tyboo, was really great meeting you. Eiko made the most fantastic crab salad last night and crab omelette this morning, man o man! Also it was great to meet Two Bears and Hunky Dory along the way.

My only suggestion on the trip if I was to do it again or if some one was planning is to have more time, preferably unlimited time to truly explore the river.

I am going to start working on a video soon and will be posting a link for people to contribute or share photos and videos within a couple of days.

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Far C'r - 2001 Cdory 22
Bluechablis - 1992 NorSea 27
Quarter Note - 1972 Cris Craft Sloop
Palantir - 1971 31 Mariner Ketch (Far Seer in Elvish)
Aphrodite - 42 Ft Schooner Jay Benford Design
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colbysmith



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 4523
City/Region: Madison
State or Province: WI
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Traveler
Photos: C-Traveler and Midnight-Flyer
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 9:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some photos of me driving home along I-5 I assume near Portland? Thanks Ordutch1975. Colby



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Ordutch1975



Joined: 06 Jun 2017
Posts: 255
City/Region: Portland
State or Province: OR
Vessel Name: Boatless :-(
Photos: PennyBridge
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks go to my buddy Xevin (alias on vw samba forum) who lovingly refers to my boat as the vw bus of the sea Smile
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"And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came. " -JFK
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hardee



Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 12632
City/Region: Sequim
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2005
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Sleepy-C
Photos: SleepyC
PostPosted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 1:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
".... the vw bus of the sea Smile


Harald, your buddy is not the first to recognize the C-Dory for what they are.

AKA the Sea Going Jeep, the Boating Beetle, and Home on the Waves are some of the other terms I have heard over the years.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

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colbysmith



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 4523
City/Region: Madison
State or Province: WI
C-Dory Year: 2009
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: C-Traveler
Photos: C-Traveler and Midnight-Flyer
PostPosted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 12:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Found the perfect place for the little brass medallion Bernie's wife made for all of us. Upper Cabinet shelf door in the cabin! Very Happy

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