Carl C
08-17-2006, 12:37 PM
....Well at least part of it. Yes, my boating buds, the 22 Classic is a competent off-shore boat (with limitations of course). My 2 day Lake Huron adventure started with a laugh when the lubberly gas station attendant asked "so what does Dons-eye mean?". Once I arrived at the marina at Oscoda around noon Tuesday I had doubts about being able to run due to the high winds. But I went for it along with my buddy Brian who lives in Oscoda and who will most likely never go boating with me again! We found 2-3 foot chop which was intimidating at first but soon I found it to be not only runable but an absolute blast! My 22C turned 3' chop into mush! First we headed South toward Tawas City but conditions worsened with 3-4 footers so we turned around where things were a bit calmer. Soon I found that I could run this chop at 65-70 mph perfectly safely and that things actually smoothed out at 70 although it was a little hairy because of the unpredictable water surface. But it was doable and I did it and we were safe and this was my best boating experience yet!! We cruised up about 20 miles to Harrisville where I gassed up at the city harbor and we went back to Oscoda. Then I decided to head out into open water a ways but about 10 miles out things got pretty rough. We had 4 foot rollers which I found to be no problem as long as I took them at a right angle. 4 footers were no problem for this boat at 55 mph with a little negative trim and a little tab! Then it was time for a little break for a couple of cold ones and a very quick dip into the icy water! Then Brian noticed that the folks in a boat a ways away were frantically trying to wave us down by waving towels.
So over we went to find some guys in a Four Winns that had broken down. They could have been in big trouble if we hadn't seen them as the winds were blowing out to sea! I towed them a couple miles into the harbor not expecting any $ because they didn't look like they had much but they surprised me with $30 which I gladly accepted considering the cost of gas. We went for another quick rip and called it a day. Wednesday I went out alone and even though the wind had lessened the water conditions were about the same and this time I made the South run to Tawas city and back twice. Tawas Bay was pretty snotty but the old Donzi had no problem with it. I topped off the gas tank at the Tawas Municiple Harbor and headed back to Oscoda to chill with a couple brewskis and read my new Hot Boat magazine. I decided to do another run before calling it a day but things had deteriorated so I headed in about 4:30. This was an awesome offshore learning experience for me and my boat was up to the task. I hope I'm not boring you guys with my stories but you're my boating buds and my friends just don't care! I've been boating for 20 plus years but the Great Lakes are a whole nother animal and I'm having fun learning to read and navigate with charts and gps. That about sums up my awesome big water adventure and I can't wait to do it again! here are some pics including my ride at the "Main 'Pie' Marina" at Oscoda, me chilling with a cold one in the back seat, the Four Winns that I rescued and the lighthouse at Tawas Point.:alligator
So over we went to find some guys in a Four Winns that had broken down. They could have been in big trouble if we hadn't seen them as the winds were blowing out to sea! I towed them a couple miles into the harbor not expecting any $ because they didn't look like they had much but they surprised me with $30 which I gladly accepted considering the cost of gas. We went for another quick rip and called it a day. Wednesday I went out alone and even though the wind had lessened the water conditions were about the same and this time I made the South run to Tawas city and back twice. Tawas Bay was pretty snotty but the old Donzi had no problem with it. I topped off the gas tank at the Tawas Municiple Harbor and headed back to Oscoda to chill with a couple brewskis and read my new Hot Boat magazine. I decided to do another run before calling it a day but things had deteriorated so I headed in about 4:30. This was an awesome offshore learning experience for me and my boat was up to the task. I hope I'm not boring you guys with my stories but you're my boating buds and my friends just don't care! I've been boating for 20 plus years but the Great Lakes are a whole nother animal and I'm having fun learning to read and navigate with charts and gps. That about sums up my awesome big water adventure and I can't wait to do it again! here are some pics including my ride at the "Main 'Pie' Marina" at Oscoda, me chilling with a cold one in the back seat, the Four Winns that I rescued and the lighthouse at Tawas Point.:alligator