Another way to Havasu......

[gcarter]

Laine and I had a couple of Southwest Airlines tickets that were about to expire so we decided to spend a week in Vegas w/my brother-in-law.
Today we took the jet boat from Laughlin to Havasu city.
If you're stuck in Vegas and want to get out and do something, this is it.
Drive to Laughlin and jump on the jet boat to London Bridge!:yes:
The route down the river is about 60 miles. The boat, and they have more than one, is an aluminum 40 footer X 11', with about 11* deadrise and is powered by a Mann V-10 turbo Diesel developing 900 HP and driving a 14" Hamilton pump through a transmission it seemed. It maneuvered very well and went very well in reverse. The boats seemed to seat about 40 and cruised at about 40-45 MPH. Not bad at all. Oh yeah, on plane, it draws about 9" of water.
We left from the Frontier Casino at 10:00 AM, docked in Havasu at about 11: 40 which included a couple of no wake zones and brief photo stops.
We had 2 hours in Havasu for lunch and we were back in Laughlin by 3:30 PM.
Here's a few pics.

[gcarter]

Lake havasu is really pretty dissapointing for a lake.
I guess if you don't have anything else it has to do. But there's a lot better, even in the West.
Here's a picture of our boat.
Again the trip is really worth the time and effort.

http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=46957&d=1244698283

[boxy]

Lake havasu is really pretty dissapointing for a lake.

George, those were the first scenic pics of Havasu I've seen, that involved scenery ..... :D :D

[olredalert]

------That looks like a lot of fun, George. Im sure you needed a few days off too. Next time in Vegas Jan and I are going jetting for sure........Bill S

[Last Tango]

After living there for 10 years, my son and his family finally had enough and move to Phoenix this month.
The big deal is on the weekends when all the out-of-towners come there. And it is a fascinating place to boat watch. It is the epicenter of high performance boating in the Southwest.

George, if you had only walked up the hill a tiny bit past the main road, you could have walked right into and toured such places as Nordic Boats, Barracuda Boats, Cheetah, Domn8er, Cobalt, HTM2, Magic, and the Slide Anchor company, all of whom build their boats there. Several more were there as of last year, but have closed due to the economy. Also, Hot Boats Magazine maintains a small office there for their testing crews (and models), and they are always good for a free magazine and a free T-shirt. I have run into Bob Teague more than once there.

However, you are still right in stating it is a disappointment. It is in the middle of NOWHERE in the hilly hot desert, and outside the city limits the only inhabitants are the Gila Monsters and Tarantulas (and that Burrow). But it is the only and last major fresh water pond between Las Vegas and the Pacific Ocean on the Colorado River. So folks still come there.

[gcarter]

I didn't ask about packing a bag and spending the night, but I'm sure they would be amenable to the idea, if there were'nt any issues w/crowding.
It is a fun way to get to "The Middle of Nowhere", like Mark mentioned.

[mrfixxall]

Lake havasu is really pretty dissapointing for a lake.
I guess if you don't have anything else it has to do. But there's a lot better, even in the West.
Here's a picture of our boat.
Again the trip is really worth the time and effort.

http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=46957&d=1244698283


Its tiny, you could almost jump across it..i was their in o7 and had a great time tho!!!!It could be 110 degrees outside but the water is a chilling 68 degrees..

[fegettes]

Lake havasu is really pretty dissapointing for a lake.

I was impressed the times that I have been there. You are right the lake is way out in desert nowhere, but to be able to cruise through the desert in your boat was entertaining to me. And then there is the Sandbar and the London Bridge channel where the scenery changes to Boats and Babes, or is it Babes and Boats? Either way, they had some killer boats out there. I took the Blackhawk out there a couple of times and as healthy as it is, there were much bigger 80-90 MPH Deck boats that packed a lot more power and sounded awesome.

The times that we have stayed there, we stayed in Laughlin at the River Palms Casino for like $17/night, and the views were incredible from the room looking out across the desert. And the early morning odors of the desert were incredible too.

Steve

[show-n-go h2o]

From the shows i watched on tv it doesn't seem like you can have much fun there without getting arrested. Is that how it really is? I've toyed with the idea of making the trip out there with my boat but that's a long way to go if the water patrol is really that bad.

[fegettes]

From the shows i watched on tv it doesn't seem like you can have much fun there without getting arrested. Is that how it really is? I've toyed with the idea of making the trip out there with my boat but that's a long way to go if the water patrol is really that bad.

I never saw the water patrol. But then I targeted weekdays instead of the weekends to avoid the craziness that I have heard so much about. Even the weekdays had an above average water entertainment.

[p729lws]

Its tiny, you could almost jump across it..i was their in o7 and had a great time tho!!!!It could be 110 degrees outside but the water is a chilling 68 degrees..


Nice!