Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post - Renting a boat for a day to explore. Tips?

Descant · 08-03-2016, 11:02 PM

In the original thread, I think you mentioned larger islands: Bear, Rattlesnake and Cow? If that's correct, then that crosses a lot of home port (martinas) off the list of places you want to start from. On a huge island like Bear, there are several home ports depending on which end of the island you might be interested in. Are there any camps for sale there? The idea of asking a Realtor early in the process applies here too. Let your Realtor help plan your route. If you're going to go slow and look at camps, docks, water depth, solar orientation, topography, etc. you could spend most of a day just on one island, allowing time to transit in both directions.

The Sophie C and other tour boats suggestion is superb. But the Sophie doesn't go near Cow or Rattlesnake. She'll give you a great view of Bear and many of the (smaller) Gilford Islands. Did I read somewhere that you have small children? 6-8 hours on a small boat can be a long time, and for all crew members you may need a relief stop even if you don't go to a restaurant for lunch. I've been on the lake all my life, and I still enjoy a ride on the Mount Washington. Check her schedule. You can ride, stop for awhile and get back on for her second tour to take you back to the starting point. Lunch and potty on board. Highly recommend.

The suggestion about going after Labor Day may allow you to negotiate a better rental rate. After Labor Day, weekends are a lot less busy too.

08-03-2016, 11:02 PM	#13
Descant Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Merrimack and Welch Island Posts: 4,597 Thanks: 1,418 Thanked 1,705 Times in 1,109 Posts	Which islands? In the original thread, I think you mentioned larger islands: Bear, Rattlesnake and Cow? If that's correct, then that crosses a lot of home port (martinas) off the list of places you want to start from. On a huge island like Bear, there are several home ports depending on which end of the island you might be interested in. Are there any camps for sale there? The idea of asking a Realtor early in the process applies here too. Let your Realtor help plan your route. If you're going to go slow and look at camps, docks, water depth, solar orientation, topography, etc. you could spend most of a day just on one island, allowing time to transit in both directions. The Sophie C and other tour boats suggestion is superb. But the Sophie doesn't go near Cow or Rattlesnake. She'll give you a great view of Bear and many of the (smaller) Gilford Islands. Did I read somewhere that you have small children? 6-8 hours on a small boat can be a long time, and for all crew members you may need a relief stop even if you don't go to a restaurant for lunch. I've been on the lake all my life, and I still enjoy a ride on the Mount Washington. Check her schedule. You can ride, stop for awhile and get back on for her second tour to take you back to the starting point. Lunch and potty on board. Highly recommend. The suggestion about going after Labor Day may allow you to negotiate a better rental rate. After Labor Day, weekends are a lot less busy too.