A way to help others avoid hitting unseen underwater obstructions in the Delta. I am starting a thread for people to identify the areas to avoid. <BR> <BR>Our lovely incident happened on Piper Slough about 200 yards past the last house on Bethel Island. You may think staying in the middle of the channel is the best, not here stay way left towards the levee. Ruined a perfectly good prop.

the whole delta is a big obsticle.. between all the underwater posts, seaweed that gets caught up in your propeller and speedo sensor, 120 foot yachts, and idiot drivers unless you have your own secret slough, the whole delta is one big obsticle

I know we were out today and the tide was really low. Lot of spots were down to 4 and 5 feet.

Yeah..you may need an entire site just to record underwater hazards in the delta. I was lucky and was able to go out with several people and get some local insight before I started w/ my own boat there. <BR> <BR>You may want to take a gps unit out and mark the locations via gps. That would probably be the best way to communicate them?

The problem is that many of the hazards move around. I have seen big tree trunks that float just barely at the surface and they float around, moved by the tides. Other big obstacles, such as sunk boats, sit on the bottom and can move during big storms that create larger currents. <BR> <BR>You need to be very cautious when the tide is rising and approaching the highest tide in a while. Large logs get hung up in the reeds or stuck in the rocks of the levees, then sit there until a tide high enough to reach them floats them free again. <BR> <BR>Calm days are often the worst. When the wind blows most of the debris will be blown to the side, leaving the middle of the slough fairly open. When the wind doesn't blow all the tules and lilly pads float out into the middle. While they aren't any problem themselves they can hide the tree trunks and other floating hazards that are a problem. <BR> <BR>Rod

I grew up on the Delta and have been boating on it on my own for over 17 years. I have never hit a log big enough to do damage...only clumps of tules, hibiscus and the occasional, obviously waterlogged, um, log. I have friends that have hit logs and done damage, but they have less time on the water than I do by a large degree. I think experience plays in to this quite a bit. If you know where to go, where there is likely to be snags, and where the river is likely to silt up from year to year, you can avoid most of the underwater hazards. The rest is luck. Still, I'd rather hit a log on the Delta than go to Folsom and hit the ground. Rocks break your boat ALWAYS. Logs, only sometimes. ;) <BR> <BR>P.S. I used to sport a fish finder on my old boat ('98 ProStar 205, pre-tower) and it never hit anything. This is because you can see the bottom profile over time and get a better idea of what is going on below you. This tends to work better than just seeing the exact depth below you right now. It also tells you if there is a snag, which a dash depth guage won't really do. In the process of getting a new one for the new boat. <BR> <BR>Just my $0.02.

Just because you haven't hit anything doesn't mean that others haven't or wont in the future. I was on a boat a few winters ago when we hit a submerged log dead on. Prop and rudder were both killed along with a host of other damage. The limp home wasn't too fun. Also, a friend of mine recently hit a submerged object of some kind and it ripped one of his skags clean off. <BR> <BR>Both of these people have spent a TON of time on the delta. One of them lives in Disco. Experience will tell you where the sand bars are, but not where any submerged crap might be. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do sometimes...

With today's technology I was thinking it would be great to compile a database of GPS points that are close to know problem areas. So as you cruise around your GPS could alert you to an approaching problem area.

Levi - great idea with the gps <BR> <BR>Gregory - great, cheap, idea on the fish finder <BR> <BR>Jack - good idea and one I was thinking of as I was reading down the thread. <BR> <BR>guys, how do we make a product that does all 3, runs on 12 volts and is under $300 and updates maps monthly for a small fee? <BR> <BR>when do we incorporate? <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>