Houseboating in the Delta

[SacRiverRat]

Pretty much all the restaurants on the Delta fall under "hole in the wall" ... but they are usually fun and full of character. The Delta is great... There aren't many places around that you can go boarding, cruise for miles, and then stop for a burger and a mai-tai

[obski]

There aren't many places around that you can go boarding, cruise for miles, and then stop for a burger and a mai-tai

Now that sounds like the kind of fun I can get into. I'm really looking forward to this trip. Every time I've been houseboating it has been with hundreds of high school kids and very little time for any behind the boat time for myself. There has always been lots of boat driving time which is good too, but whining kids, putting in stitches, and getting little sleep isn't all that relaxing.

[lxirod]

how about that restuarant in isleton rujulios! chinese and mexican cuisine. last time i was there i ordered fried wonton appetizer and chicken tacos for dinner..

[SacRiverRat]

how about that restuarant in isleton rujulios! chinese and mexican cuisine. last time i was there i ordered fried wonton appetizer and chicken tacos for dinner..

Ah yes.. you wanna talk Isleton.. there are a few winners. and Rujulios is even more than chinese and Mexican.. it is also american & Italian!

Someone can order a burger, another some general chicken, an enchalida, and spagetti... all with chips and salsa served before the meal And as you may imagine, the quality is pretty eclectic too - but fun.

[obski]

Ah man, now you guys have got me being hungry! I love Mexican, Chinese, Cajun, etc. I just like food, except that slimy sushi stuff. I can do without that.

[lxirod]

speaking of iselton, anyone going to the crawdad festival?

[stewart]

We'll be in the vicinity.

[D-GOOSE]

I meet up with Stewart on Sat and he was the 3rd wakeboarding boat that I had seen all day 9am-2pm. There was only 5 min that I had a boarding boat around me, but then we started to surf and heading up some one of the arms. Thats when we ran into Stewart. I'll I remember was dumping all the ballast and putting down a cold one and the load eng sound was coming from around the corner. As it came fling around the bend I seen the tower and blue color of the boat. I was saying to Lenny "theres Stewart and Kim"

Let me know your plains and I'll make it a point to stop on by and say HI. Lost Isle is a fun place to just kick back.

[D-GOOSE]

speaking of iselton, anyone going to the crawdad festival?

When is that?

[Birm]

Obski,

I imagine being in a houseboat would give you some pretty decent views from the top deck, looking over the levees. In a ski/wakeboard boat you cant see over many of the levees along the sloughs. It is pretty amazing when you look at a map or overhead of all the delta water ways. When driving along the roads in the area, you don't even realize all the water that is around you.

By the way, like Stewart said, you have rivers such as the Mokelumne, Sacramento, and others that feed the Delta from the Sierras. Yes, these rivers do carry some sediment, but the important thing is that they keep the water flowing out towards the bay. Yes there are some dead end sloughs, where the water can become stagnant.....Just don't jump in that water or drink it! However, this year all the late rain and snowfall in the mountains should keep the water flowing pretty good. You are going to have a great trip!

[stewart]

speaking of iselton, anyone going to the crawdad festival?

When is that?

This weekend. Hard to access the festival by water, ie docking. Plus it will be very crowded. Kind of big party for Isleton.

[stewart]

I've decided I'm going to stop going to the delta. The air was 93'F and the water was 70'F. Must have been from all the snow pack melting and coming down the Sacramento River

Anyways, jsut no the same butter I'm use to......... This picture was taken at 1:40pm yesterday, Saturday 6/17. There are actually ripples on the water Only passed aobut 6 boats in this area including a bitchin new Black and Blue 06 VLX.

[Birm]

I've decided I'm going to stop going to the delta. The air was 93'F and the water was 70'F. Must have been from all the snow pack melting and coming down the Sacramento River

Anyways, jsut no the same butter I'm use to......... This picture was taken at 1:40pm yesterday, Saturday 6/17. There are actually ripples on the water Only passed aobut 6 boats in this area including a bitchin new Black and Blue 06 VLX.

Gotta love it!

[Pistol Pete]

Wow,

That's a pretty wide part of the Delta. I don't think I've ever seen an area that wide and nice looking. Where's the Tuellies?

[db252]

I've decided I'm going to stop going to the delta. The air was 93'F and the water was 70'F. Must have been from all the snow pack melting and coming down the Sacramento River

Anyways, jsut no the same butter I'm use to......... This picture was taken at 1:40pm yesterday, Saturday 6/17. There are actually ripples on the water Only passed aobut 6 boats in this area including a bitchin new Black and Blue 06 VLX.

Thought that would have been me you saw but I know if I saw your 247 I would have had to stop and meet you guys. Plus it was Saturday and I was out Friday......I don't do the weekends very much...6 boats is just to much for me.

[obski]

I've decided I'm going to stop going to the delta. The air was 93'F and the water was 70'F. Must have been from all the snow pack melting and coming down the Sacramento River

Anyways, jsut no the same butter I'm use to......... This picture was taken at 1:40pm yesterday, Saturday 6/17. There are actually ripples on the water Only passed aobut 6 boats in this area including a bitchin new Black and Blue 06 VLX.

Wow, looks great. This should be a fun trip.

[D-GOOSE]

When is it that your coming to the Delta?

[obski]

When is it that your coming to the Delta?

We leave Friday and pick up the houseboat on Saturday. I am getting pumped for this.

Our friends from California that will be on the boat with us are planning all of the meals. I know that at least one or two meals are planned to be at one of the restaurants in the Delta.

The weather looks to be just about perfect. It should be around 90F every day and around 60F every night. And lots of sun!

Our friends have located a slalom course to use and I'm finally getting consistent W2W jumps with the wakeboard.

We decided we would leave our boat at home and use their Nautique 206. I'll miss our boat, but look forward to a great slalom wake and not hauling the boat all the way down there.

[Big Dubya]

I had my first experience on the Delta as my bachelor party weekend.

Just me and "the boys", a houseboat, and two ski-boats....

oh, and lots of recyclables.

anyway, it was the best time i've ever had in life (no, there was none of that funny business)

just butter water to ski/board on... and a really bruised liver.

however, people boating there will NOT yield to you pulling a skier... so drive defensively.

and i'd heard a lot about Lost Isle... but it was dead that weekend

have FUN!

Edited August 3, 2006 by Big Dubya

[D-GOOSE]

The bars on the Delta loop would be your best bet. Lost Isle is not all that. Have a great time wish I could make it down to say hi.

[Birm]

When is it that your coming to the Delta?

We leave Friday and pick up the houseboat on Saturday.

Cool! You should have a great time. The water has been awesome.

[Big Dubya]

An example of what NOT to do while houseboating on the Delta:

7 years ago (exactly 7 years ago in-fact) while on said Bachelor Party Weekend... someone calls from "some slough road right next to Lost Isle" at like 3 a.m. needing to get picked up.

So, me and one other guy are the only ones awake.

No way i'm driving anything anywhere (no explanation needed)

but he's in good shape, so the two of us hop into an old Centurion and idle out from where the HB is parked (up Fourteenmile Slough) to the main deepwater channel.

Dark night.

we realize it's gonna take all weekend to get where we need to go, so he bumps it up 1 or 2 mph (read 20 or 30).

Then he says: "Can you see where we're going?"

Dark night.

I look down the channel, and see some telltale channelmarker lights

a red one on one side, a green on the other...

so, i say "just keep it between the marker lights, we should be fine"

we're moving along, and lights are getting taller and wider...

next thing...

a sound like the loudest fog-horn goes off...

and a spotlight brighter than the SUN is in our eyes

and we can see that those are not channelmarker lights we're about to shoot between...

it's a huge gravel barge running the channel at night.

we almost became certified hull inspectors right then and there!

Point of note:

channel markers are usually staggered down the channel - not directly across from each other

also, obey the night time speed laws (idle speed)

man, so lucky.

[lxirod]

well if your around paradise point i'll be on my houseboat this weekend. there is a slalom course right next to me. herman and helens is close by...

if im lucky ill get my boat back my then from the dealer so you may see a blue rlxi ..

[obski]

well if your around paradise point i'll be on my houseboat this weekend. there is a slalom course right next to me. herman and helens is close by...

if im lucky ill get my boat back my then from the dealer so you may see a blue rlxi ..

I'll watch for you. If you see us on the course, I'll be the one that looks like a hack, while my friend will be the one looking like he knows what he is doing.

[obski]

We just found out this morning that the houseboat we were supposed to be renting had a bit of a problem today. The renter ran it into some submerged pilings such that the engine is trashed at the least and perhaps the entire boat. They said it is currently on its side and in danger of sinking completely into the river. We won't be getting that boat.

We've been scrambling around this morning, but looks like we should be able to go ahead with the trip. We won't have the big fancy houseboat we wanted, but we should still be able to salvage the vacation and have a good time.

What a bummer.