Dreaming about boating…

boat-in-snowToday while I was cleaning off the snow from our boat storage tent, I unsnapped the cover and checked the inside of the boat to make sure everything was okay. We do not want any unwanted guests taking advantage of the parked boat.

While I was in the boat, I sat in the driver’s seat and thought about our first year boating with this larger boat.  We definitely had some fun cruising around the different lakes, swimming, watching the kids fish, and enjoying our time with family and friends. Then, like a lot of other boaters, I started to miss the opportunity to be back on the water. So, I decided to write about the one lake we were not able to blog about, which was our tip to Pawtuckaway Lake in Nottingham, New Hampshire.

To get to the boat launch take Route 156 southwest from Route 152 in Nottingham for one mile, then turn right onto Deerfield Road or take 156 northeast from Route 27 & 107 in Raymond for about 5.4 miles the turn left onto Deerfield Road.

Follow Deerfield Road for two miles (at 0.8 miles you will come to Flutter Street, which will take you to Route 156, about 1.1 miles will bring you to Stevens Hill Road, stay left) then turn left onto a gravel road.

Follow this road for 0.5 miles to the boat launch. (Click here for Google Maps). There is a large parking area, but it does fill up quickly. The boat launch area is relatively easy access.

Once in the water, it is about a 1.5 mile slow ride until the first area to speed pawtuckaway-lake-9-1-08dup. On this trip my sister and her two boys joined us on the ride.

Once we arrived at the first swim area, the boys, my sister and I jumped overboard. After the refreshing swim, we continued on about another mile to the main part of the lake. Once there, we cruised around the lake going over the waves while the three older boys rode in the front, wearing with big smiles. The wind was really blowing so we decided to get out of the open water and maneuver around the islands. We then made our way past Pawtuckaway State Park and pulled up to an island with a sandy area. We parked and all got out of the boat to play in the water.

pawtuckaway-lake-9-1-08gSince the wind was blowing fairly steady, the boat continued to drift away and we kept swimming after it. Good exercise! (Note to self……buy an anchor!) We then started our journey back stopping at the first spot for more swimming and fishing. As we made our way through the slow zones, our youngest son sang songs like “Mother Duck” and “ABC’s”. We eventually made it back to the boat launch, waited in line to pull the boat out and headed home.

For now I guess I will have to dream about boating and have to take up snowshoessnow shoeing or skiing until it is time to remove the boat from storage. This summer we hope to go to other lakes in New Hampshire and some in Maine. We also hope to get some sort of tube to tow behind the boat.

If you have any recommendations as to what lakes to try or different activities to do while boating, please email us at traci@themomentrepreneur.com.

Boating with kids on Merrymeeting Lake in New Durham, NH

Lucas fishing... trying to catch a big one!

Lucas fishing... trying to catch a big one!

We took our second boating trip on the Fourth of July to Merrymeeting Lake in New Durham, New Hampshire. The weather was perfect for boating; sunny with a light breeze. We found the lake’s boat landing relatively easy to find, located only a short distance off of Route 11. Once we arrived we were greeted by a NH Fish & Game volunteer educating boaters on Aquatic Nuisance Species in NH Lakes. This is an excellent program teaching boaters about the problems threatening the lakes and wildlife around the state. This was also a good opportunity for us to explain to our older son what we can do to prevent the spread of these plants.

The launch was easy to back down, but there was no dock and a lot of rocks near the shore. Once the boat was in the water, I left to park the vehicle and trailer. There seemed to be ample angled parking, but several other boaters parked parallel to the road taking up space. I had to drive a bit and find another place to park off the road and hike back.  

Merrymeeting Lake is a 1200 acre lake with a depth that varies from three feet in some areas to 120 feet in the center. There were a lot of boaters on the water, but we never felt crowded. We watched skiers, tubers and jet skis going around the lake as we enjoyed jumping off and swimming around the boat. Our kids enjoyed watching the depth finder to see the fish swim by and to see where the deepest parts of the lake were. And no, there are no sharks…kids!   

We purchased a child’s fishing pole with training lure and the kids enjoyed casting the line and reeling it back in; especially our three year old.  We also brought some toys in the boat, which would float if dropped overboard. This allowed the kids to play while we were sightseeing around the lake.

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