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Vic Smith

On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:24:00 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

A few weeks ago, I was up in N. Illinois on the so-called Chain of
Lakes boating with my brother in law and I got a good look at the
boats there. Most of em had what I consider to be deep V hulls which
would limit the area of the lakes accessible to them and reduce the
fuel economy. They do not get large swells there so running in heavy
chop is not an issue. Wouldnt a shallow V be better for such
conditions? A shallow V would allow them to more than double the
parts of the lakes they can go in without hitting bottom and get em up
on a plane faster for better economy.

Though I can't speak to any individual's reason for their boat choice
(Tim had a good reason given Lake Michigan is close by), I can tell
you what they do with boats on the Chain.
1. Hardly anybody fishes there. If anybody from the area is reading
and disagrees, tell me about.
2. They load the boat with beer. drinks, food, water skis, and
basically circle around in Lake Marie, sometimes hitting and drowning
or chopping up one another.
3. Depending on draft, the deep-V shouldn't be a problem on Lake
Marie and Bluff lake. Last time I was there any water under about 2
1/2 feet was pretty well marked with buoys. Petite Lake also can
provide water under the boat, but is smaller. Don't know much about
Grass and Fox lakes.
4. Plenty ignore the buoys as the liquor takes over.
5. There are plenty of decent, safe boaters there who bought
lakefront homes. Sadly, they probably don't boat much or really
pick their time carefully.

I basically grew up there as a kid, and watched it change from a quiet
fishing area to a confused mess of skiers and drunks.
Much of the mess is caused by a few mairinas who cater to the
high-power boaters and provide them all the liquor they want at the
same time. The Sandbar on Lake Marie is an example.
I caution that I haven't been there in at least 20 years, but I
haven't heard it's changed since then, just gotten more congested
with more boats whacking each other.
The Chain just can't handle that traffic.
Here's a question for you, Mr O. (wasn't sure how to spell it right)
What did you think of the area? Be blunt.
Reason I ask is I'm very seriously thinking of coming down there, but
south toward Hollywood or Punta Gorda, and you can give a good
comparison of the areas for boating/fishing. I know you're in the
panhandle, but as a native Floridian you probably have a good handle
on it.

--Vic

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