Tweet
People seemed to like these trip report posts I did last year so wanted to share a bit from my first trip to the wakeboard mecca that is Lake Powell.
Fast facts:
Trailering: I was nervous about the 600 mile (each way) tow given the mountain passes + hot desert. I use a 2004 V8 4Runner which had recently blown two power steering pumps and a MAF sensor. But fortunately I got all of the kinks worked out in advance, greased everything up, checked my temps regularly via IR thermometer, and had no issues. Towed cover-on to use the floor of the boat for more gear storage. Averaged about 9 mpg.
Reliability: My boat was the oldest of the bunch, but out of the 3 wake boats and 2 jet skis, my 2004 SAN 210 was the only one that didn't have an issue.
Fuel economy: Despite only having a 39 gallon tank, my boat had plenty of gas to spare after a long day trip up to Rainbow Bridge and back. The Tige that did the trip with me came back at 1% fuel. Same-ish # of passengers.
What went wrong:
Fuel gauge: My fuel gauge likes to read E + "Low Fuel" about 50% of the time under normal operation (does anyone know if this is an easy fix...?). The other half of the time it works normally. So I have learned to ignore it. But after "fueling" the boat up on the last day, I ran out of gas as I coasted into Antelope Marina to come home. Turns out the houseboat main aux tank was empty so the pump was just pushing air into my boat (no gauge on the pump to show how much has flowed). I was lucky to not run out of gas 2 minutes earlier, where on Labor Day Saturday, the canyon was a washing machine of 2-3' rollers in every direction that may have swamped my powerless boat.
Towing behind the houseboat: Learned the hard way that a Figure 8 is not a wet knot. Always use a bowline.
Pics below! Also started a YouTube channel to document some of these trips, if you prefer that format
Video of the journey to Powell - https://youtu.be/XNZ5I2GbDlA?si=KFDJuDMhx2DduLbA
Vlog style edit of the week Powell - https://youtu.be/RYy4tCDwQQ8?si=1mluOz2HyL5CaqEe
Fast facts:
- 1200 miles towing round trip (including two 10,000+ ft elevation mountain passes)
- 7 days / 7 nights on Powell
- 18 people
- Air temps: 90s day / upper 60s at night
- Water temp: ~80F
- 18 engine hours put on the boat (up to 888 total)
- Max depth seen: 425 ft
- 0 break downs*
- 0 injuries
Trailering: I was nervous about the 600 mile (each way) tow given the mountain passes + hot desert. I use a 2004 V8 4Runner which had recently blown two power steering pumps and a MAF sensor. But fortunately I got all of the kinks worked out in advance, greased everything up, checked my temps regularly via IR thermometer, and had no issues. Towed cover-on to use the floor of the boat for more gear storage. Averaged about 9 mpg.
Reliability: My boat was the oldest of the bunch, but out of the 3 wake boats and 2 jet skis, my 2004 SAN 210 was the only one that didn't have an issue.
Fuel economy: Despite only having a 39 gallon tank, my boat had plenty of gas to spare after a long day trip up to Rainbow Bridge and back. The Tige that did the trip with me came back at 1% fuel. Same-ish # of passengers.
What went wrong:
Fuel gauge: My fuel gauge likes to read E + "Low Fuel" about 50% of the time under normal operation (does anyone know if this is an easy fix...?). The other half of the time it works normally. So I have learned to ignore it. But after "fueling" the boat up on the last day, I ran out of gas as I coasted into Antelope Marina to come home. Turns out the houseboat main aux tank was empty so the pump was just pushing air into my boat (no gauge on the pump to show how much has flowed). I was lucky to not run out of gas 2 minutes earlier, where on Labor Day Saturday, the canyon was a washing machine of 2-3' rollers in every direction that may have swamped my powerless boat.
Towing behind the houseboat: Learned the hard way that a Figure 8 is not a wet knot. Always use a bowline.
Pics below! Also started a YouTube channel to document some of these trips, if you prefer that format
Video of the journey to Powell - https://youtu.be/XNZ5I2GbDlA?si=KFDJuDMhx2DduLbA
Vlog style edit of the week Powell - https://youtu.be/RYy4tCDwQQ8?si=1mluOz2HyL5CaqEe
My issues would be:
Comment