Navigating Gulf Shores, Alabama

[BamaBoater]

In May 2020 I purchased a 2019 170 MONTAUK that was the dealer's leftover. I live in Ohio, but frequently go to the Alabama Gulf coast. I grew up boating on Lake Cumberland in Kentucky. The waters around Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Ono Island are new to me. I am learning more every day.

Point me towards some books, some discussion threads, or whatever source where I could learn some navigation tips.

I just recently joined this site, and I am enjoying reading the threads and learning more. An improvement over one of the other sites that I joined.

[A discussion on engine accessories for trailering has been moved to its own thread. Threads are best if kept to one topic. Also, a solicitation for advice on angling has been deleted because the forum does not really discuss that topic. See my ASIDE comments below--Moderator.]

[ConB]

We live in Northern Michigan but have been spending some of the winter in Orange Beach.

Member “Jefecinco” lives down there and knows his way around. I’m sure he will respond.

Con

[jimh]

ASIDE to BAMABOATER: the website really has no focus on angling. For advice about how to improve your success at angling, you should visit a website whose focus is on recreational angling. There are many websites devoted just to recreational angling. Websites that focus on saltwater angling are probably the best for you, and particularly ones that concentrate on the Gulf of Mexico coastal regions. Also, the best way to get tips about angling in a particular location is to go out with a local angler who is skilled and willing to help you learn the hot spots and methods that produce results.

[jimh]

To improve your knowledge of small boat navigation I recommend you join the U.S. Power Squadron (USPS) and take their series of courses on navigation. The Power Squadron has many chapters around the United States. Generally anywhere there is a large population of boaters there will be a Power Squadron local chapter.

The Power Squadron offers a flight of classes in navigation, starting with the basics and advancing through three or four courses to the most complex navigation problems such as celestial navigation.

If you cannot find a USPS chapter that offers the courses, a good book for basic boating knowledge is "Chapman's Guide to Piloting and Seamanship."

You will be FAR better served taking a course or reading a respected book than you will by soliciting advice in a forum discussion about improving your navigation skills from random participants.

Boating skills really improve from experience. I have been boating since I was about seven years old. I am now 70, and I still learn something new every time I go boating.

[Jefecinco]

Boating in Coastal Alabama is a delight. I believe you will probably limit most of your boating to "inshore" waters. The inshore areas here are notoriously shallow and you can count on touching bottom a few times until you become more familiar with the area. Don't worry about it as the bottom is almost exclusively sand. I do recommend a stainless steel propeller to avoid damage. Aluminum propellers don't fare well here. If you manage to get stuck you can usually free yourself by raising the lower unit. I've had to go overboard and do some pushing a time or two.

If you have an interest in angling I recommend you purchase the local edition of the "Fishing Hotspots" charts. These chars are an excellent charts for navigating out-of-the way waters and are useful for angling.

Our area is lacking in aids to navigation so it's necessary to pay close attention to your position and course. A large screen chart plotter with electronic charrts--with a screen as large as your budget permits--is a worthwhile investment. I find the 9-inch display models version to be easy to view and read. A VHF radio should always be aboard.

I have been offshore a few time in good weather--but I keep land in sight. With a single engine I like to be easy to find if help is needed.

Don't overlook Little Lagoon for boating. There are several nice beaches in the lagoon which are very nice for picnics and fooling around in the water. The west end is my preference but the whole lagoon is worth exploring. There is only one public ramp serving the lagoon.

There is easy access to Mobile Bay via the Waterway and that is a whole other world for exploration. It also offers easy access to Dauphin Island. Fish River, Weeks Bay and the Magnolia River are also worthy destinations but are most easily reached with your trailer.

I know of only three public launch ramps on our island. The two in Orange Beach are probably the ones you will prefer. One is at Boggy point and the other at Cotton Bayou. The Cotton Bayou ramp is the most user friendly with more parking available. Gulf Shores has one public ramp. It's on the Waterway directly beneath the Hwy 59 bridge. It's the least useful ramp and has a single lane. Tidal currents and or wind can make launching there a challenge. Even experience is only slightly helpful there.

Enjoy your stay. If you have any questions let me know.

[Masbama]

I agree with Butch. The best way to learn about boating in a certain area is to get in your boat and go. Watch other boaters and keep an eye on the navigation charts.

[BamaBoater]

Thanks jefecinco and Masbama,

I am down [in Gulf Shores, Alabama] right now, but didn’t bring my boat. The docks at our condo are out of commission. We are right near Ono Island and the bridge. I had the boat out in the inshore waters three times in the summer of 2020. I am getting the hang of it.

I have brought my boat in at night in the dark, trusting my navigation system. I have located the bottom on a few occasions but at slow speeds. My wife and I really enjoy taking the boat out for dinner, and then watching the sunset from the water.

I figured on heading out to the Gulf only during calmer days, and not too far from shore. I don’t want to end up on “Bonehead Boaters of the Week."

I am think the trip to Mobile Bay and Dauphin Island is an all day trip.

We did head east to Big Lagoon and came back along the beach on the return.

I chose the Montauk 170 so that I could easily trailer it. We will be using it in Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan, as well as bringing it down here.

[Masbama]

If you want to boat on Mobile Bay and around Dauphin Island I would suggest launching at Fort Morgan if their ramps are in usable condition.

[jimh]

When we were in Orange Beach many years ago we used the launch ramp that is at the end of MARINA RD off of state highway 161. I think we launched on a Sunday. The ramp was very busy. There was no trailer parking available--all spaces already full--so Chris drove the trailer back to the condo, and I drove the boat back to the dock at the condo we rented. Then we dropped the trailer off at a storage lot we had made arrangements with for a week of storage.

I think we were staying a condominium rental at Perdido Grande in Terry Cove. We were there in late Winter or very early Spring--I missed a whole series of Stanley Cup playoff games for the Red Wings--no hockey down there on the cable TV systems.

The weather was decent for land travel, but the winds were high for several days that week were there. Our boating adventures were limited to inshore cruising. About as far West as we got was in "the ditch" going a few miles past Lulu's. We got as far East as Pensacola. We went East offshore and came back West in the Intracoastal Water Way. We went with the wind on the eastern leg. Neither the keel of the boat nor the skeg of the outboard touched bottom at any time while we were there.

We never did get to Mobile Bay by boat. We went by car, and I very much enjoyed touring the USS ALABAMA battleship and the war plane museum adjacent to the ship.

When we hauled the boat we immediately went to a car wash to give the hull and trailer a good rinse. I was very surprised by how much marine growth became attached to the unpainted hull bottom of our Boston Whaler boat in the five days it was in the water there. I had to really scrub hard to get the hull bottom clean. I wouldn't leave a boat in that water for more than a few days without anti-fouling paint. I should have more carefully rinsed the trailer after the launch. On the 1,200-mile drive back to MIchigan one trailer brakes locked up south of Dayton, the wheel and bearing got very hot, all the grease melted out, and when we stopped moving at the motel for the night, the bearing froze and locked the wheel. I had to fix it in the parking lot the next morning to get back on the road. The brakes were shot, so the last 200-miles of the trip we had no trailer brakes. We drove very carefully, even more slowly than normal, and maintained a big gap between the truck and any vehicle ahead.

It was a nice winter break, but I don't think I would tow the boat down there again for just a week's stay.

[BamaBoater]

Jimh -

Thanks for your ideas suggestions.

I live just south of Dayton. 1,200 miles is a long trip, maybe make it a couple of weeks the next time.

[Jefecinco]

I believe the Ft Morgan ramps have been recently rehabilitated. The Marina Road ramp JimH used is the Boggy Point ramp. I avoid it on weekends. The Cotton Bayou ramp is accessible from East Beach Blvd just west of Hwy 161. Orange Beach has a new traffic management system on Beach Blvd requiring a U-Turn in order to make a turn to the North or South. Locals hate it, or at least this local does. Google Maps shows everything in good detail and is worth using. Hurricane Sally rearranged many sandbars so you cant trust every detail in Maps.

There is really no good ramp on weekends during the summer season. Even during our cooler weather they can get busy especially when fishing has been productive. Offshore fishermen prefer the Boggy Point ramp for quick access to Perdido Pass and the Gulf.

The whole area around Perdido Pass is now a no wake zone. Getting from Cotton Bayou to unrestricted water is a little time consuming but is a better ramp.