posted 07-03-2011 09:06 AM ET (US)
We decided to take cruise up the Hudson River today, so we put in at the public boat launch at Liberty State Park. The launch provides immediate access to New York Harbor, immediately adjacent to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.Our destination was Piermont, New York, a small town about 25 miles north. Piermont is just south of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
One of the first sights as you head North past the Statue of Liberty, is lower Manhattan and the new 1 World Trade Center, formerly known as The Freedom Tower. It is over 64 floors tall at this point.
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Immediately across the river is Jersey City, which has grown considerably over the past 20 years.
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At the Northern tip of Manhattan is the Henry Hudson Bridge, which crosses Spuyten Duyvil Creek and connects the Bronx to Manhattan. Just below and to the right of the bridge you can make out the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge, which Amtrak manages and trains use as they come down from Westchester County to New York.
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North of the George Washington Bridge, on the West side of the river is an area known as the Palisades, which are cliffs that rise from the river. They extend from Jersey City to Nyack, NY, about 20 miles.
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After lunch in Piermont, NY, followed by a swim to cool off, we headed back to the launch. Some other shots of the trip follow below. We travelled a total distance of 55 miles, burning 15.1 gallons of gas, as reported by the Smartcraft gauges.
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I purchased a discontinued Northstar 657 last year along with the accompanying Smartcraft gateway. The picture above illustrates just some of the data that are available through this combination.
I know many people are not fond of the Mercury Optimax, but my limited experience with this 2002 225 HP Optimax has been nothing but positive, if not loud. Other than in 2 short no wake zones, we travelled at speeds between 20 MPH and 28 MPH the entire trip. For 40 miles of the trip, we were travelling between 25 MPH and 27 MPH, with the motor running at 3150 RPMs and the motor trimmed out slightly. Conditions, outside of NY Harbor (which is always very confused chop), were calm, and we did have the benefit of slack tide heading North and an outgoing tide heading South. Still, getting 3.64 miles to the gallon is phenomenal.
With no canvas, which I have yet to install, travelling at speeds greater than 25 MPH, for sustained periods, is just too windy for the comfort of the passengers. Fortunately, the engine seems to like to run between 25 MPH and 30 MPH.
This was by far the longest trip we have taken in our boat, and we all very much like the ride and overall capabilities of the 22 foot hull. My family likes to go to new places and very much likes the ease with which this boat can be trailered and handled.
All in all, it was a great day on the water. I think we picked the right day to get out, as it is raining today. Here is a link to a slideshow of the shots. They were taken with a Sony DSC-W350, and other than 3 or 4 pictures, all were taken by me, while operating the boat, at speeds between 20 MP and 28 MPH. I was pretty amazed how well they turned out, given I was just pointing and shooting.
http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/themclos/ July%202%202011%20Hudson%20River%20Cruise/?albumview=slideshow
Dan