www.iFourWinns.com

We have spent the last 10 days on the Torch lake chain of lakes with the boat having a blast. Pictures will be coming. Many of you have said Charlevoix is very nice, and since it is only 23 miles from where we are staying, we are going to take the boat up there Tuesday.

Suggestions on what to see, and where to eat ?? Any spots to avoid ?? Have already changed a prop after finding a rock this week.

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1994 235 Sundowner w/351 Ford

Charlevoix is great.

Launch at the Ironton state launch, go down the south arm and look at all the nice houses and boats. Swim, tube, whatever as the south arm is typically a lot calmer than the main lake.

Go out on the main lake, and depending on what you want to do, you can head East to Boyne City. It is a nice little town with a few shops and stuff right accross from the marina. I think there are some docks that are for short term use available that you can tie up to in the marina.

Then you must go out to the West end and Round Lake. Tour the lake, look at all the amazing houses and boats. Then head out the channel to the big lake.

That is a full day right there.

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Current Operational Boats:
'04-Four Winns 180 Freedom 150 HP Evinrude
'72-Chris Craft Commander 31 Sedan Twin-350Qs

I'm not sure if you have seen this:

http://www.fishweb.com/maps/charlevoix/ ... index.html

A good map with details of the different areas.

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Current Operational Boats:
'04-Four Winns 180 Freedom 150 HP Evinrude
'72-Chris Craft Commander 31 Sedan Twin-350Qs

+1 to launch at ironton. That's a good central location. Plenty of boating to do on Lake Charlevoix. IMO, I'm not a fan of East Jordan area. Boyne City has a nice marina and downtown area. Young State park is nearby to hang out at. Of course touring around Round Lake at Lake Charelvoix and heading out to the big lake is a must. Note that Venetian Festival is going on in Charlevoix now through the 28th,http://www.venetianfestival.com/ so there will be lots going on there. In Charlevoix, you can try the Weathervane. I don't know if they have informal or formal dining though. You should have some nice boating on Lake Charlevoix.

Too bad I haven't been around...it would have been great to catch up and have a beer on the sandbar. I haven't seen my boat in over 10 days though I should be out at the end of this week though.

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'99 Horizon 200

I use the Ironton launch as well.

Check out The Landing restaurant in Ironton for on the water dining. Both Charlevoix and Boyne city have shoppers docks you can tie off at and walk to any restaurant in town.

In Charlevoix I like http://www.thevillagerpub.com/, http://whitneysofcharlevoix.com/, and the Townhouse Bar if your just looking for a drink.

In Boyne City check out Red Mesa for Mexican, and Boyne River Inn for burgers and fish.

As for the Lake, Young State Park has a great beach you can anchor off of. Also Oyster Bay on the north end is a popular spot to anchor and swim.

If you take the boat out into lake Michigan stay far away from the beach north of the pier. There are a LOT of rocks up there.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

Thanks for all the info, can't wait to check out the sights and homes, wife and girls will love the shopping idea, I just want a place that serves cold beer. I will stay away from the North side if we go out into the big lake. Sounds like 2-3' on the big lake, so may not spend much time there. Already found a rock in Torch and had to swap out props again !!!

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1994 235 Sundowner w/351 Ford

Where was the rock(approximately) ?? I'll be there in September and want to avoid that type of mishap if possible.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Rock (s ) are on the south ( right ) side as we were pulling into the channel going from Torch into Clam lake by Dockside Restaurant. I was too far right as there were boats moored at the restaurant, and a bunch of them coming out of Clam to Torch. Should have stayed closer to the left side and not given boats coming out so much room. Also would have helped to put up sterndrive

http://maps.google.com/?ll=44.940927,-8 ... 5&t=h&z=15

BTW you will see a ton of Four Winns boats on this chain of lakes. I'm sure it's because factory was close by. Pretty much have seen every color, make and year of Four Winns including the originals that were "4 Winns". Have spread the word about the forum to those I talked with.

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1994 235 Sundowner w/351 Ford

Thanks for the tip ! I see now what you mean if their are alot of boats tied up or boat traffic out to Torch.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

I was wondering where you hit the rock too...it's not very common to hit rocks on torch since most of the lake is greater than 250' deep. you do have to be careful right there at the clam lake entrance. Like you said, you just have to pass other boats fairly close. when you are enter torch lake from torch river, be careful coming out from under the bridge as well. make sure to 'push' in coming boats towards the launch a little. Also, be very careful of logs on the river and heading into skegamog. Watch the water and your depth finder as you pull into the rivers and shorelines as it goes from deep to shallow quickly. If you're going through there the first time or two, try to follow some other boats if at all possible. You can mostly figure out where to go, but even with very good knowledge of the river that I have, I've still hit 2 logs. The north end of elk lake has the same issue as well. Just try to pay attention to where the other boats are going and you'll be fine. If you happen to wreck a prop, my marina (torch river marina) has some aluminum ones for not too bad of a price. Hit me up if you have any questions cap'n. It's not likely that I'll be out boating in september The kids are in full on cross country mode by then so no time left for the boat.

Edit, sorry to hijack a little here.

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'99 Horizon 200

Thanks for the tips. I really appreciate it. I am usually pretty careful when approaching channels, rivers and anywhere near the shore, but this is all unfamiliar territory for me. Exploring new area's is the main reason we got out of the cruiser lifestyle (as well as cost) so sometimes exploring comes at a cost. I have never dinged a prop in 18 years, but I think I should have a spare on board for this trip just in case.

Thanks again for all the great info.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

The whole pier side had boats moored, plus toss in some big boats coming out and the marina gas stop at Butch's that you can't see on the right in your pics and it was crazy. I will say this was just on saturday, and in part because of the old boat show going on.

DeWitt marina just inside Clam has CHEAPER gas than Butch's, plus cute girls who pump it for you !!

Food is good bar food and very reasonable at Dockside, so worth a trip. If you head into Clam Lake you will see quite a few Four Winns, and also a number of classic wood boats as well. Will post pics when we get home.

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1994 235 Sundowner w/351 Ford

Did you make it to Charlevoix?

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

Did make it to Charlevoix but it took some time to get there. It is 25 miles north of where we were docked at DeWitt Marina on Clam Lake. Left Schuss Mountain area where we were staying the 2nd week and almost at marina when I realized I had forgotten my wallet. Turned around to get that. Then got back to marina, pulled boat out of the water and realized it was not all the way up on the trailer, mayby another 4 inches needed. Proceeded to start cranking away when the strap broke ! Thank heavens the marina had a replacement. Would have really sucked to have this happen at Ironton or worse yet while I was towing the boat !!!!! So instead of a 45 minute trip up, total time was over 2 hours.

Round lake is worth the trip, just make sure you go slow and don't run into any of the multi million dollar yachts or boat houses.

Will post some pictures as it was a wonderful trip and well worth the time. Lake Michigan was a little smother than Charlevoix which suprised me. Also don't mess with the sand bars you see, assume they are all shallow so go slow over them. Water is like Torch in that it can go from 50' deep to 3' deep in a couple boat lengths.

Overall, we did Elk Lake, Skegemog Lake, Torch Lake, Clam Lake, Lake Bellaire, Lake Charlevoix, Round Lake and Lake Michigan during our 12 days up there.

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1994 235 Sundowner w/351 Ford

The All Stars of NW Michigan. Sounds like an awesome vacation.

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Current Operational Boats:
'04-Four Winns 180 Freedom 150 HP Evinrude
'72-Chris Craft Commander 31 Sedan Twin-350Qs