Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Anyone taken their toon on an extended tour down Fla. rivers ? I need some first hand info on ones that are scenic and safe to navigate.

Look at running the St. Johns River from Jacksonville to Sanford. Make sure you stop at Silver Glen-

You don't say where your near, Kissimissee river you can take to Lake Okeechbee

I'm in Inverness / citrus county which is west central but willing to travel within the state.I've already transversed from Lake Ok. to Lake Kissimmee sometime,5 days and 4 nights on the water.It was qreat !

I,ll put St. Johns on my list , thanks.

You can put it at Sanford and go to Jacksonville, They use to be a group of older boats that done every year and you could choose the north trip or the south trip, then you would drop your boat at Sanford or Jacksonville then drive your tow rig to the other end where they had a bus to take you back to your boat, and they make it a four day trip with cookouts every night.

We need to set up a pontoon trip like that

Yeah, that would be fun no doubt. I'm taking the summer to finish my boat,mostly inside stuff but when the weather starts to cool I'll definitely be on the rivers.Maybe we could set something up.

Sunnyland Antique Boat club does have a St. Johns River Run from Jacksonville to Sanford the third week of March before and after the antique boat show.

They overnight in Palatka and Astor. The river is a hidden gem for boaters-old Florida. We could organize a fun pontoon run- maybe with the old boats in March.

HandymanHerb wrote:We need to set up a pontoon trip like that

If a trip was ever planned that included overnighting where rooms were available, I think the little woman would be up for it. I can offer her free internet on the boat, but a king size bed and shower is an entirely different matter.

Now, if she approves it as a official "man-cation" and stays home, I'm totally good for camping. I'd love to cruise some beautiful Florida rivers.

They stayed at two hotels, and I think there is cabins you can get on the river too, maybe we need to check to see if they have room in the group because they already have security ,transportation and food set up.

Or even if we set it up to go from Sanford to Astor, spend the night and head back making it a two day trip with plenty of time to look around, I'm up for either trip, even if it's only a few of us

zoom650 wrote:

HandymanHerb wrote:We need to set up a pontoon trip like that

If a trip was ever planned that included overnighting where rooms were available, I think the little woman would be up for it. I can offer her free internet on the boat, but a king size bed and shower is an entirely different matter.

Now, if she approves it as a official "man-cation" and stays home, I'm totally good for camping. I'd love to cruise some beautiful Florida rivers.

A good GA-FL round trip; my best friend and I did this two years ago, on my pontoon... Next time, wives/children will go with...

Put in at Florence Marina State Park, above Lake Eufaula. The park rangers will allow you to leave your tow vehicle/boat trailer within the area of the park that gets locked each night.

Spend the day navigating into and through Lake Eufaula. Bass fishing is great; but so is just sitting back with your favorite cold beverage while cruising.

Spend the night in the hotel at Bagby State Park, near the dam. Bagby Park's marina fuel pump is open 24/7, and accepts cards. The rooms at the hotel are simple, yet clean. Next door to the hotel is the restaurant. Great buffet meals for decent prices.

The next morning, head over to the dam, and lock-thru. If you've never done that before, be ready for a treat. When complete, you'll know the view that a casket has, as it is lowered into the ground! The lock at the bottom of Eufaula is the highest lock east of the mississippi river, 'they' say.

After locking through, you can cruise on down the river, a few hours, then pass through another lock... then, a few hours later, you'll be entering Lake Seminole... at the top of lake seminole is Trails End Marina, where there's gas, rental cabins, and rental houseboats - essentially floating single wide trailers to rent...

Stay there a few days, or continue on to Spring Creek Marina - another decent place to stay on Seminole.

If you've got a LOT of time on your hands, pass through the lock on Seminole, and travel to Appalachicola.
Here's the problem with the locks... Recreational craft can only pass through, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, 8am -3pm... seems rather generous, but when on a long 'road trip' with the boat, it really limits what you can do...

You want more details, drop me a message.... I can talk for hours on this 7 day long trip we made...

Where's the

Hey,great video ! Yeap, you have convinced me a St. Johns trip is definitely on the agenda it's one heck of a river.Of course my boat is a just a little bit humbler than the one in the video [lol] . I will certainly have to get busy and finish up the insides.I have two 12 gal tanks of fuel with a 90 hp suzuki df, will that suffice between marinas ?