Any sympathy for a boater with a baby?
 

Hi All -

So we had our first child a few months ago and are trying to think through the ramification of boating with baby. The threads on this topic have been incredibly helpful and I think we've got of the mechanics figured out. The one question we've still got is where is the best place to anchor with a baby? My wife is not terribly keen on us using any of our regular spots because they are all in 10+ feet of water and she wants something much more shallow in case we want to take the baby into the water with us.

I know we are all hesitant to share our favorite spots in the public forum but might anyone have any sympathy for a new dad and PM me some ideas? :)

We are based in Meredith bay so the closer we can stay to home the better. The anchorages don't need sandy bottoms but safe, shallow and protected would be awesome!

Anything you might be willing to share would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thanks

Congratulations on your new born!

We were in the same boat (no pun intended) six years ago, our son was born in April. So we were dealing with a 2-3 month old when we started coming back to the lake regularly. It was an easy transition as newborns sleep alot and I think the motion of the boat set him at ease.

Two of our favorite places were Blueberry Island (north end of lake) adjacent to Black Cat Island, there is a shallow area with a sandy bottom. The other was the south end of Bear Island near Camp Lawrence, the area across from Mark Island is great as it gets the afternoon sun. :coolsm:

We loved the Bear Island area so much we ended up buying a place there. :D

Hope this helps.
FYI, this year will be easy, wait until he/she can move around! :laugh:

sandy shallow spot
 

sandy shallow quite spot due west of blackcat bridge. Watch the rocks, follow suggested entrance/exit.

Pretty close to you.

There are many places. As you cruise around and see the 'gatherings' make note of where people are standing in the water near their boats. Southeast side of Governor's Island bridge, Braun Bay, just off the cemetary on Paugus Bay near Blackstone's. These are just a few that come to mind right away.

I took my daughter when she was an infant to the sandbar in w.alton and to Braun Bay.To this day you can't get her out of the water or from asking every minute once ice out is declared"can we go to the lake?" enjoy your newborn they grow far too quickly.

Long island Public beach
 

It is located Southeast of the Long Island Bridge. On the west side you can raft your boat outside of the swim line. I took my daughters and now my grandchildren there. They can play on the beach and walk into the water. Nice place for toddlers.

PLEASE don't feed the ducks! You don't want them doing their duties around the youn ones!

No sympathy
 

No sympathy, excitement! My youngest was born in a January, and we started boating with him in June, and put 70 hours on that first year! Can't keep the little nut out of the water now. Best naptimes once the boat started moving...

Very exciting, enjoy the time, best thing you can do with your little guy.

We like hanging out around Farrar Point, just outside of Center Harbor.

Enjoy while they are young.
 

Both my boys were raised boating, snowmobiling, camping and mountain biking.
Both are adults and are doing the same things with their significant others.
My youngest was an infant when he first started boating. Just one thing, do not let them become dependent on a life jacket. If they can swim at a beach don't let them use the life jacket as a crutch in deep water or you might have a problem breaking them of the dependancy. Enjoy them while they are young because unless you have big boys toys like ATV's and snowmobiles they tend to always become busy once they fly the coop.

My 6 year old had her first boating experience while she was still in mommy's belly. I can't get her off the boat and jetski now. I picked up a smaller boat for us to fish/tube/ski in this summer . My 9 month old we are raising the same way. She looked awful awkward in that infant life jacket last September, but it was a must to get her out on the water. It's a cycle. I was raised on and worked on commercial fishing boats for years so I am passing 'the love of the water' down, but I must admit, although I was a salt water guy for 30 years, i'd much rather the lake and the fresh water.

i'd like to suggest to the new parents to perhaps pickup one of those small baby type blowup pools that only contain like 5 or 6 inches of water. You can fill it up with lake water and put it somewhare on the deck of your boat. It gives the child a good sensation and a great way to get their feet wet with swim boating (no pun intended!). We did that with ours and it seemed to work out great. It is really hard to try and swim with a baby..real hard...do it in shallow water if you are going to. You'll need to stand.

Good luck!

Here are a couple of nice spots that should fit the bill and are not at all crowed.

43°41'27.29" N 71°26'02.63" W
43°39'35.25" N 71°23'11.40" W

Congrats
 

We had our first child last May and we got the life vest on her at 8 weeks. She was two weeks early and only 6 pounds at birth so the infant life vest was huge on her. She would fall asleep as soon as the boat fired up. We are in Laconia so for us we would cruise to the sandbar in paugus bay next to the Margate and hang out for a few hours at a time. We would put the bimini up and let her sleep while we swam with the dog had lunch ect... She will be a year this weekend and cant wait to get her back on the water this summer should be a totally different experience than last summer. Enjoy!!

I always wondered if you could just put a coordinate into goggle maps and presto, what a great way to show someone where something is. It can be hard for us that use all the hand gestures to convey directions over the internet.

It actually works better in maps other than Google Maps. Google Maps seems to take you to the nearest land based address but Goggle Earth, Yahoo Maps or Bing Maps take you the the actual coordinates.

Patrician Shores (lots of kids)
 

There is an area near Patrician Shores that is very nice and sandy and shallow. Depending on the size of your boat you need to watch the markers and enter at the north side of the sandy area. There are some big rocks directly off shore so you have to come in behind them. The wave action there isn't that bad because the travel lane is way off shore. Nice for splashing around with the little one in his rubber duckie!

The Breeze
Wave 'cuz I'll be wavin' back

Thanks everyone!!!! Its amazing how many of the spots I had no idea about. Crazy how much things change with that first baby. It never even occurred to me to try and anchor in waist deep water before she showed up. Can't wait for her first time on the boat (if the weather ever co-operates)