can you wander around the lakes in a 10 or 12 foot dinghy, or is it too big and rough? if you can, what are good places to start from? thanks for any help.

Well, if you want to explore some of the shoreline at Baddeck, a dinghy would be fine but otherwise you are talking big water - deep and yes, can be very rough. Some more info please.

Probably a 10' hard sailing dinghy or a 10' inflatable, or maybe an 11' hard bottom inflatable sport boat with center console. Thoughts? Thanks.

movin, if you decide to do this, you should look at the marine weather forecast before you set out. Environment Canada issues one specifically for the Bras d'Or Lakes, which you can find here. Just click on the purple dot in the middle of Cape Breton:

http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marin...tlantic_e.html

Note that the wind speed is in knots, not kilometres per hour.

I've sailed on the lakes in a 30-foot sloop a couple of times. As Tanya mentions, it can get rough.

Anselm

If you hug the shoreline there is lots to explore just outside of the Marina in Baddeck and lots of beaches to pull up on. But to really explore the lakes you will need a larger vessel.