hopingtotravel

If so, did you feel safe, or did you feel like you were in shipping lanes with behemoths? Was it any fun?

Orcas

We've taken our boat into Gig Harbor (42 ft trawler). Gig harbor is busy and you have to be cautious entering and leaving through the channel but Puget Sound is huge. We have never felt overwhelmed in Puget Sound. There are lots of small fishing vessels, motor boats, sail boats. The shipping channels are fairly narrow and are easy to cross. You have to be aware of the ferry crossings, but you can see the ferries coming from miles away and avoiding them is not a problem.

hopingtotravel

Thanks. I think the rentals are probably like 16' john boats. My husband has boated Resurrection Bay out of Seward, etc, so he'll do fine. It's me who is not a 'sea dog'.

sgorces

I have rented several different sizes of boats out of Gig Harbor from Gig Harbor Rent a Boat. You would be best to have at least their 19ft Bow Rider if going out in the Sound. There are shipping lanes and ferry lanes, but they are normally not an issue except when crossing the Sound or the ferry lane.

I have been all over the sound on my 16ft Boston Whaler and the only issue I experience is rough water. There is great deal of wind and current in certain places like through the Narrows and behind Vashon Island. I once thought going behind Vashon would be calmer because the east side is the open Sound, but it's the other way around because of the wind block effect of the Island.

There are many interesting places to put in, including some nice shoreline towns to visit and several Island parks only accessible by private boat or charter.

hopingtotravel

The interesting places to put in are on the east side of Vashon? I'm going to be printing this out for DH.
As far as Vashon goes, to take the car there, is there a bridge or does one have to ferry?

sgorces

Vashon has two ferries, one at each end, no bridges. There is no place to put in on the east side. The town is in the north-central part of the Island and not really accessible by boat. Also, there are places to visit scattered around so that you really need a car. The best time to visit Vashon is when there's a festival or something in town. Winslow on Bainbridge is a pretty good place to put in. There's a public dock (always handy) and the town is right there in walking district. There are shops, cafes and coffee houses easily walkable. Blake Island is a nice marine stop for day hikes with views of Downtown Seattle. Poulsbo is fun to put in to, although a bit of a trip, basically the other end of the Island from Winslow. It's fun to put into the Seattle Waterfront at the Pier 66 public dock. Elliott Bay is a fascinating view from a boat. There are a number of boat up restaurants. You can always ask for advice wherever you see a marine fuel station.

hopingtotravel

Thanks so much. We are looking forward to our trip!