Hi Roger,

Sounds like a fun trip with the kiddos.

I have been sailing my ’82 Rhodes 22 in Milwaukee Bay since 1990, but I grew up in Menasha on the north end of Lake Winnebago, boating on Lake Winnebago and the Fox River. I spent my high school and college years from the mid sixties through the mid seventies sailing and racing scows at both Neenah and Oshkosh. Tugs and coal barges were still using the lock and canal system in the fifties. When I was using the lock system in the seventies, it was still run by the Army Corps of Engineers. I haven’t used them since they were abandoned and reopened by a local group

Lake Winnebago does not lend itself very well to spending a night on the hook. Nothing on the east shore at all. Anything other than a west wind will leaves no protected anchorages on the west shore. Asylum Bay or maybe tucking in behind Island Park (known locally as Garlic Island) are possibilities, but they’re both just north of Oshkosh, so probably too far from Menasha.

The charted special anchorages, one in Oshkosh and two in Neenah, are actually mooring buoy fields managed by the two local yacht clubs, Oshkosh YC and Neenah-Nodaway YC. I don’t believe either club has transient moorings. The anchorage you're considering near the hospital is adjacent to a dam and spillway. When the dam gates are open, the current is quite strong. Much too dangerous to attempt anchoring.

There is a small marina along the Government Canal in Menasha. It’s not far from the Menasha lock, they have transient slips, and there are several restaurants within walking distance.

There is a reef across the entrance to the Fox River at Menasha. The best approach is from the south. My dad and I used to anchor our fishing boat at the north end of the reef to catch walleyes and it was always great fun to watch boats come flying in from the east and tear up their bottoms and lower units.

One final thing. Beware the infamous Lake Winnebago cross chop. The lake is so shallow that winds in the 12 to15 knot range can whip up some pretty good waves that ricochet off the shores and come at you from all directions. In the 70’s, Oshkosh hosted an ILYA E Scow championship. One of the race days had 15 knot winds. The out of town PRO (small lake guy) said “We always race in 15 knots”. The local crews said “We’ll sit this one out”. It’s kind of awesome
seeing what happens to a 30 foot mast when an E boat turtles in 20 feet of water.

Let me know If you have any more questions.

John Wiberg

	-----------------------------------------From: "ROGER PIHLAJA" To: "The Rhodes 22 Email List"
Cc:
Sent: Wednesday October 4 2023 4:21:50PM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Lake Winnebago, WI Cruise In The Summer of 2024

 Hi All,

 Has anybody done any cruising on Lake Winnebago, WI?

 Next summer, I'm planning to take my son, Gary, and two
grandchildren, Kaley and Fred, on a cruise on Lake Winnebago, WI. Kaley will be 9 years and Fred will be 7 years old. This will be their first overnight boating experience. Lake Winnebago is in NE Wisconsin and at nearly 118,000 acres, is the largest inland lake in the state. We plan to launch and retrieve from High Cliff State Park in the NE corner of the lake. High Cliff State Park has several miles of easy hiking and biking trails along the Niagara Escarpment, the same rock cliff that forms Niagara Falls in NY state. Besides the cliffs with their stunning views of Lake Winnebago, there are ruins from lime quarrying and calcining operations to explore. High Cliff State Park has its own full service marina with reservable transient dockage and we plan to stay on the boat. Besides staying at the dock at High Cliff, I'm thinking I'd like to spend a night on the hook. There are special anchorages identified on the charts at Miller Bay in Oshkosh, WI and in the Lower Fox River on the S side of Doty Island, near the hospital in Neenah, WI. Does anyone have any local knowledge re either of these 2 anchorages? All else being equal, I would prefer anchoring off Doty Island because I want to take S/V Dynamic Equilibrium thru at least the Menasha Lock on the Lower Fox River and would really prefer to sail the length of Little Lake Butte Des Morts (Literally: Little Lake Cliff Of Death!) and lock thru Locks 1-4 in Appleton, WI. If I were to anchor in Miller Bay, I would have to sail several miles to get to the entrance to the Lower Fox River. In this scenario, there would probably only be time to do the Menasha Lock before turning around and sailing back to High Cliffs. Does anyone know of any other anchorages, especially near the N end of Lake Winnebago? Does anyone have any suggestions for kid friendly activities in Oshkosh, Neenah, &/or Appleton, WI? If we get to Appleton, I would especially appreciate a suggestion for a boat-up restaurant for lunch or dinner.

 If Kaley and Fred like this cruise, in future years, we may attempt to cruise all 39 miles of the Lower Fox River from Lake Winnebago to Green Bay thru all 19 locks (a drop of ~170 ft!) and then do some cruising on Lower Green Bay. Just transiting the Lower Fox River with all the locks will require a whole day. Many of these locks are unusual in that they are hand operated, just like they were when originally installed in the 1850's. These locks are old school, no floating bollards like on the big US Army Corps Of Engineers locks on the western rivers. You have to have someone handling a line at each bollard as well as someone to fend off the walls and good fenders. The Lower Fox River lock system was actually the first public works project for the, then new, state of Wisconsin (admitted to the union in 1848). For a while, the Lower Fox River lock system greatly expanded economic activity in cities like Green Bay, Appleton, Neenah, and Oshkosh, WI. But, with the coming of trains and trucks to move cargo, the system fell into disuse and then disrepair. It has only recently been restored and reopened for recreational boating.

 Roger Pihlaja
 S/V Dynamic Equilibrium