Texas

srust58 · Oct 6, 2013

I think many of those lakes are reservoirs and the levels are way down and have been for some time. I would check out the water levels and marina situation.

kloudie1 · Oct 6, 2013

Lake Lewisville and Lake Ray Roberts are both fine sailing lakes.. Water there is down for sure but still plenty good for a shallow draft boat. I think you'll be surprised to see some pretty big boats there .. Texoma is a little further, but also excellent. I am not familliar with the marina situation at any of these..

Joe · Oct 6, 2013

Texas is a cool place. I've sailed on Lake Ray Hubbard, just east of Dallas, and down near Austen on Lake Travis(once rated by Sailing Magazine as a top ten sailing lake in the country. There are many other large lakes in Texas... you should have no problem finding the type of marina that suits you.
Go here: http://www.txsail.org/ and select "North Texas" in the member section for a list of yacht clubs in the DFW area that may be of interest.

WayneH · Oct 6, 2013

You will see LARGE boats on Lake Texoma. But you need to watch the lake levels to launch at some of the ramps. But there are several marinas on the lake if you don't want to trailer your boat every time. Which considering the way Texans drive, might be a good idea.

http://www.laketexoma.com/

heatherf · Oct 8, 2013

We are in the Dallas area and keep our boat on Lake Lewisville at the Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club. We love it. The south end of the lake is a big party area and gets pretty crowded, but up on the north end there is a lot of sailing going on and not a lot of other traffic. Ray Hubbard is also a good sailing lake. The area lakes are down right now, and though they are still sailable, getting in and out can be a challenge in places.

Jackdaw · Oct 8, 2013

+1 to what heatherf said about Lewisville. Its a decent lake, and most importantly it has probably the best water level control in the area. We bought our First 36.7 from the Beneteau there and kept the boat their its first winter. We loved it.

Downsides
The water is always murky
A large part of the lake is 60 feet deep but as 55 foot trees still standing. A no-fly zone.
Its easy access makes it a party-zone for idiots in the summer. Dallas News called it the 'Lake of Fools' for good reason.

Pier 121 Marina on the south end (The Colony) is nice.

Galveston and Clear Lake/Kemah are nice, but a ways away. And you gotta drive right through Houston to get to them.

Steve Walsh · Oct 9, 2013

Lived there 20 years. Grapevine Lake is the lake you see on approach to DFW airport from the north. Lake Tawakoni is east of Dallas about an hour, Lake Cypress is east of Dallas about 2 hours and has non- muddy water. Cedar Creek Lake is SE of Dallas and is fairly large. Used to ski on Possum Kingdom Lake, west of Fort Worth, but can't remember any sailboats on it. Plenty of lakes for trailer-sailing, just not a scenic as you are used to. The weather is a little more extreme than you have now, especially in the summer and the occasional winter ice storm. WayneH is right about Texas drivers, they will run your ass over if you are slowing them down, especially if they are on the way to a Cowboy game or beer run. Lake Texoma or Ray Hubbard are good bets.

Jackdaw · Oct 10, 2013

Doc_holiday said:
Just now flew into DFW (10 min ago) and it looks like maybe 5 or 6 sailboats out on the water. The lake looked bigger than what I initially thought. That must've been the grapevine lake. Looked nice

It was probably Lewisville. If you land from the north it's the lake on the left side.

Capt JimF · Oct 11, 2013

'What's up Doc,' Been sailing here in North Texas since the early late 70's. Of the 20 or so called best lakes in Texas. Lake Texoma has been the Number # 1 rated lake in all of Texas now for over 25 years according to an annual survey by the Dallas Morning News done in May of each year. Lots of deep water, coves, plenty of marina's, there are islands, miles and miles of shoreline, great stripper fishing, and a variety of water related activities and set right in the southern edge of the Oklahoma green belt. Little know fact: The lake was actually built by WW II German prisoners of war shipped to Denison by Ike because they didn't know what else to do with them so its done right. Typical lakes run north & south for the most part, this Corp of Engineer's Lake runs east and west and has a huge watershed, so a small amount of rain goes a long way. Great warm south winds from the gulf create almost year round sailing. Even though the Lake is down my boat is currently sitting in 50` of water in the slip. You can still find a 55 to 60 degree day with a warming south wind even in winter. I recommend Grand Pappy Point Marina. Jason Cottingame is GM there tel 903-465-6330. I have had a slip there continuously since Jan. 1978 . This full service resort, marina & camp grounds is well manged, and is located on (in my opinion the best part of the lake) the far east side of the lake near the biggest, widest, unobstructed part of the lake. It is approx 75-90 drive from Dallas and well worth the trip. The also have a very active sailing club that sponsor lots of club races and fun sailing related activities. Email me if you have any other questions. sailboattherapy4@aol.com Fair Winds.... Jim

ZydecoSkip · Nov 5, 2013

Lake Grapevine has a very active sailing club with 300 members and active social, racing, cruising and youth programs. check out www.grapevinesailing.org
Several other MacGregor 265 owners at Scott's Landing Marina.

Compromise · Nov 5, 2013

I have a next door neighbor with a B37 who had moved his boat down to Clear Lake from Dallas and he commutes on weekends. He has told me the move was worth it. Something about the drop in the nearby lakes. He moved during the bad drought a couple years ago so I'm sure the Dallas area lakes have recovered since then. He still commutes. Doesn't want to pay portage fees again I guess.