Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need advice!

[cleonard]

I have a Baja 420 ES (42' triple 454 cabin sport) and I was thinking about taking a cruise from Lake Erie back to the Gulf! I figure I'd take the Ohio River to the Mississippi River and down. I know this will be a long trip, but how long realistically, if I don't want to be rushed, but don't plan to spend more than a day at any one stop (maybe a day or two in major cities such as Pittsburgh, Louisville, etc.)? I was hoping 2-3 weeks would be sufficient. How do I get from Lake Erie to the Ohio River? I know I will need to print off all the Nav charts from the Corps of Engineers site. I will need to get familiar with the locks procedure. I should probably try to find marinas in advance where I plan to stop every day. What time of year would be best (current, etc most calm and predictable)? What else should I do or be prepared for? Will I need to dock at marinas every night or are there plenty of places where the water will be calm enough that I can drop anchor and run the generator? Gosh, I am so excited! It's like taking a cross country RV trip, but on the water!!!!

Not that it matters, but it may be asked.. the boat is set up to go in coastal waters, radar, sonar, navigation w/ live weather updates, VHF radio, etc. so I think it's capable of the trip. It's not too much boat for the river, is it? I mean huge tugboats follow this same trip all the time.

Well, thanks in advance for any input anybody has to offer!

Colby

 

[Blue Crabber]

Re: Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need adv

Sounds like your boat should be just fine! Have you ever heard of the great loop? What you are talking about doing is part of that loop and is done every year by a couple hundred pleasure boats.

If I were you, I would spend some time reading blogs of people that have done the great loop. Just google Great Loop Blogs to get some good results. You will find the routes that most people take and the timelines that they used.

For some reason, I am remembering that they often use more rivers than just the Ohio and Mississippi. The Tenn-Tom and Kentucky Lake and others stick in my mind as well but you will be able to find the route on the blogs.

Another great planning website is www.algca.org. Most "loopers" are members of this site and they have all kinds of helpful info on this trip. The site is run by a couple who did the loop several years ago.

I would plan on calling marinas ahead of time. Maybe plan out a day or two in advance. You may need to stay longer and head out sooner depending on weather.

Also, be sure to plan your fuel stops out. I know there are some marinas that are better with fuel and staffing then others and the "loopers" prefer to stop at these.

Sounds like a great trip! Hope that you get to do it and that you have fun planning it out!

 

[redone4x4]

Re: Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need adv

umm...can we see some pics of this triple 454 bad boy??? that would be a really cool trip, thats for sure.

 

[cleonard]

Re: Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need adv

Here she is... let's see if I shrunk the picture too much.

Colby

 

[Blue Crabber]

Re: Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need adv

Looks like an awesome boat!! Just a couple of other quick thoughts I had after re-reading your post.

I don't think that it is to much boat for the rivers. A lot of "loopers" use 40' and bigger trawlers all the time down through the rivers.

Also, I didn't realize you said Lake Erie, so maybe the mississippi route is better. But I think the other route is supposed to be more senic and more places to stop maybe. I guess it will also depend on where in the gulf you plan on ending up.

As far as timing goes - AGLCA (Americas Great Loop Cruisers Association) suggests being off of the Great Lakes by early September and not to arrive in the Gulf before November. (End of hurricane season) I would think you could wait longer to leave the Great Lakes if you are familiar with them and how the fall weather plays into the mix.

Fuel - Not sure how often you will be able to get that bad boy up and running on plane. Depending on the route, locks, bridges, tug boats, etc it just might not allow it. But I really am not sure about this. If this is the case, the trip may take longer than the few weeks you were suggesting.

Oh yeah, welcome to iboats!! Please keep us updated on your trip planning as I hope to do this someday as well as part of the great loop!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need adv

Considering Lake Erie and the Ohio River aren't directly connected, I see a problem with your trip, right off the bat!

Seriously, run through the Lakes, and enter the Illinois River via Chicago, and then you are doing half of the Great Loop. Stop by in Peoria to say hi!

Yeah guys, his leg of the Loop would be to go across the Lakes, into Chicago, down the Illinois, to the Mississippi, just until it hits the Ohio, then up the Ohio to the Cumberland, through the Kentucky Lkaes and into the Tennessee Tom Bigbee Waterway to Mobile Bay and into the gulf.

The Lower Mississippi (south of St. Louis) has no dams, and is not a good place for pleasurecraft to run. Shifting sand bars, long desolate ares, lack of fuel, little to do/see. That's why it's not part of the Great Loop.

 

[cleonard]

Re: Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need adv

Ok, lots of great info! Well, I'm flexible on my route and being that at this point in my life (kids are gone 1/2 the summer w/ the "other parents"), 2 weeks is about the longest we'll be able to be gone at a time (could always dock the boat and fly back on our next kidless stretch). The whole loop is definitely an "after kids are out of the house" venture.

So I could just start in Pittsburgh, take the Ohio down to the Cumberland and follow your route from there, or I could start in Gary, IN shoot up to Chicago and go from there.

Good pointer on the lower part of the Mississippi. I thought that was the no brainer route, but apparently not.

Keep the thoughts coming!!!

Colby

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need adv

Colby, starting in Pittsburgh isn't a bad idea. I went up the Ohio from Louisville to Pittsburgh once, and it wasn't a bad trip. The locks on the Ohio are much bigger and better than on the Illinois River too. So you would get through them easier, because with two chambers, they'll lock you through at the same time as a tug is in the big chamber. Only single chamber (and smaller) locks on the Illinois, so you can get stuck waiting a long time. 2 hours is the minimum you should plan for.
I also grew up just outside of East Liverpool, Ohio, which is the first thing you would come to, when you entered Ohio on the river. The only "bad" thing about the Ohio River, in my opinion, is that it's in such a steep "narrow" valley, that you can't see out of it. it all kinda looks the same. Some of the Illinois River is a broad, wide valley, some of it is steep and narrow. Some of it has a manmade levee, and sandy beaches. Some of it is so remote, you swear you can hear the banjos!

I know, do it one way one year, and do it the other way the next year!

 

[four winns 214]

Re: Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need adv

You mention starting in Pittsburgh, I assume you are going to trailer your boat there.

The entire length of the Ohio River, Cumberland River, Tennessee River (and its impoundment lakes), and the Tennessee-Tombigbee are capable of handling your boat. Significant gaps in reliable fuel availability exist on the Ohio River. Your boat should be capable of 150 miles between refuelings to be safe. I am not familiar with fuel availability on the rest of the route. There is a cruising guide called "Quimby's" that is a good reference for river marina information, but be sure to call ahead to verify. Google Quimby's.

Make sure you get familiar with navigating and staying in river channels. For most of the Ohio, it's not really critical, but there are places you need to pay attention there and on all the rivers and in the impoundment lakes.

Another thing to watch for on the rivers that a Lake Erie boater may not be used to is floating debris and "stick ups". Heavy rains at times wash large logs and trees from creeks into the river. Stick ups are large logs or tree trunks impaled in the river bed that stick up above the surface, sometimes just barely. If you hit one of those at the speeds your boat is capable of, it could be a really, really bad day for you. It's not a constant problem, but it's a threat that needs to be managed.

If a marina is not located at a convenient stopping place on the Ohio River, there are many nice places to anchor. If you make the trip in the summer as you suggest, current is not really an issue, but you do need to use an anchor alarm to make sure you stay put and don't drift into the channel and barge traffic.

 

[Blue Crabber]

Re: Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need adv

Yeah guys, his leg of the Loop would be to go across the Lakes, into Chicago, down the Illinois, to the Mississippi, just until it hits the Ohio, then up the Ohio to the Cumberland, through the Kentucky Lkaes and into the Tennessee Tom Bigbee Waterway to Mobile Bay and into the gulf.

The Lower Mississippi (south of St. Louis) has no dams, and is not a good place for pleasurecraft to run. Shifting sand bars, long desolate ares, lack of fuel, little to do/see. That's why it's not part of the Great Loop.

Thanks for clarifying what I was trying to say! Much better put!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need adv

Uh-oh, it looks like the trip for Loopers just got more difficult!

http://www.uscg.fishbarrierinfo.com/go/site/1295/

Trailering to Pittsburgh sounds better now! If you do, stop by the Homer Laughlin China Company in Newell, WV and pick up some Fiesta dinnerware. Best china in the world, plus it's American made (and union made, if you are into that!) All you have to do is stop at Holiday Harbor in Chester, WV and get a ride to the factory store!

 

[freelancer]

Re: Planning a dream vacation for next year... Lake Erie to Gulf of Mexico! Need adv

Sounds like half the LOOP!

YEA BOY, can't wait to see the pictures.

Sorry I didn't add anything of value:redface: