800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

[12guns]

It's about an 800 mile one-way trip. Now one of my buddies is wanting to do the same thing. We know there are no low water dams or major obstacles, but wanted to get some advise from you guys. Anyone heard of something like this? Gas will be our main logistical problem. I've figured if it's an average, modern ski boat, we might get 4 or 5 MPG which would require over 150 gallons of gas!
When this old man did it, he said he had to plan on walking in to town and filling up gas cans on a daily basis. If I were to do this, I will be prepared and minimize my time off the rivers.
Ok, let me have it, advise, suggestions, MPG estimates, Boat suggestions, etc. Thanks!
Oh yeah, I also just heard about some college kids that did almost the same thing in a canoe!

 

[cwhite6]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

I am assuming the Mississippi river will eventually be in your route. I am from the south Louisiana area and I will warn you that Mississippi has a heck of alot of commercial traffic on it, especially from Baton Rouge down. I would not plan on traveling at night at all on this stretch. Definatly have some serious safety equipment with you and if the river is high due to rain or such, you might want to delay a little. That sucker gets mean at higher stages. I would imagine a handheld VHF would be pretty useful also.

 

[45Auto]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

Do a google search on GREAT LOOP. The Great Loop is a cruising loop around the eastern US. What you're talking about doing is one part of the Great Loop.

 

[12guns]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

I don't plan on running the boat at night. Thanks for the advise on the Mississippi. I'll check out the link on "great loop" Thanks and keep em' coming

 

[12guns]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

So, which would get better MPG, a pontoon boat w/ 75 hp outboard, or skiboat w/ 190 hp inboard? I'm trying to get an idea how much fuel would be needed...just wondering if anybody knows exact mpg for their boats.

 

[NoKlu]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

There is usually a guide for fuel consumption on the manufacturer's site. The toon would probably have more room for extra fuel on the deck.

 

[Numlaar]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

well lets see...

typical I/O running at a cruising speed of say 30MPH, uses roughly 10GPH (gallons per hour). (Thats a bit high of an estimate, but safter to estimate higher than lower).

So to go 300 miles, you'll need 100 Gallons of gas, so for your trip you are probably looking at closer to 260 gallons total.

(Boats don't really get a MPG rating as much as GPH rating).

For your outboard, a 75HP, you'll burn about half the gas, (5GPH), but on a pontoon boat (rather than say a small runabout), you'll be lucky to do 20MPH cruising. So 20MPH @ 5GPH = roughly 200 gallons of gas.

It would be cheaper to go with the outboard, but a slower trip.

My best friend took his dad's 40' hatteras from Tampa to North dakota, going up the ol' Miss, was a neat trip. I dunno about doing it in something so small though... but there were plenty of marina's along the way to fuel up. I would guestimate you would fill up roughly 2x a day depending on your total fuel capacity.

I did take a 21'5" BR, myself, from Tampa to Key west by water, but that took me 4 fillups at 55gal/fill up. (The thing was a gas hog) lol.

Sounds like an interesting trip, I wish you the best of luck!

 

[jtexas]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

you'll get much better MPG on the southbound leg.........

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

You need to plan the logistics of fueling, possible routes, support/supply truck, and communication. Now if you go, we expect full pix of the cruise/expedition...might make an interesting video if you take a camera with you.

 

[woosterken]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

check out www.boatinglife.com
there is a video blog about the Mcphail sisters from duroboats
they are doing the great loop in a small duroboat with an outboard

good read

woosterken

 

[12guns]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

Great info! Thanks for all the advise. Not sure what boat we'll end up with, or when this trip might happen, but my buddy sure is fired up. How would I go about locating marinas along the way? Is there a wesite for the mighty mississippi? Seems like in remote Arkansas, there won't be many places to stop along the way. Maybe I'm wrong. Thanks again! I'm sure I"ll have more questions later

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

Well worth the price of admission is the America's Great Loop Cruiser's Association. There's plenty to read on the site without buying the membership.

My wife and I are in the initial planning stages. Our fuel estimates are based on hull speed, not cruising speed. That's a substantial savings but it's still going to be expensive.

One thing we've determined is that fuel is only one of many items on the expense list. Marinas charge an average of $2-3 a foot per night for transient docking. We have a 32-footer.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 800 Mile Boat Trip, Arkansas to Gulf of Mex

Check around/gather maps of your proposed route...get on the Google and see what comes up by state for marinas along the way. The planning is never done...but it's often one of the most fun parts of any expedition.