How best to plan a trip

JoshOnt

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 12, 2013
Messages
487
I am hoping to go from Kingston Ontario to Ottawa then on to the St Lawrence and back down to Kingston this summer. As long as I avoid the shipping channel in the St Lawrence I should be fine. I am trying to plan where I will need to stop for fuel and such, is there a good way of figuring out an aprox route to take and then get the distance in miles? I have figured out what I think it might be (650 km/405 miles) but I am not sure how I can figure out where each leg should be, would really hate to be caught in the wrong place with not enough fuel or light left in the day to make it to the next one before dark sets in.
 

four winns 214

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 25, 2008
Messages
757
I've taken five long trips on the inland rivers of the central U.S., the shortest was 256 miles and longest 651 miles. The only sure way to plan a trip as you are describing is to procure charts and plot the proposed route. Once that's done, break the route into manageable sections based on your boat's speed and the route's characteristics such as no wake areas and locks. Then look around the start/finish points of the segments for marinas and other facilities. Google searches and guide books may help. You might also consider Active Captain. Do a search on that. Have a safe trip!
 

FunInDuhSun

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 25, 2010
Messages
414
Do yourself a favor and take a basic navigation class. It will teach you how to plot courses and measure distances from nautical charts. if you do that, your trip will be as easy as following compass headings and taking bearings!
 

Mischief Managed

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
1,928
Whenever I cruise new waters, I do lots of research and purchase cruising guides and charts, if available, long before I head out. The route you are describing is pretty popular with cruisers so I imagine guides and charts will be easy to come by. I plan fuel stops around having at least 1/3 of my fuel available, just in case. I use a Lowrance LMF-200 gauge with a fuel flow sensor and a speed sensor on my boat that provide real-time MPG and range numbers as well as an extremely accurate fuel gauge so I am never unaware of my real fuel situation. Additionally, my chart plotter allows me to enter fuel use and predict range based on the route I created. All these electronic tools cost me less than a grand 11 years ago and have been ridiculously great investments... I know that in absolute worst-case situations, my boat will get at least 2 MPG and has at least a 100 mile range before I'm down to 1/3 of a tank.

There is no need for you to stay out of shipping channels on your route, in many places in the 1000 Islands it would be unwise to leave them without good local knowledge of underwater hazards (there are countless underwater hazards there). Just stay away from ships; they are pretty easy to spot, being big and ship-shaped and all... I would strongly advise you to get a VHF radio and keep it on channel 16 while cruising in shipping channels. That way they can contact you if they spot a dumb move.

Do not worry to much about this trip you have planned. It will not be terribly challenging and will be a blast. Do make sure you have your passport and the proper numbers to call for both US and Canada Immigration and Customs. They are both easy to deal with but can be nasty if you break the rules, from what I have heard.
 

ken51k

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 5, 2012
Messages
77
I'm doing a similar trip this year. Erie canal, Rideau canal, Ottawa river, St Lawrence to Sorel Richelieu river, lake Champlain back home.
I found activecaptain.com to be very useful in finding marines along the way that have gas. Activecaptain does not have the nautical charts
for Canada, but you can use the Map feature and this is useful. One thing you do not want to do is plan everything out in advance. Plan a
general route and fuel stops, but do not make reservations at marines. Just play it by ear. To many times if you have all your stops planned something
can happen to mess it all up. Take your trip one day at a time and enjoy it.
I figure on taking two to three months for my trip.
enjoy
Ken
 
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