Mississippi river long distance cruise

[gorrilla]

In a year or two i want to do a major cruise with my 17restore ft larson. I live in central wi and was thinking of getting on the wisconsin river below sauk city the last dam and running down to the Mississippi river then to the gulf and back. Has anyone done this or a similar trip? How long should i plan for? I thought 9 days minimum, but that 13 would be beter. Boat can go 44for mph but i figure 35i is a beter cruising speed. I figure $1200 for gas? I have a 3.0 in outboard that gets decent fuel economy. I have a spare carborator, fuel pump, and will be getting spare prop... sbould i have other parts on hand? Or any other thoughts? What dates are good for such a voyage?

 

[scott8058]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

Wow sounds like one heck of a trip i would also bring starter fluid and a solar battery charger plus lots of beer!

 

[four winns 214]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

Your estimates are wildly optimistic. It sounds like you are planning this as a round trip and not one-way. That means you're looking at approximately 3,200 miles. There are many locks to transit between the Wisconsin River and St. Louis. Recreational pleasure craft have the lowest priority for lockage if there are commercial tows waiting. With no traffic, it takes a minimum of 30 minutes to lock through.

 

[TimBobCom]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

Good dates would probably be late summer or early fall, depending on water levels.

The issue is going to be your fuel range. Once you get south of St. Louis there aren't many fuel stops until you get out to the gulf of Mexico if you stay on the Mississippi. Nor are there many good spots to overnight with access to civilization to restock any supplies you might need. I believe the longest stretch between marinas will be almost 500 miles on the Mississippi, so you'll need to plan accordingly.

 

[TimBobCom]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

Your estimates are wildly optimistic. It sounds like you are planning this as a round trip and not one-way. That means you're looking at approximately 3,200 miles. There are many locks to transit between the Wisconsin River and St. Louis. Recreational pleasure craft have the lowest priority for lockage if there are commercial tows waiting. With no traffic, it takes a minimum of 30 minutes to lock through.

Looks to be about 17 locks by my estimation, once you account for wait times, that's probably going to be close to 2 full days of the journey right there waiting to lock through (17 hours down, 17 hours up)

 

[gorrilla]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

Yes it would be a round trip. Did not think locks waits would be that bad. And i had followe the river down using google pedomiter and i want to say 2700hi unles i where to go up to minniapolis n back too. Have any of you done anything like this. So with lock delays now looking at 11-15 days. Any other advice? Sorry it took so long to get back to you all. I was out of town enjoying my boat. Lol

 

[gorrilla]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

Right now i got about 300 mile range but larger fuel cappacity is on the to do list while in storage this winter. The eighteen gal tank is going and i have plenty of room to go bigger just got to measure and see how big i can go or if needed jerry cans cause i do get good fuel economy

 

[gorrilla]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

I had heard 425 mi between marinas and another 375 stretch

 

[gorrilla]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

I planned to camp just beach the boat n pitch a tent i know that i fine on the lower wisconsin river and mississipi between wi and min. Plus acounts of people doing it in canoes they camp

 

[gorrilla]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

I had heard 425 mi between marinas and another 375 stretch

 

[gorrilla]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

Also i have heard a lot about an alternate route ten tom biggie waterway? or something of the like? What is it

 

[four winns 214]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

I've done several long distance river trips, the longest being 600 miles and 13 locks from Pittsburgh to Louisville. That took 4 1/2 days in a 21' Sea Ray cuddy. The 3,200 mile distance I cited for your trip is quite exact. It came from Mississippi River navigation charts, something you MUST have on your proposed trip. They can be downloaded as .PDFs here:

Upper Mississippi River Navigation Charts
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District: Geospatial Data

Since it took me 4 1/2 days to go 600 miles, I think a reasonable estimate for 3,200 miles would be at least 20-23 days and that's not counting any layover days. Your estimated cruise speed of 35mph is not realistic. Plan on around 25mph.

The other route to the Gulf you have mentioned is via the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. That would cut off many, many miles from your proposed trip and mostly eliminate the fuel range considerations. However, there are a lot of locks and several have notoriously long delays, but almost all recreational pleasure boats heading to the Gulf take that route.

Do not attempt such a trip on a shoe string. Research and then plan, plan, plan. I highly recommend taking at least a couple shorter trips to check your and your boat's capabilities. If I understood your posts correctly, you say your boat has an 18 gallon tank and that gives you a 300 mile range. I find that unbelieveable. My Sea Ray cuddy has a 5.0L Merc and Alpha 1 outdrive. It has a fuel tank with 48 useable gallons and I plan on 140 miles MAX between fuel stops. That gives me about a 25 mile reserve. Those figures have been validated many times.

 

[TimBobCom]

Re: Mississippi river long distance cruise

Mississippi River navigation charts, something you MUST have on your proposed trip.

What Four Winns 214 said...

I only stay in one "pool" of the Mississippi, between locks 25 and 26 (Winfield, MO and Alton, IL) and I always have these maps at the ready, they are the "best" map you're going to get of the Mississippi, but even they aren't perfect.