Practicing for Great Loop - Trent-Severn Cruising

[DaveC426913]

I've been looking around for a good site on cruising the waterways here in Ontario. Most of the them are ancient or the links have rotted.

Can anyone recommend a great "My First Trent-Severn Waterway Cruise" site?

[Chinook]

I've been regularly tracking the blog by a couple from Minnesota, who are now on the home stretch of their Great Loop. They set out from Minnesota last summer, traveling down the Mississippi and picking up the Loop route at Grafton, IL. I was interested in their account, since they were cruising in a 23 foot Hunter, which is similar in size and draft to our 26X. The writing and format of the blog is excellent, and I love the photography, which tends to emphasize closeups and detail, as opposed to wide angle scenic shots. Aurora is presently in Chicago, and preparing for the descent of the Illinois River. Once they reach the confluence of the Illinois and the Mississippi, Aurora will have crossed her wake. After that, she will turn up the Mississippi to the starting point. If you check their journal out and go back a month or two, you'll find their description of the Trent-Severn and North Channel legs of the trip. They originally intended on going through the Erie Canal, however they were blocked by canal closures this summer due to high water. They went north instead, and the trip was a highlight of their Loop. We are hopeful that we'll be cruising those waters by next summer. The website can be found at http://www.inventurer.com.

Enjoy

[DaveC426913]

I will definitely read that, thanks.

Though I expect that there will be quite a difference between a 2-4 week TSW trip and a year-long GL trip. Since we're nowhere near ready for the GL, I'd like to assess the effort for the TSW trip itself.

(From what I've learned already, a 23 footer has gotta be pretty cramped for a Great Loop trip.)

[DaveC426913]

GAH!


Also:
"Wing dams are low underwater dams usually made of piles of rock that jut straight out from shore to force the water flow into the main channel to increase the flow rate and reduce sedimentation (see black lines in chart above). They vary in length, depth and location. They are not marked, you usually can’t see them and you really don’t want to hit them. There are thousands of them along the shores, islands and sloughs of the Mississippi River."
http://www.inventurer.com/2012/09/12/a- ... the-river/

[Three Gypsies]

The Alabama River has many wing dams . They do a good job , self dredging the channel , but they are a danger !
I had one where the yellow buoy on its end drifted out causing me to get out of the center of the channel and running over one of them . Luckily , the river was deep enough , at that time , that we floated over it .

I wasn't in our Gypsy , I was piloting the Harriet II , Montgomerys replica river boat 120' x 30' wide down the river from Montgomery to Mobile , last January .

[DaveC426913]

Thanks Bob Cameron, for suggesting something that had never occurred to me: leave the stick at home.

Trent-Severn has a LOT of locks and bridges. With a lowered mast most of the time, we'd be spending our cruise tangled in all the looped rigging in the cockpit.

[Spirit of the Wind]

Minimum bridge clearance on the Trent-Severn is 22 feet. There are well over 50 bridges over the course of 240 miles. Not only do the bridges and locks make stepping and unstepping the mast impractical but there are miles of narrow bouyed channels that make it impossible to tack. The only sailboats we encounter that bring their rig with them are transiting the Trent-Severn and plan to step their masts once they reach Georgian Bay and the North Channel. So if your goal is a round trip on the Trent-Severn, it makes sense to leave the rig at home. After all, one of the benefits of the is to use it as a powerboat. I haven't rigged the mast for five years now, and cruise the Trent-Severn and Rideau as a powerboat. Next year I plan to trailer to New York State and cruise the Erie Canal and the Finger Lakes.

Bob Cameron

[Catigale]

Bob...bring your mast for the Finger a Lakes....great sailing.

One solution is to use lumber to raise it a good 6 feet to get it out of the way of the deck for cruising.

[DaveC426913]

Minimum bridge clearance on the Trent-Severn is 22 feet. There are well over 50 bridges over the course of 240 miles. Not only do the bridges and locks make stepping and unstepping the mast impractical but there are miles of narrow bouyed channels that make it impossible to tack. The only sailboats we encounter that bring their rig with them are transiting the Trent-Severn and plan to step their masts once they reach Georgian Bay and the North Channel. So if your goal is a round trip on the Trent-Severn, it makes sense to leave the rig at home. After all, one of the benefits of the is to use it as a powerboat. I haven't rigged the mast for five years now, and cruise the Trent-Severn and Rideau as a powerboat. Next year I plan to trailer to New York State and cruise the Erie Canal and the Finger Lakes.

Bob Cameron

The idea was to only sail on the larger lakes.

But after your suggestion about using it as a cruiser, I'm rethinking it. It's a great idea.

Oh yeah!I got your DVD! Thanks! Guess I'd better hook up the player...

[DaveC426913]

Bob...bring your mast for the Finger a Lakes....great sailing.

One solution is to use lumber to raise it a good 6 feet to get it out of the way of the deck for cruising.

As mentioned, my PO had a mast crutch extender made just for this purpose. However, it does nothing about all the looping lines and stays, which practically drown the cockpit.

[Spirit of the Wind]

I have two full enclosures. The sailboat enclosure is the standard Dowsar full enclosure with a transition piece so the boom clears. The powerboat enclosure has full standing headroom the full length of the cockpit with a two level windshield and an omnidirectional TV antenna. With my 90 ETEC I cruise at 20 MPH with a 26 MPH top speed. The enclosure keeps the cockpit dry.

I'll do the Finger Lakes separately, configured as a sailboat. For the Erie Canal cruise, I'll trailer as a powerboat. Both are close enough for me get there is 3 - 4 hours.

[DaveC426913]

I have two full enclosures. The sailboat enclosure is the standard Dowsar full enclosure with a transition piece so the boom clears.

What kind of transition piece allows for the boom?? My boom just clears the dodger and goes under the bimini by a couple of inches.

BTW, watching your DVD. Will watch the whole thing with the Admiral. VERY envious of your black canvas! I want to do the boat in accents of black and red. Dying for red canvas!

What's with the teeny-tiny mast? Looks like ... a steaming light? Is that a recommended accessory?

[Catigale]

Im in Albany NY, Spirit. Keep me abreast of your plans and I can help you with any logistics on my end. I even have a spare car if you want a land diversion.

[beene]

I've been looking around for a good site on cruising the waterways here in Ontario. Most of the them are ancient or the links have rotted.

Can anyone recommend a great "My First Trent-Severn Waterway Cruise" site?

Pictures from my Trent Severn Trip

http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u119 ... ern%20Trip

My forum post log
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... n+waterway