Crusing up or down the Mississippi: Advice

[murphini]

Just learned that next summer our Family Reunion will be held in Rolling Ground Wisconsin, about 20 miles East of the Mississippi
river, south of Lacrosse, Wi and North of Prairie du Chien Wi. It's gonna be a hassle 8/hr drive to get to, but the HOW FAR HAVE YOU TOWED YOUR BOAT thread got me thinking: Should I tow our 24ve up there and "boat" to the reunion?

1. Does anyone have experience navigating the Mississippi between Dubuque Ia and LaCrosse Wi in a wakeboard boat? I was on a pontoon near Praire du Chien 2 years ago so I sort of understand the channel/buoys, etc. We stayed in one pool.

2. How feasible would it be to cruise up or down river/going through locks?

3. There are marina's I could dock overnight-then get a ride to the reunion inland....Anyone been to either Lynx or Ferryville WI?

Any advice would be appreciated. Sounds like an adventure, and I also know adventures have hassles attached.

[talltigeguy]

I considered something sort of similar. I don't know exactly how far you are talking here, so forgive if I am way off.

I can drive to one end of Lake Powell and it is 2.5 hours away. The other main marina (Bullfrog) is a 7 hour car drive away, even though it is only 90 miles up the lake. So it would actually be faster to drive 2.5 hours to Wahweap and then 3 hours (assuming 30 MPH cruising speed) to Bullfrog.

That sounded like a great idea, but I chose not to and am super glad I didn't. I hit a rock at idle speed on day 2 of the trip and am sure that I never could have gotten the prop off without getting the boat on the trailer. 90 miles with a rattling prop probably would not have been good for the boat. Maybe now that I have a little more prop experience, I could do it underwater, but I am not sure, I almost took a blow torch to it with it on the trailer, it was stuck on so tight.

That experience made me think of the other many problems that having the boat 90 water miles from the trailer might create.

I still might consider it one day, but only when I feel like my balls are really big.

[chadster2]

True that! I hit a log on a 70 mile trip. They sell insurance to get a tow I didn't have it). There are people all along the way. One needs to plan plan plan. And what if it rains?....
What I did is leave a car downstream and have taxi money..... This time it was just a hunk of wood left on the prop that made it vibrate. Where I hit the log was in a canyon 15 miles from anywhere. No shore no phones, nowhere to go but where the water takes you. Next time there will be more boats going in a pack.

[chadster2]

as a side note... the mpg changes with speed big time. 90 miles a wao is very different than 90 miles a 27.5 mph. and surfing for 90 miles takes days!
I looked at the trip with google and very do-able. but loads of planing would pay off. places to stay (if it rained) places to get out of the water (if you hit a log) places to see...... places to eat with a view. loads of stuff to look at and look for and look into.....

[embo]

If I'm understanding correctly...it's an 8hr drive...why not just tow the boat there and leave all the unpredictability behind? Yes 8hrs is a bit of a haul but I bet the reunion would be something extra specail if you brought the boat with you. Sounds like a LOT of FUN actually.

But maybe I misunderstood...sorry if I did.

[chadster2]

I miss read..... I'd say two trips... both fun... one high risk.... one fun for others....
but two different trips....having pressure to get down river on time and pressure to find transportation once you get there is too much pressure... with rain, logs and the lock thing (it can take up a ton of time too, like 1/2 a day)

[raythompson]

I would not cruise the Mississippi at all. There are a lot of large craft on that water and they have the right of way. They also put a significant wake.

I have locked through Fort Loudon locks on the TN river. A small craft is not allowed in the locks with any other large craft. If a large barge tow is locking through you wait until it is done. It may take 3 hours. I was fortunate that the lock master asked me when I was returning and held a barge on the upstream side for 15 minutes until I returned so I could lock through from the downstream side. Also when locking through they cannot flood, or drain, the locks as fast as they do with large boats because of the turbulence.

I personally would not want to do the Mississippi.

[murphini]

Thanks all. Considering the following now:

1. Skip towing my boat there and rent a Houseboat for the long weekend. That will give me boating fun AND a place to stay/weather protection. Lots of houseboat rentals in Lansing IA, which is in the pool that the Reunion is on (on the Wisconsin side of river)

2. If I tow my boat, may just stay in Pool 9, so I won't have to lock thru. There is 30 miles of river/lake in that Pool.

3. I'd get the insurance, and have planned/mapped all marinas/gas docks/towns along the way.

I'm 7 months away and my good intentioned adventure plans may just evaporate when I really go thru the hassles of towing/navigating, pulling in/out... but it'll be a fun project to think about.

[wallacmc]

It sounds like a great adventure, and at least somewhat feasible. Dudes like us can dream up anything with our Tiges, like the one last year where someone proposed boating down the Columbia River, up the Pacific coast and into the Puget Sound. At least on this one, your risk of death is low...

[chadster2]

everybody should do the lock thing once... with the kids!
the best water ever can be found on a river,,, EVER!
not always but mostly....
I'm not gona say where but I'm sayen. maybe not on the mississippi but a river with locks just the same....

[jwanck11]

It would be cool to go through a lock system I would think. What an experience and learning lesson for the kids.

As for the waves, we drove past serious crusiers as well as trans-atlantic ships in the Cheseapeake and Delaware (C&D) canal. The tige handles things just fine as long as you are careful.

[wallacmc]

I took mine last summer to Lake Cumberland on fourth of July weekend and thought I was on Lake Erie. Tige handled fine with people in the back and front ballast filled.

[Ewok]

A very scenic and safe lock system is the rideau canal in Ontario Canada. If you live anywhere in the northeast it is very easy to get to. The system of locks, rivers lakes and canals links Kingston, Ontario with Ottowa, in anticipation of an invasion by the US.

[chadster2]

FYI we could have had ya if we wanted to! just sayen!

A very scenic and safe lock system is the rideau canal in Ontario Canada. If you live anywhere in the northeast it is very easy to get to. The system of locks, rivers lakes and canals links Kingston, Ontario with Ottowa, in anticipation of an invasion by the US.