How far have you been?? And I don't mean on a trailer.....

[Ditch Doctor]

I am throwing the idea around of taking my Tige on a rather long trip. I live in Northern Mississippi and there is a waterway that would allow me to travel "by boat" to the gulf coast. My goal destination would be Pensacola, FL. It would be an 1100 mile round trip. Yes I said that right!! 1100 MILES!! All of which would be in protected waterways. My question is......... Have any of you taken on a trip like this and what were the results. Did you enjoy it? Did you have any troubles? Can anyone think of a reason that there would be any trouble on a trip this far in a wakeboat?? Also what would you take?? I keep spare fluids, filters, impellers in the boat always. What else can you think of?


For more detail:

I would have to lock through 10 locks one way. I plan on traveling 200ish miles a day for a total of 2 1/2 days there and the same back while spending about 3 days at my destination. I would have marinas located about every 75-100 miles apart. I will most likely only have 2 people on my boat and would be traveling with 2-4 other boats of equal size and speed.

[chpthril]

with a goal of 200ish miles a day, whats your estimate speed plus allowing time to get through the locks and a maybe a fuel stop? With a 75-100 mile gap between marinas, you will also might have to lose day light in order to get off the water because you cant make the next marine before sunset.

Do these marine have overnight accommodations

Why more than 2 boats? Double up on the passengers and split the fuel cost.

[Ditch Doctor]

with a goal of 200ish miles a day, whats your estimate speed plus allowing time to get through the locks and a maybe a fuel stop? With a 75-100 mile gap between marinas, you will also might have to lose day light in order to get off the water because you cant make the next marine before sunset.

Do these marine have overnight accommodations

Why more than 2 boats? Double up on the passengers and split the fuel cost.

All good points. Planning on traveling at around 26-30 MPH which my boat can do without pushing it. As well as the other boats. I am planning on having 15-20 gallons of fuel on reserve which would get me between fuel stops no problem. I have tested the boat and it has around a 100 mile range on a tank with 6 gallons to spare. And that is with the boat loaded to max capacity. I am not planning on staying at the marinas over night. Camping on beaches and shorelines is permitted so that is plan. Also most of the marinas will open up after hours to fuel boats if you call in advance. The locks take around 30 minutes each to lock through and are open 24/7. Most of them will be on the legs of the first 2 days. As to taking fewer boats....... it would be possible but with limited space I am scared that 7-10 days on a boat with multiple people would become a problem.

[bsreid]

I have absolutely no experience doing this sort of thing. But I have watched this movie called voyage, a great film doing similar things, not sure on the exact location. Also some really cool film shots. http://voyagemovie.com
I would love to experience this, totally jealous.

[chpthril]

Hearing that you are camping, I understand the need for the extra space.

[TeamAllen]

Sounds fun to me. Do you have a VHF/UHF radio? Does it have an antenna, GPS and a registered MMSI #?

[talltigeguy]

My biggest concern would be unfamiliarity with the river. Are there sand bars that shift with the currents? Running aground 500 miles from your trailer would be a terrible situation.

Sounds like an awesome trip, to be honest. I do think that 200 miles by boat is going to feel like a really long time. I have cruised about 80 miles round trip on Lake Powell in a day and it felt like a really long day, even with hikes, surfing and other stuff to break it up.

[Greeko]

Sounds awesome! I wonder how many hours your gonna put on your boat on that trip... a Years worth of hours in a trip lol

[Bakes5]

Sounds fun but a loooooong trip. I would cut it to a couple hundred miles and enjoy it instead of spending 8-10 hours per day at 3000 RPM.

Set your boat up to camp on it instead of the shore. You will need a weatherproof enclosure as well. I'm thinking some sort of canvas tent that goes over the tower and bikini that keeps wind and rain out.

Sounds awesome

[sandm]

guy I boat with occasionally's dad bought a 46ft twin engine diesel formula cruiser(twin stateroom and has to be 15 or 16ft wide) in tennessee and boated it from there to green bay. took several days and a LOT of gas. he talked about first making sure that he knew the waterways as they shift, locks were sometimes more than 30 minutes depending on what kind of boat could be coming the other way and the very large boat traffic that can hold you up. staying in the shipping channel will ensure you are deep enough but that could be a challenge sometimes with the size of your boat and the ones you are likely to run into on the trip.
said it was a great experience tho.

[boardman74]

I have a 36 foot cruiser and we spend about 25-30 nights a summer "camping" on the boat so I will add what I have found. You will never enjoyably make your 200 miles a day. Thats far in a boat. You are thinking flat time like in a car. As in 200 miles divided by 25 mph is 8 hours. It won't be like that. Locks are slow. Commercial traffic always takes priority. Get a barge that is to big to fit in the lock and has to break apart into multiple pieces and you can wait 2-3 hours easily. Smaller marinas have 1 gas pump, larger ones usually only 2. Your fuel stops are going to take an hour if you have 4 boats. Maybe more, boaters are slow at the dock and the workers aren't any faster. Your going to have to do that twice a day. So add 2 hours for locks(could be far worse) and 2 for fuel(again best case) and you are in the boat for 12 hours running flat out in between. No: no wake zones, no waiting for slower boats, no issues…. or your behind. Now add you need light in the morning to break camp and light at night to set up. 200 miles a day in to much and an unrealistic expectation.

We have a big comfortable boat. 36 feet/ 13 foot beam and 17000 lbs dry. It doesn't get beat around like your going to. Beds, room to move around, bathroom, fridge, air, power…..and no way do we run 12 hours a day. We take 3-5 long trips a summer(more than 2 days or 100 miles). We always factor 50-75 miles a day and roughly 8 hours on the move. Driving a boat is far more taxing than a car, more like a motorcycle. Your in the sun, the wind, your getting beat up by the chop. Then add you have to be on high alert all the time for trash in the water, waves, dumb boaters, fisherman act. 12 hours in a boat will be is absolutely draining. At 8 hours you feel it. You'd be miserable by day 3. Most are our cruising friends add in at least 1 down day on a week trip. A day you don't plan to move and can relax and regroup physically and mentally. Also gives you a make up day incase something happens and your behind.

Number one thing we see with new cruising boaters every year is what you are talking. Thinking they are going to cover way more distance than they actually are. Can you cover the 200 in a day…sure. You can push hard and do it. But its not going to be enjoyable. Not for you and even less for your first mate(Wifey)!! Slow down and enjoy the trip. Enjoy the beauty of the river, the landscape, the wildlife. Get out at some of the marinas and walk around the little river towns. Sounds cheesy, but its true. Trust me you will appreciate a hot meal you didn't make and a bloody mary in the morning!!! Cut your daily distance in half and I think you will enjoy your trip way more. Plus you might be able to talk the wife into doing it again next year!!!!

[whiteflash watersports]

Here is a good article about the "voyage"

http://www.wakeboardingmag.com/blog/.../14/the-voyage

and get a sea tow membership. If you need them and you don't have a membership remember they always go to members first.

https://www.seatow.com/

[Ditch Doctor]

Sounds fun to me. Do you have a VHF/UHF radio? Does it have an antenna, GPS and a registered MMSI #?

Yes I have a VHF radio and GPS. No MMSI#.

[Ditch Doctor]

My biggest concern would be unfamiliarity with the river. Are there sand bars that shift with the currents? Running aground 500 miles from your trailer would be a terrible situation.

Sounds like an awesome trip, to be honest. I do think that 200 miles by boat is going to feel like a really long time. I have cruised about 80 miles round trip on Lake Powell in a day and it felt like a really long day, even with hikes, surfing and other stuff to break it up.

I have river charts to plan around possible hazard and also have a contingency plane for a major breakdown to be picked up with my trailer at the nearest ramp.

We regularly run 100 miles a day in the same river system without issues. Although I am fearful of this trip for the amount of time it will take.

[Ditch Doctor]

Set your boat up to camp on it instead of the shore. You will need a weatherproof enclosure as well. I'm thinking some sort of canvas tent that goes over the tower and bikini that keeps wind and rain out.

Sounds awesome

That is a great idea and one I have been exploring!!