Ohio Mississippi River Cruise Data

[Richard B. Hyde]

My bride of nearly 50 years and I are planning on celebrating our 50th with a cruise starting some place on the upper Ohio and traveling down to the Mississippi and then up the Mississippi to Minneapolis in the fall of 2009.

We are currently designing and building our vessel which will be basically our Sunlite Eagle fold down slide in pickup camper mounted on a pair of 25" Dia. X 25' aluminium pontoons powered by two 25HP Mercury outboards.

We are most interested in any advise and counsel that your fellow members can provide us on the following subjects:

Navigation Charts:
What is available and where? Should we be thinking satalite navigation?
Are there CD's available that we could download to a PC?

Marine facilities available:
Is there information published indicating locations of marinias with fuel &
dumpsites etc. for the Ohio and upper Mississippi?

Points of interest:
Are there any publications similiar to the Mile Post that we used on our
tour of the Alaskan Highway that lists points of interest on the Ohio
and the Upper Mississippi?

As you can tell, we are in need of a lot of help at this point and will appreciate all that your members can provide so that we can make this cruise as memorable as our tour of Canada and Alaska
Thank You!

Richard B.

 

[SnappingTurtle]

Re: Ohio Mississippi River Cruise Data

I am sorry I can't help with any of your questions, but this sounds like a great trip.

If you would like to adopt two “Grand Kids” to take along with you and your wife, we would be glad to volunteer.

Be sure and post lots of before and during photos!

Have fun!

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Ohio Mississippi River Cruise Data

Google Mississippi River Navigation and you'll find all sorts of sites. The Army Corps of Engineers publishes navigational charts for the river (not cheap). There are several books on cruising the Mississippi, as well, and you will encounter them on sites from that search.

Navigational charts are available in pdf format here:

http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/NIC2/mrcharts.cfm

North of the Ohio River, there are many anchorages and marinas you can stop at. Every river town has one. Lots and lots of barge traffic on the river, and it can be a hazard, to be sure.

Many people make the cruise you're planning.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Ohio Mississippi River Cruise Data

you might consider going larger with the engine, current and wind can play havoc, especially in tight areas. are you mounting them on each toon, or side by side in the middle. on each toon would give you a little more control as you can power one forward, the other reverse.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Ohio Mississippi River Cruise Data

TD has a good point, there, especially if you're heading upriver. The main channel, which is only guaranteed to be 9' deep, is not wide, and off channel are many areas full of stumps, barely submerged wing dams, and other hazards.

Currents can be surprisingly fast and erratic, especially near the many locks and dams. Plenty of power is a really good idea.

Springtime is especially hazardous, as the river is full of logs and even whole trees, barely submerged. It's the barge trafiic, though, that is the biggest hazard, and constant vigilance is required, since they make wakes you will not believe at times.

I boat occasionally between Lock and Dam no. 1 and no. 2, and generally keep my outboard running, even when at anchor fishing. You don't want to be sideways when a barge wake rolls in. But, then, my boat is just a 12' aluminum boat, so you'll have a little more width and size.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Ohio Mississippi River Cruise Data

A couple of other notes:

Have a good anchor with plenty of line and chain, ready at all times.

Have at least a handheld VHF radio for use in communicating with lock operators. You can use horn signals with them, but it's better to talk with them, since you can't see what's coming downstream above the lock. They'll tell you if you have a radio. If one of the big tows of 15 barges, laden with iron ore is coming downriver, it locks through in several stages, which can take a lot of time. You don't want to be waiting below a lock during that time. Instead, you can stop and have a meal or something.

Also, you can communicate with the barges themselves, if necessary when you encounter them. They'll often give you a suggestion about which side of the channel to take, because nobody knows the river like they do.

The locks all use the same channel, as do the barges, but I'm afraid I don't know what channel it is, since I don't carry a VHF, since I rarely lock through.

 

[External Combustion]

Re: Ohio Mississippi River Cruise Data

I have ran the navigation system from Catoosa, OK to New Orelans a couple of times and am getting ready to do it again. Google the Corps of Engineers for the navigation charts. It will take several for your trip. Most of the charts are available on the websites, but you are supposed to have a paper set available on board. They give all of the locking information as well as the facilities on the river, the channels used on the radio, parks, launching ramps, etc. Well worth the money.

From what I understand the Corps says the fastest current in the system is from Arkansas City to Vicksburg. During spring flood it runs up to 7.8 MPH and the August low is around 3.7 MPH. I hear the upper Mississippi can get fast also. I think you will want a little more horsepower than twin 25s. Wind will do a number on you with little engines and propellers. In the old days the paddlewheel steamers used to tie up during heavy winds.

Pay attention to listed anchorages. You will need to be able to make them before you shut down for the day. Anchoring in the channel and along some banks is forbidden (for good reasons, tows are hard to control). Watch out for the tows. Might makes right, no matter what the actual navigations rules say. It is hard to see over a quarter mile long tow and deck hands are not the most reliable lookouts. The wake from the towboats can rock a small boat pretty hard. If you will have dishes loose in unsecured cabinets they will find their way to the bottom of your boat.

It is not legally needed, yet you would be crazy not to get a handheld VHF. By monitoring the channels you will know when a tow is coming, especially in some of the blind bends. Another time it is very important to know this is when the tows are running between some bridges and locks. They can take up the whole channel and the time between the bridges can be critical to them.

Know where you are going to get fuel. You can't guess and hope for the best as there are some long stretches where it is not available within several miles of the river.

You should have some basic skill in reading the water before you go on your trip. Going up river will require you to stick close to the sides of the river to avoid the heavy current. Learning to read the water will help keep your hull and engines in one piece.

It should be a fun trip. I have done it in a 14' V bottom fishing boat so a small craft should not keep you from it. This year I am taking the boat in my signature. There will be a canopy on it to make things much easier.

There is some more that I can share with you if you send me a PM.

Good luck and happy sailing.

PS: Cincinnatti Ohio to Minniapolis Minnesota on the system is 1743 miles. What a 50th cruise!

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Ohio Mississippi River Cruise Data

I have ran the navigation system from Catoosa, OK to New Orelans a couple of times and am getting ready to do it again. Google the Corps of Engineers for the navigation charts. It will take several for your trip. Most of the charts are available on the websites, but you are supposed to have a paper set available on board. They give all of the locking information as well as the facilities on the river, the channels used on the radio, parks, launching ramps, etc. Well worth the money.

From what I understand the Corps says the fastest current in the system is from Arkansas City to Vicksburg. During spring flood it runs up to 7.8 MPH and the August low is around 3.7 MPH. I hear the upper Mississippi can get fast also. I think you will want a little more horsepower than twin 25s. Wind will do a number on you with little engines and propellers. In the old days the paddlewheel steamers used to tie up during heavy winds.

Pay attention to listed anchorages. You will need to be able to make them before you shut down for the day. Anchoring in the channel and along some banks is forbidden (for good reasons, tows are hard to control). Watch out for the tows. Might makes right, no matter what the actual navigations rules say. It is hard to see over a quarter mile long tow and deck hands are not the most reliable lookouts. The wake from the towboats can rock a small boat pretty hard. If you will have dishes loose in unsecured cabinets they will find their way to the bottom of your boat.

It is not legally needed, yet you would be crazy not to get a handheld VHF. By monitoring the channels you will know when a tow is coming, especially in some of the blind bends. Another time it is very important to know this is when the tows are running between some bridges and locks. They can take up the whole channel and the time between the bridges can be critical to them.

Know where you are going to get fuel. You can't guess and hope for the best as there are some long stretches where it is not available within several miles of the river.

You should have some basic skill in reading the water before you go on your trip. Going up river will require you to stick close to the sides of the river to avoid the heavy current. Learning to read the water will help keep your hull and engines in one piece.

It should be a fun trip. I have done it in a 14' V bottom fishing boat so a small craft should not keep you from it. This year I am taking the boat in my signature. There will be a canopy on it to make things much easier.

There is some more that I can share with you if you send me a PM.

Good luck and happy sailing.

PS: Cincinnatti Ohio to Minniapolis Minnesota on the system is 1743 miles. What a 50th cruise!

Fuel docks and other docks are far more numerous in the upper river than below St. Lous. A lot of river towns have large free docks where you can tie up, and there are also private marinas with transient facilities at fairly frequent intervals.

From the books I have read on the cruise, the upper Mississippi is pretty friendly to cruisers. Except for the barge tows, that is. There's a lot of recreational traffic on the river, as well, at least from Iowa northwards. River cruising is a popular activity. Plus there are a pile of big passenger boats running up and down the river, usually within a particular pool.

The individual DNRs in the states along the rivers also have information on their sites, along with books on the river within the individual states. In Minnesota, the book is free, and contains lock info, and more.

Your cruise sounds like a lot of fun. Don't wait until too late in the Fall, though. Things start getting chilly in October up here in MN.

 

[Locke]

Re: Ohio Mississippi River Cruise Data

Sounds like an adventure but I question your choice of vessel, I would hate for you not to celebrate your 51st due to drowning. Back in the 70?s when I lived in Peoria, Ill with my folks we went down the Illinois and up the Mississippi several times on 3 week summer vacations but we were traveling in a 36? Chris Craft with twin 430ci V8?s. The current can be swift and in the event you lose one engine (it happens) you should be able to navigate with one engine for safety reasons. I?m sure things have changed along the river since the 70?s but it was a lot of fun, the people you meet are great and there should be plenty of marina?s and services once you reach St Louis. I remember Lake Village in St. Charles, Mo, the municipal docks in Hannibal and Quincy, Mo, Burlington, IA and Prairie Du Chein, WI being nice. Have fun, Be safe.

Locke

 

[Richard B. Hyde]

Re: Ohio Mississippi River Cruise Data

Good morning all you good people.

Thank you so very much for all the great information and advice. We really will take it all to heart.

This is a great forum and I feel I will most likely have more specific questoins as I get farther into the design and construction of our vessel.

To put your minds some what at ease, having lived within 6 miles of the Mississippi in NE Iowa all my life and being an active outdoorsman, I have had lots of experience navigating on water. Some of it a bit hazardous at times such as on upper lake Superior in a 13' fishing boat with two little outboards.

I promise not to put my bride in any such hazardous situations because we really want to spend lots more years together here on earth.

Thank you again.

Sincerely
Richard B. Hyde