Advice please. Connecticut to Lake Michigan

[mickand]

you need to buy Eldridge Tide & Pilot Book 2021 - it has currents in Long Island Sound, East river, Hudson river etc..
For max speed & economy time your trip to run with the current all the way to Hell Gate. Hell Gate is a breeze at any stage of current.
I would lower the mast, check the bridge clearances and do the Harlem river to the Hudson. It saves you about 30 miles.
When you get to the Hudson, check the current. If its against you, head over to the western shore and drop the hook.
Keep your eye on the current and set off as soon as it turns in your favor.
You can then ride it for up to 10hrs depending on what speed you are doing.
I have daily logs of distances/stops/timings etc. all the way from Guilford CT to Racine via the Western Erie.
Let me know and I'll email them to you.

 

[rgano]

AIS can be your friend in dealing with commercial guys. They like to see your name on their screens every bit as much as you like seeing theirs. Makes VHF comms between you a snap. When I anchored close to channels in the western river system, AIS was the best "anchor light" you could have for night running tows.

You boat is my GB42 woodie with its Lehmans on steroids. You can run when you gotta.

 

[rslifkin]

You boat is my GB42 woodie with its Lehmans on steroids. You can run when you gotta.

The GBs with the big engines do get up and run. There's a later model GB 46 around here, not sure what engines it's got, but I've seen it on AIS doing 16 - 17 kts a few times.

 

[Circumnavigator]

Where are you bringing the boat to in Michigan?

I would suggest joining the Great Lakes Cruising Club. Has detailed information on all the Great Lakes ports and anchorages. What is available as far as services..

Agreed -- the GLCC Harbor Reports were very useful on our 2018 trip in Fintry (photo to the left) up the St. Lawrence thru all five Great Lakes and back. We wrote an article on our trip for the CCA's Voyages magazine which you can read at https://issuu.com/cruisingclub/docs/voyages_2020 page 98. The only part of it which is really relevant to you is from Lake Erie to Mackinac.


You will see that we did overnights across Ontario, Erie, and Huron both ways. As noted in the article, it's easy, because the lake freighters keep to the "highways" marked on the charts and you can just ride the "sidewalk" a mile to the right. Overnights save a lot of time because you're running 24 hours instead of maybe ten, after allowing for getting into and out of an anchorage or marina



I've been through Hell Gate half a dozen times in fast boats and slow. I suggest going through Hell Gate and the East River against the tide, as you have much more control over the boat in the sometimes erratic swirls and in traffic as you go down the East River. It also has the advantage that you get a following current in the Hudson as you round the Battery. The only anchorage we used that isn't in the books is the west side of the Hudson south of the Tappan Zee You can easily get well out of the channel. Use plenty of scope and an anchor that will reset itself as you swing with the tide.



In the heavy traffic areas -- particularly around NYC -- tune your main VHF to 13 and don't hesitate to use it to ask the intentions of other boats. All of the commercial boats will have it on (it's required of all boats over 65', but even the smaller ones have it) and will talk to you. Keep a handheld -- or a second fixed radio -- on 16.


Install at least an AIS receiver. Or, at the very least, keep Marinetraffic.com or vesselfinder.com up on your cell phone or a tablet. Better to install a full AIS transceiver. We've used the Furuno FA-50 on both Fintry and our new boat.



Fintry has an 8" rubber rub rail all around, but concrete abrades it, so we took a GLCC suggestion and made four fenders out of 4x4" timbers with a loop of line sized to hang right from cleats. They suggested covering with heavy canvas, but with the rub rail we didn't bother. They worked great -- fewer moving parts than fender boards and we didn't have to worry about them riding up in the down locks. Note that these can catch on the concrete so you need to hang them from cleats, not a handrail.


Jim

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: Canal part easy, just keep it between the lines, or banks as most might call them.

Lack of generator an issue however as some areas of canal don't have electric at docks. Personally I'd get gen fixed first.

Then Lake Erie. Now time to be aware of conditions from this point forward. Just cause they're lakes doesn't mean they can't jump up all angry like you know. The Welland canal is opening and starting to get very busy so you will pick up commercial traffic on Erie and beyond. I'd just hug the coast as much as I could in a new to me boat.

What a shame if you're running it like a delivery. So much to enjoy along the way. Would be great if you could take a day here and a day there to stop and smell the algae or whatever else stinky or smelly there is. Seriously, even the Mistake by the Lake is a great stop. People spend their life planning to loop and here you are with half a loop in front of you. I hate if you miss it.

 

[MRRiley]

I will soon get some piloting lessons from a person who knows the GB42. I have Admiral and good sailing friend (a good diesel guy too) along for the entire trip home. I’ve had all filters, oil, impellers changed. I plan to have spares aboard. I am going to purchase a couple of the round type fenders for the Erie Canal locks. I have updated my Navionics. I have back-up hand-held GPS and VHF.

I can't be of any help with routing nor stops but I will suggest taking a good look at steering systems, especially if hydraulic, pumps, hoses, connections, etc. As well as generators, alternators and batteries, power production, regulation and distribution. Lastly, heads and water distribution, pumps, hoses, flapper valves, etc.

It seems these areas produce most of the reason cruising is sometimes defined as simply fixing the boat in foreign ports.

I assume you'll have a decent damage control plan and appropriate materials for various sundry things, fire, flooding, grounding, personal injury etc.

Looking forward to following along with your adventures!

 

[Alaskaflyer]

We wrote an article on our trip for the CCA's Voyages magazine which you can read at https://issuu.com/cruisingclub/docs/voyages_2020 page 98. The only part of it which is really relevant to you is from Lake Erie to Mackinac.


Jim

Great read, thanks! I was Chief Ranger at Isle Royale for three years and lived in Houghton near the water and the Michigan Tech campus when not on the island, though we were on to a new assignment in California by the time you made your trip.

 

[Pat T]

The Admiral and I loaded up the SUV and are headed to Essex now and will arrive tomorrow. We’ve been reading your posts intently the past two days so thanks again. Great suggestions and info from you guys and I now have some better direction as I spend the next 2 weeks preparing for our journey.

 

[jleonard]

The Admiral and I loaded up the SUV and are headed to Essex now and will arrive tomorrow. We’ve been reading your posts intently the past two days so thanks again. Great suggestions and info from you guys and I now have some better direction as I spend the next 2 weeks preparing for our journey.

Good luck on your prep and trip.
One last thing I'll mention. IF you get a late start or weather makes the sound a little hairy, you can always duck in at Mattituck inlet which is on the north shore of Long Island. The entrance is well marked and there is a fairly long channel, but a decent albeit small basin at the end that is a good anchorage.
You won't be able to put out much scope, but you won't need it.

And again I'll say don't worry too much about the East River and Hell gate. It's nowhere near as bad as folks say. I've been thru many times with current both ways, last time against the flow and making 2 knots. Long but perfectly safe.