In response to an earlier post about how to get up the St. Lawrence Seaway, several of you friends out there posted that the best way to get from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes was via the Erie Canal. I didn't know that canal was still operating! That got me to thinking that there is another canal in Illinois that makes it possible for a ship or boat to get from Chicago to the Mississippi River. All of which leads me to this question: Are both of those canals sailboat-friendly? That is, do they have enough clearance at all points for a tall mast? Do they have enough depth to permit passage of a boat with six feet of draft? Does the Mississippi itself have enough depth as far north as Davenport-Moline to permit passage of a sailboat from Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico?
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Steve O.
canals
The Erie Canal is indeed still operating, but there is not clearance for masts. One would have to transit the canal with the mast down, then step the mast at the terminus (Buffalo or Albany.) Also, the Erie closes in November, around the 10th or 11th, if I'm not mistaken. I believe the other canal you are speaking of is the Illinois Ship Canal, but I'm not as familiar with it.
The Erie Canal is indeed still operating, but there is not clearance for masts. One would have to transit the canal with the mast down, then step the mast at the terminus (Buffalo or Albany.) Also, the Erie closes in November, around the 10th or 11th, if I'm not mistaken. I believe the other canal you are speaking of is the Illinois Ship Canal, but I'm not as familiar with it.
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Jim Cook
I'll add some questions to yours
I would also like to know about costs involved in using the canals and if there are costs to use the locks in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Thanks, JimC
I would also like to know about costs involved in using the canals and if there are costs to use the locks in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Thanks, JimC
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Guest
Atlantic to Great lakes.
The most popular route is up the Hudson River to Albany. Join the Erie Canal going west to Onieda Lake and into the Oswego River going north to the town of Oswego, the entrance to lake Ontario. You should check dates for your transit as the canal is not open during the winter months. This route is very well bouyed so navigation should be a snap. Locks are usually pretty cheap, the ones on the Welland canal which links Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and lar5ge enough to hold a hundred Hunters are only $5.00/lock.
The most popular route is up the Hudson River to Albany. Join the Erie Canal going west to Onieda Lake and into the Oswego River going north to the town of Oswego, the entrance to lake Ontario. You should check dates for your transit as the canal is not open during the winter months. This route is very well bouyed so navigation should be a snap. Locks are usually pretty cheap, the ones on the Welland canal which links Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and lar5ge enough to hold a hundred Hunters are only $5.00/lock.
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Debra Blatnik
What you are looking for is the Illinois Waterway
Charts are available...so that will be your best bet there are parks at some of the locks...it is all run by the army corps of engineers...at least around Joliet, these are not in the best sections of town. (Not my idea of a family vacation... it may get better as you get past Joliet.) I grew up in that area, but I never sailed on most of it so most of this is a guess. Powerboats on the river sections (Kankakee River to Illinois River to Mississippi River) was great. It is a fairly active waterway -- mostly barges hauling anything from grain to salt to coal. I would guess a depth of 10 feet or more. I would really doubt that it is sailboat friendly from bridge height POV. The water in parts of the waterway is not very clean. I'm not sure I would even want to use it for the head. But then it is an active water way with a lot of boats, so it should be OK for engine cooling. The waterway is restricted so that you will be motoring most of the way from Chicago to the Illiniois river must be 75 or 100 miles.
Charts are available...so that will be your best bet there are parks at some of the locks...it is all run by the army corps of engineers...at least around Joliet, these are not in the best sections of town. (Not my idea of a family vacation... it may get better as you get past Joliet.) I grew up in that area, but I never sailed on most of it so most of this is a guess. Powerboats on the river sections (Kankakee River to Illinois River to Mississippi River) was great. It is a fairly active waterway -- mostly barges hauling anything from grain to salt to coal. I would guess a depth of 10 feet or more. I would really doubt that it is sailboat friendly from bridge height POV. The water in parts of the waterway is not very clean. I'm not sure I would even want to use it for the head. But then it is an active water way with a lot of boats, so it should be OK for engine cooling. The waterway is restricted so that you will be motoring most of the way from Chicago to the Illiniois river must be 75 or 100 miles.
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Mark Southworth
Great Lakes Canals
Check out lakelandboating.com, they have detailed accounts of trips north/south using both the Mississipi River system and Erie Canal. Very interesting and informative reading, enjoy. Mark Southworth S/V Joy
Check out lakelandboating.com, they have detailed accounts of trips north/south using both the Mississipi River system and Erie Canal. Very interesting and informative reading, enjoy. Mark Southworth S/V Joy
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Brian Jarchow
Do a 30 second search
If you go to your favorite search engine and do a quick search, you will come up with the official website for the New York State canal system, and plenty of pages with information on the Illinois Waterway. These websites will give you information such as operting hours, fees, overhead clearance, depth, and anything else you might need to know. Also, for you Ken, the concept of circling the eastern US using these waterways and the river is often called by eastern sailors the 'great circle route'. Now I have no concept why they use this name, but if you put that phrase into your favorite search engine you will find a lot of stories of people who have done that trip. I am planning to take a trip from Chicago to Seattle via the Erie
If you go to your favorite search engine and do a quick search, you will come up with the official website for the New York State canal system, and plenty of pages with information on the Illinois Waterway. These websites will give you information such as operting hours, fees, overhead clearance, depth, and anything else you might need to know. Also, for you Ken, the concept of circling the eastern US using these waterways and the river is often called by eastern sailors the 'great circle route'. Now I have no concept why they use this name, but if you put that phrase into your favorite search engine you will find a lot of stories of people who have done that trip. I am planning to take a trip from Chicago to Seattle via the Erie
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Kenneth Pfaff
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Don Evans
Michigan to Mississippi
Ken, you can follow the log of Veleda, an Ontario 29, as they journey from their homeport of Toronto across the Great Lakes connecting to the Miss. via the Canal at Chicago, then eventually across the pond. Follow their journey at www.searoom.com My inlaws travelled this journey on their honeymoon, completing the circle in just over a year, top of the Miss. to Thunder Bay on Superior. Don
Ken, you can follow the log of Veleda, an Ontario 29, as they journey from their homeport of Toronto across the Great Lakes connecting to the Miss. via the Canal at Chicago, then eventually across the pond. Follow their journey at www.searoom.com My inlaws travelled this journey on their honeymoon, completing the circle in just over a year, top of the Miss. to Thunder Bay on Superior. Don
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