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Old 19-08-2019, 10:22   #1
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loop info for Calumet Harbor to Mississippi

70' motor sailor with 7.7' Draft


1) where is a good marina to get dis-masted at? 2 masts, 1- 65' keel step, and 2nd missen is-55' deck stepped. any where reasonable within 50-80 miles of entrance.


2) what is the latest that we could go thru to Mississippi river? hoping for end of October.


are locks open year round?


are bridges manned year round, with masts down height is 18'


I have been searching for a guide that has all the locks listed along with all the bridges locations height closed and open etc... all the way to the Gulf is there one out there?
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Old 21-08-2019, 19:54   #2
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Re: loop info for Calumet Harbor to Mississippi

I’ve been through that route twice and used Active Captain on Garmin BlueChart on a iPad. It had all the necessary information on bridge heights. I’am on a 38’ sedan bridge so have no idea on stepping the masts. There is a yard not to far off the lake that could probably do it, I do not remember the name.
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Old 21-08-2019, 20:23   #3
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Re: loop info for Calumet Harbor to Mississippi

The cheapest place to get a mast unstepped is my homeport of Hammond. However their crane is only 50' above the water, don't know if that will work. There are 2 boat yards on the Calumet River with better equipment, but triple the price. Hammond is the only marina near Chicago that keeps boats in the water over the winter.

Locks and bridges are not open year round, the shipping season usually ends around December.

With 18' air draft, it will be a tight squeeze under the bridges near Chicago and may not be possible with high water. The US Army Corps of Engineers has detailed charts for the river system.
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Old 21-08-2019, 20:29   #4
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Re: loop info for Calumet Harbor to Mississippi

Please don't say dis-masted. Ouch! Say take down a mast.

The best boatyard to take down a mast in Chicago is right at the start of the Calumet. Crowley's Yacht Yard is probably the most professional boat yard in the area. Not cheap but very good.

I don't know for sure but considering the barge traffic to Chicago from the Mississippi river I would expect that this route is open year round.
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Old 21-08-2019, 21:44   #5
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Re: loop info for Calumet Harbor to Mississippi

What I said about the locks freezing over is wrong. The rivers stay ice free the majority of the time, though they do occasionally freeze. However, some of the locks on the Illinois river are doing a two week maintenance closure this fall.

https://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Missi...gation-Status/
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Old 21-08-2019, 23:16   #6
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Re: loop info for Calumet Harbor to Mississippi

October won't be a problem for freezing. Most years even into December it won't be an issue. Make sure you can run the heat or otherwise be protected from the cold.

We did it that time of year and it got cold sitting in the cockpit for 6-8hr in a day.

Also, keep in mind you don't want to run at night, so later in the season, you have fewer hours of daylight to work with.
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