Catboats Travel ICW

[percision185]

Anyone have some information on catboats traveling the ICW; specifically looking from NC to FL? Good travel, depth, wind, distances, marina availability? I want to travel in short increments of 4 to 5 days at a time, moor then return to continue the route at my leisure. Thanks for your reply's. Mike

[FSMike]

Mike -

I think the simplest way for you to answer your questions is to go out and purchase the new edition(s) of the Waterway Guide and the chart kits for the appropriate areas.

Marinas are constantly going in and out of business, and the Guide would be invaluable for you to plan where to leave your boat.

Are you referring to catamarans or catboats? A catamaran is going to cover more distance in a day than a catboat.

[motion30]

Where are you leaving from and where do you want to wind up?

[percision185]

I was talking about a catboat not catamaran. I'm lookingfor smaller boat that has alot of room and can store easily in Bonita Springs FL where I reside.
I was thing of leaving from some where just nort of georgia boarder. I would like to see the "ditch" and the Dismal swamp.

[FSMike]

If you wish to see the Dismal Swamp you are going to need to be a good bit North of Georgia. The Dismal Swamp canal starts near Chesapeake, Va. and ends near Elizabeth City, N.C.

If you go through the canal, don't forget to hit a tree with your rigging -- It's traditional.

[ggray]

Get a copies of Skipper Bob's Anchorages on the ICW, and Marinas on the ICW. (I have no connection to these publications, except as a satisfied user)

Also, you might enjoy the book "The Boy, Me and the Cat" by Henry Plummer, about a voyage down the ICW, MA to Miami, and back in a catboat in 1912.Fun to read about similarities and differences from what it is today. Then there was no Alligator River to Pungo River Canal, but there was a Raritan to Delaware R Canal that they used.