Sandusky to Erie Canal

[meridian28]

how will you sea trial it?

[RicknSue]

[QUOTE=SURV69;1013497]I envy you . . .

I dock in Port Clinton and I'm not looking forward to haulout in about 2+ months.

Hopefully, I'll be making the same trip as a annual sojourn.[/QUOTE

Me too...we have an Island Packet at our marina getting ready to go also....3 more years for us, then we'll be right behind you!!

[CarinaPDX]

It is not a bad idea to be able to use the dinghy outboard for emergencies, particularly if it is 10-15hp. But you don't need a bracket - just tie the dinghy alongside the quarter with the engine in place. Outboard brackets sound better than they are - any kind of rolling or pitching will have the outboard alternating between drowning and over-revving out of the water. There will also be limits to the dinghy of course.

I have pushed heavy 50ft yachts a mile or more with my 15, so don't underestimate them.

Greg

[PSA]

I'm replying to my own post with the experience under my belt.

We ended up buying the boat in Port Clinton,OH. It's a 1987 Morgan 41 classic that had been on the hard for 3 years. We worked on it for 3 weeks after putting it in the water and stepping the mast. We then sailed it up Lake Erie to Buffalo and are now 208 miles into the Erie Canal. There is no way in hell we could have made the journey up Lake Erie with the mast in a cradle on the deck, during this time of year anyway. The wind blew out of the south or west everyday and the waves were so steep with such a short period that it felt like we were in a washing machine. The boat doesn't have time to recover from each wave so it rolls and pitches horribly.

We crossed Lake Oneida today in relatively calm conditions (winds w 10 kts, 1-2' waves) and a Canadian boat crossing in front of us almost lost there mast when it shifted and part of the cradle collapsed. They had to scramble to lash it down to keep it from going over.

People we met in Port Clinton said Lake Erie would be the toughest part of our journey and I think they were right.

Anyway, we made it and are on our way to the Bahamas.
If anyone wants to follow our trip our blog is Shambala Sails

[SURV69]

I was wondering what happened to Betty Jane.

You're doing what I am hoping to do soon . . . will definitely tag your blog.


John
Newport28
dock C-7

[CarinaPDX]

Glad to hear you made it past Oneida and are on your way. Sorry that Erie was so rough, but that does seem common due to the shallow fresh water and east-west orientation.

I appreciate your coming back with your experiences. It is tempting to dismiss warnings from CF members as overly cautious, but as you confirmed sometimes it pays to be cautious. Personally I wish I had known about Oneida before I crossed it - I would have waited and avoided a pretty unnerving experience.

Fair winds,

Greg

[RicknSue]

Glad you made it- Just in time for the storm- be safe!!
Lake Erie can be a real treat, can't it? The saying is 'if you can sail there, then you can sail anywhere'- not so sure about that, but it can get pretty violent-, I had to move my boats today up to the river for haulout this week, and the waves were a good 8', and pretty sustained 30-35 knot winds, with no canvas on we heeling a good 15 degrees once we were in the river and 'out of the wind' , but as a positive it was cold and raining

Enjoy your trip - we'll be watching the blog.