ICW CRUISE

[tmise]

Thinking of doing a cruise from Wilmington NC to Key West and back. Boat will be a 27-30 foot twin outboard, 300 gallon fuel tank, 32 mph cruise speed. Do plan on stops for sightseeing and fine dining. How long should I allow for this round trip? Also any input on places to see, good marinas to dock at and great restaurants would be appreciated!

[model 10]

You won't be able to do 32mph all that often down in FL. It would be fun for you though. I would guess 2 weeks each way.

[J Clark H356]

You’re responsible for your wake. Never make it there and back in two weeks and not get fined and do damage to shore/other boats. Don’t think people take it lightly getting damaged by wakes. They will have the sheriff waiting for you downstream.

[boatpoker]

Took us about 3 months but life at 32knots is not our thing.

[tmise]

I believe my 32 mph cruising speed has been misinterpreted. I no way expect or plan on doing the ICW at those speeds unless I encounter open water that allows it. The 32 mph is the boats optimal cruising speed, not planned speeds for the cruise.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, tmise.

[sailorboy1]

OP please post when you plan to make this trip. I would like to avoid 1 more power boat waking me out of the channel on my return trip south in the fall.

Far as how long it will take you, it depends on how much of a wake you plan to made. Far as stops, marinas and restaurants get a guidebook or look up on active captain (most of the sights are way over rated in the guidebook)

[Cloroxbottle]

Originally Posted by tmise

Do plan on stops for sightseeing and fine dining. How long should I allow for this round trip?

How much time do you have? Depending on how much sightseeing you wanted to do, this is easily a trip that you could start in November and end the following March-April.

[Suijin]

Your best bet is to work your way down your expected route on Active Captain, looking at reviews, cautions etc and plan your trip schedule that way with a range from “quick” to “leisurely”. Some days you may be able to cut outside and make tracks.

No one can give you an estimate not knowing your appetite for running each day vs stopping and smelling the roses.

[valhalla360]

1yr would be a nice option but with your cruise speed, you can do it in a much shorter time.

You are looking at somewhere around 900 miles each way. Averaging 100 mile each travel day you need about 2 weeks each direction to account for weather. Of course some days, you might only make it 50 miles due to no wake zones (rude of other posters to assume you would violate them) but you also have the speed to pop out onto the ocean and knock out 200 miles in a day if the weather is nice.

I would want at least 2 months so you have time to stop and see the sights.

[tmise]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

1yr would be a nice option but with your cruise speed, you can do it in a much shorter time.

You are looking at somewhere around 900 miles each way. Averaging 100 mile each travel day you need about 2 weeks each direction to account for weather. Of course some days, you might only make it 50 miles due to no wake zones (rude of other posters to assume you would violate them) but you also have the speed to pop out onto the ocean and knock out 200 miles in a day if the weather is nice.

I would want at least 2 months so you have time to stop and see the sights.

I believe they misinterpreted my mention of a 32 mph cruise speed. Mentioned that because that is my intended speed for wide open areas that don’t have a no wake zone and it is the most efficient cruising speed for the boat. Thanks for your input, I agree with 4-5 weeks time!

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by tmise

I believe they misinterpreted my mention of a 32 mph cruise speed. Mentioned that because that is my intended speed for wide open areas that don’t have a no wake zone and it is the most efficient cruising speed for the boat. Thanks for your input, I agree with 4-5 weeks time!

No, they didn't misinterpret. There are idiots on all types of boats and they made the leap to the assumption that you are one of them, which was wrong to assume.

While there are lots of no wake zones, there are also lots of stretches where you can get up on plane. The one thing that would be nice to keep in mind. There are a lot of stretches where you are not speed restricted but the channel is relatively narrow (often below the surface), so slow boats are limited in their ability to react. On open water on our sailboat, I would just bear off a bit to ride out the wakes and it was no big deal. But often the deep channel will be 100' wide and that's not an option to bear off without running into the shallows.

I do suggest doing some tests to estimate your MPG at various speeds. Based on our 31' power boat that got 1.5MPG, I would figure on the order of 1200gal round trip. Not insignificant but not horrible either.

[tmise]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

No, they didn't misinterpret. There are idiots on all types of boats and they made the leap to the assumption that you are one of them, which was wrong to assume.

While there are lots of no wake zones, there are also lots of stretches where you can get up on plane. The one thing that would be nice to keep in mind. There are a lot of stretches where you are not speed restricted but the channel is relatively narrow (often below the surface), so slow boats are limited in their ability to react. On open water on our sailboat, I would just bear off a bit to ride out the wakes and it was no big deal. But often the deep channel will be 100' wide and that's not an option to bear off without running into the shallows.

I do suggest doing some tests to estimate your MPG at various speeds. Based on our 31' power boat that got 1.5MPG, I would figure on the order of 1200gal round trip. Not insignificant but not horrible either.

Thank you, appreciate your input!

[a64pilot]

I’m assuming that this is a one Marina to another type of journey, Boat really isn’t really equipped to spend time at anchor? If so then start planning of course from one Marina to the other.

[tmise]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I’m assuming that this is a one Marina to another type of journey, Boat really isn’t really equipped to spend time at anchor? If so then start planning of course from one Marina to the other.

No actually I’d rather spend time at anchor. Will dock at marinas in order to replenish supplies, sightseeing, and enjoy some local seafood restaurants.