Navigating Navigation Channel

[The Good Life]

I'm in Oklahoma and thinking about doing legs of the nav channel/intercostal. I think that could be a cool thing to do that could go on as long as I wanted it to. Just go for a week or so at a time and then start where I left off. I'm thinking maybe buying a trailerable Catalina 25 swing keel (I'm partial to the Catalina because I already have it big brother) and just taking the mast/rigging off and using it as a motor boat. The reason I would take the mast off is so I can transport it easy without the hassle, plus I wouldn't be doing much sailing down the nav channels. Mainly my question is what would be the best nav app/charts to get to start looking more into this?


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[belizesailor]

If you are going to drop the rig anyway (which is fine, not much sailing on the ICW anyway and no worries about bridges), why not just buy a power boat? Much more practical on the ICW than an underpowered sail boat.

Also, why transport. Complete a leg and stow it there. Return later for the next leg minus the long cross country tow.

Get a copy of "The Waterway Guide". Specifically about the ICW.

The ICW runs (non-contiguously) from Texas to NJ so yes you could do this for a long time....then there is the Great Loop.

[The Good Life]

Thank you for the reply! The only reason I thought about the small sailboat is due to the fact that I can get so much for a low price. It's hard to get a small powerboat that has all the accommodations and what not. Also, I didn't know what options I had to "stow" the boat in different locations as it might be months in between uses. I'll have to check out the guide you mentioned. Thanks again for the info.


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[belizesailor]

Lots of small marinas along the ICW and with a small power boat you could get to them quickly.

Another advantage of a small boat is that you could trailer it between non contiguous sections of the ICW.