Liveaboards and cruising from Mystic Connecticut to Georgia

[pkrawetzky]

I'm sure I'm going to hear different opinions and those that might say why would you do that. Well, it was a family decision and I can't wait.

We are looking into purchasing a liveaboard motoryacht (around 50 or 60 feet) as our home. We would like to cruise down to Georgia for the school season and back north for the summer months. I've been doing a lot of research about the atlantic and intercoastal waterways.

I'm just wondering if anyone out there does this now in the same general areas? Where exactly do you enter the Intercoastal from Connecticut? Are there any recommendations? I've already started looking at the Coast Pilot and charts for the different areas.

Thanks in advance for any information you might have.

[wingNwing]

You go around the Atlantic side of New Jersey, up the Delaware Bay, down the Chesapeake Bay, and enter the official ICW at Mile 0 at Norfolk, VA. Then you motor 600 or 700 miles to Georgia (depending on where in Georgia you're headed to). Lots and lots of snowbirds head south along the ICW, leaving the Chesapeake in late Sept or early Oct. Be advised that hurricane season along that part of the coast is most active in Sept-Oct.

[djmarchand]

As the previous poster noted, there is no ICW until you get to Norfolk, Va.

In most cases you would go west through Long Island Sound and under the Throgs Neck Bridge to NYC, down the East River and then past lower Manhatten and under the Verazzano Narrows Bridge. Then hug the New Jersey Coast down to Cape May and up the Delaware Bay to the C&D Canal to the Chesapeake. Then down the Chesapeake to the beginnings of the ICW at Norfolk.

You will need a reasonably seaworthy boat, ie no house boats ;-), but most cruisers in the size range you are talking about can handle that voyage.

Look for a displacement speed trawler: Krogen, Defever, etc. Search on Yachtworld using trawler as the boat type and your price limits, size, age, etc.

David

[pkrawetzky]

This is great information. We are actually looking at Hatteras or the earlier Viking motoryachts. I appreciate the responses so far, thank you.

[Tingum]

Thre are alot of deals out there on that size motoryacht. Please take fuel burn into your cost calculations. I am going to assume that you will just be moving it North and South and not cruising about too much. Dockage and fuel consumption will be your major costs.

[pkrawetzky]

@tingum - your assumption is correct. The only other time we would take out the motoryacht is if we go on vacation somewhere via the boat. With a big enough motoryacht, I should be able to store a nice size dingy for pleasure boating. Yachtworld has many in the category I'm looking and and I'm also using a personal broker as well.

[Tingum]

There are a couple large Hats here doing exactly that. One even came over on one engine, alternating engines every 4 hours to save fuel. He was still able to do 8 knots at a low RPM. Not the best for the engine but when its high hours who cares!