Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

My name is Guy I live in Port Dover Ontario i'm semi retired. I have a seasonal position with Nomada Charters as a Boat Captain on a 40ft pontoon vessel, taking people on a 1 hour cruise on the Lynn River & Black Creek here in Port Dover. Port Dover is also my home town. I hope to fulfill a dream i've had to take an adventure on a 24ft pontoon boat through the Erie Canal & the ICW to Florida. To date if the trip is as exciting as the planning & researching i'm doing it will be an adventure worth doing. I have not been abl;e to find anyone on the internet that has done this trip on a pontoon boat son if any have i'd appreciate any input............ thats all for now...............

Welcome, That sounds like fun. You came to the right spot for information on pontoons. they guys here are going to want pictures and updates on your trip.

Doverguy, good luck on achieving your dream! Sounds like an interesting voyage. If you do get to do it, it would be great to get periodic updates via this forum. I'll bet there's lots of folks here who have dreamed about taking a similar trip who would be very much interested in knowing how you did.

Thanks for the encouragement, oh u can be assured i'll be doing it. I plan on the Erie Canal for the fall of 2012 & return here. Canal & ICW for fall of 2013. Yes my plan is to document everything with pics & of coarse i'll share.............

Welcome to the club and good luck with your trip.
I'm jealous.

WOW

What great adventure.

Welcome to the forums!

Was singing the Gilligan's Island theme song in my head while I was reading about your tour.

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like an awesome voyage!

Lyn Morgan of Colorado did part of the voyage you're contemplating in a heavy duty Premier PTX tri-toon with a new Yamaha SHO 250 hp motor. He set the record completing the Great Loop around America in 2 months--averaging some 200 miles per day. He was going the opposite direction than you're planning.

You can read about it in his blog: ranchhouseloop.blogspot.com/2010/06/lower-chesapeake-bay-wouldnt-you-love.html

Other good reading about the Great Loop, and the hundreds of people that are full time cruising can be found on Google: "Great Loop". Many of the Loopers keep detailed blogs and diaries on the internet.

Properly equipped, a pontoon can make a really good long distance inland cruiser. When you get into the open sea, like crossing from Pensacola/Appalachacola over to Clearwater/Tampa, things get a little tense. You would also run into a little open ocean south of NY Harbor--when you turn south along the NJ Coast. You've just got to be very careful, and pick the right months to do the voyage.

Some 200 boats of "Great Loopers" were meeting this past weekend @ Joe Wheeler State Park outside of Muscle Shoals, AL. Many will continue down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway from Pickwick Lake, TN south to Mobile. Then, they will head for Florida for the Winter, or park their boats until Spring and go home.

I prefer one way long distance trips vs. going out and coming back the same way. You see more of the country. If you park your tow vehicle and trailer where you start your trip, you can always rent a car one way and get back to your tow vehicle--if you have a major breakdown. In this case, you might have to fly back to Florida to pickup your truck/trailer when you complete your odyssey.

Sounds like a great adventure! Keep us advised.
The cheaspeake Bay, especially the lower region, can be very rough at times. the bay is quite shallow, so the water can have a steep, short chop with the waves close together. It can be a pretty rough ride, but the good thing is there are lots of creeks, rivers, coves, etc. to duck into if it gets bad. plus, ther are lots of great places to visit along the bay that you won't want to miss them!