River Guide Book

[rshoop]

Hello Tugnutters,

I am purchasing a RT 31 Sedan and want to be able to cruise the Allegheny, Monongahela, Ohio and eventually the Mississippi rivers. My wife and I live in Pittsburgh about a mile from the Allegheny River and will start there. Can anyone suggest a book are map that can tell us the locations of marinas, the depth of the river, and places that we can dock to eat or camp on these rivers?

Also, does anyone know of any Tugnutters that are interested in the Great Loop trip?
http://www.captainjohn.org/GL-5-Scoop.html
Now that we have the boat for the trip, we would like to see if others would like to attempt the trip.

Thanks, Robin

 

[bjp447]

I recently finished a book by Tanya Binford called crossing the wake. She is out of Southport NC (I Think).
Tanya did the great loop on a Ranger Tug 25, by herself, not being a long time mariner and moved
to the coast from Arizona (an area know for creating great mariners - not).
The book is not a travelogue but basically from soup to nut of her preparing, becoming part of the
Great Loop tribe ( it obviously is a community) and doing the loop. She has a blog and I believe is
open to questions. I have thought about it myself but would need something bigger than my R21EC
and maybe a more supportive wife, but it is what it is - good luck.

 

[Water Bill]

Robin,
Congratulations on your new R-31. I cruised down the Tennessee River from Chattanooga and up on the Cumberland River to Gainesboro last April on Mystery Girl my R-23. I used both the Tennessee River and Cumberland River Guidebooks by Jerry M. Hay from riverlorian.com. I believe he has guidebooks for the Ohio River and Mississippi River also. There was information on marinas, restaurants, stores, anchorages, locks and sites along the way. I used these guidebooks and Active Captain and had no trouble finding anchorages to spend the night. I was on the water 26 days and only spent two nights at a marina. There are basic section charts for the entire river but no depths are shown. I used my Garmin chart plotter and Navionics on a tablet had had no problem locating markers and buoys and staying in the channel.
Have a great trip.
Bill

 

[JoeLane]

Congrats on the new boat. Lovely! One showed up here at So. Pasadena, last week and got to admire her and I admit drool a bit. In terms of spots to anchor, marinas, facilities all along the Great Loop, I suggest you subscribe to the full version of Navionics software. You can use it on your smartphone, laptop or tablet. It shows LOTS of details all along the route you happen to be on day by day. Another one you might want to use in conjunction with the NAV package is Marinas.com. They tell if transient slips are available, what kinds of fuel they carry and what's around their facility (restaurants etc.). Best of luck with the trip of a lifetime!!! You picked a great vessel to carry along for the ride.

 

[CaspersCruiser]

I have cruised the entire lengths of the Monongahela River and the Tennessee River, 381 miles of the Cumberland River, and 926 miles of the Ohio River in a Sea Ray cuddy. I will likely cruise sections of those rivers again in my Ranger Tug 27. I really enjoy river trips.

Here’s a link to Quimby’s Cruising Guide, a long running publication dedicated to the inland waterways. It is updated yearly:

https://quimbysguide.com

The Army Corps of Engineers publishes river charts in PDF format. Here’s a link to rivers in the Pittsburgh District. A Google search will bring up other districts and rivers.

https://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/missions ... on-charts/

 

[rshoop]

Hi Bill,

I bought the Ohio River book from riverlorian and just downloaded the ActiveCaptain app. Thanks for the suggestions.

Robin