Going Around State of Michigan

[bruce conway]

Looking to buy a boat in holland Michigan looking to take it by water to erie pa about how long of a trip would that be pending good weather 34 foot cruiser

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by bruce conway

Looking to buy a boat in holland Michigan looking to take it by water to erie pa about how long of a trip would that be pending good weather 34 foot cruiser

Don't know your answer, but I know others here have done that trip. Highly recommend this book for anyone considering that trip:

The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas: Jerry Dennis: 9780312331030: Amazon.com: Books

[valhalla360]

How fast does the boat go and how hard do you want to push?

We did it in around 27 travel days but we shoot for 20-30mile days. Figure double that for weather delays and you at around 2 months.

Now if you push hard, do overnight passages and you hit a nice weather window, that might drop to a couple weeks.

Now if this is a power cruiser capable of cruising at 20kts, you might be looking at a week if you hit no bad weather or mechanical breakdowns.

[bobsyiruncle]

Bruce
A 32 footer is just at the upper edge of trailer delivery without major expense. I think it might be much better, faster, safer and cheaper to trailer it across Michigan and put in at Pt Huron or Algonac then travel to PA

This is especially true if your experience level is not up to rough water. Once you hit the St Clair River and from there on there is lots of support if anything goes wrong

Beg borrow or steal a trailer or pay a buddy to do it for you but you will probably need a 3/4 ton and you need to check the height and run daytime on a quiet day.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by bobsyiruncle

Bruce
A 32 footer is just at the upper edge of trailer delivery without major expense. I think it might be much better, faster, safer and cheaper to trailer it across Michigan and put in at Pt Huron or Algonac then travel to PA

This is especially true if your experience level is not up to rough water. Once you hit the St Clair River and from there on there is lots of support if anything goes wrong

Beg borrow or steal a trailer or pay a buddy to do it for you but you will probably need a 3/4 ton and you need to check the height and run daytime on a quiet day.

Not impossilbe but trailering a 34' cruiser is probably outside his comfort zone if he's asking about doing it by water (I'm assuming if he was comfortable towing that large, he wouldn't be asking the question).
- A 34' cruiser is likely to have a 12' beam meaning wide load permits.
- Assuming a sailboat with a keel, you add the hassles with pulling the mast and carrying that. You are looking at a custom trailer. The guys who have those typically haul boats for a living so they are unlikely to let you just borrow.
- If time is an issue, you can get it hauled across. Figure $3-6k depending on the complications with the specific boat and how far they haul it. If it's purely a delivery run, this may be a cheaper option when you factor in fuel, marinas and other associated costs of going by water.
- If just getting it there is your goal, drop it off north of Toledo. Very little difference in road milage compared to Port Huron or Algonac and saves you a day or two of on the water travel or for a bit more, just have them take it all the way to PA (Adds a little more cost due to miles driven and now you need permits for additional states).

As far as experience, rough water and support: Looping around Michigan is a great starter trip as long as you watch the weather. The entire route has marinas every 20-30 miles set up by the state as harbors of refuge. By most standards they are cheap ($1-1.50/ft/night). As long as you have time to wait out bad weather, it's a great trip and getting caught out in a storm is highly unlikley.

[appick]

There is plenty of support on any side of Michigan as others have said. If you're in it for the adventure and cruising (I would be) then go for it. A friend of mine brought a Bayfield 32c around from Detriot area back to Muskegon a few years ago. That trip took him about 12 days including some stops for weather ect. Your mileage may vary What kind of boat? Are you just negotiating? My friend is the Harbor Master at Parkside Marina (small but decent place). I live in GR if it's just a boat you're looking at getting let me know if you want someone to check it out for you before you make the trip! Good Luck.

[moonglade]

We took ownership of our tiara 35 express in Charlevoix last July. Had a wonderful two week trip to the 1000 islands. Highly recommend the journey. We could have even taken longer had we had the time.

[patmcqueen]

Tough question to answer without knowing the boat, etc. I did Charlevoix to Detroit in 2 days. That was in a 35' Contender which would have a nice 20+ knot cruise and a reasonable weather window. Chicago to Detroit would be four days in that boat with great weather.

In a 8 knot boat it would take way more time ...

[River Cruiser]

I just got back from moving a 47' DD powered boat from the upper Mis to the Detroit river. It took 19 days to cover approximately 1054 miles at 6.5 to 8.3 knots and we lost 2 days to weather on Lake Huron. It was a great trip we anchored out all but 4 nights and I'ld love to do it again with my boat and take all summer to do it. If you have the chance I wouldn't miss the opportunity, don't tie yourself to a schedule let the weather dictate that and enjoy the trip.