Conservative Sail from NYC to Detroit

[Iduna]

Wondering if anybody here has an idea on how long it would take to deliver a boat from NYC to Detroit.

I'm considering a boat just outside of the city and would need to bring it back to Detroit. Not looking to do any night sailing, just making as many miles as I can during the days.

[kenbo]

What's your planned route?

[Iduna]

I would imagine it would be up the Hudson, through the Erie Canal, up the Welland, then Erie, Detroit River, Lake St. Clair.

If there's a better alternative, I'd be open to suggestions.

Max I can take off of work in a consecutive period would be two weeks. After that I'd have to finish it off on long weekends.

[kenbo]

The entire New York State Canal System will close for the season on Wednesday, October 16th at 5 p.m.

Taken from the NY State Canal System website.

Are you waiting for spring?

[rslifkin]

Depending on your draft, provided you can get your air draft down to clear a 15.5' bridge, you could take the Erie Canal all the way to Buffalo and Lake Erie, avoiding the Welland Canal and its crew requirements (3 crew upbound from Ontario -> Erie). It'll give a little less sailing opportunity though, as your mast-down run will be longer.

Of course, that all assumes you're waiting until the canals open in the spring. Otherwise, I think out and around through the St. Lawrence is the only route available in the winter.

[kenbo]

What boat? Trucking it may be more economical than first blush. You'll have to step and unstep the mast for the canal route and you would be very hard pressed to make much more than 40nm/day until you get to Lake Ontario.

[kenbo]

I'm fairly certain that out around to the St Lawrence cannot be done in 2 weeks time without night sailing and that would be a very tough slog this time of year.

[Iduna]

I would be waiting until Mid-May timeframe.

Right now, I haven't actually purchased anything since I'm trying to figure out if the logistics would work. I'm looking at a Sabre 34 with 4'8" draft and a Jeanneau 37 with a 5' draft.

I'm fine with unstepping the mast if it makes the trip easier/quicker. I would have all summer to sail her.

[Dave Lochner]

Originally Posted by Iduna

I would be waiting until Mid-May timeframe.

Right now, I haven't actually purchased anything since I'm trying to figure out if the logistics would work. I'm looking at a Sabre 34 with 4'8" draft and a Jeanneau 37 with a 5' draft.

I'm fine with unstepping the mast if it makes the trip easier/quicker. I would have all summer to sail her.

You will have to unstep the mast in Albany NY, there are 2 places to do that near Albany.

The fastest route will be up the Hudson, 2-3 days, a day or 2 to unstep the mast and secure it. 7-10 days on the Erie Canal to reach Lake Erie. A day or two to step the mast. And then sail to Detroit. Probably 3 or 4 days.

Figure 3 weeks to be safe.

There is no significant time advantage to the Welland Canal if you are not willing to sail from Oswego to the Canal in one long trip. Weather can also be an issue that will delay travel on Ontario. Canal water levels can be an issue. Mostly due to too much water.

The controlling depth for the canal is deep enough that you shouldn't have a problem if you stay in the channel.

Check out the NY State Canal webpage for more info.

[Iduna]

Thanks, do you think that two weeks to get from NYC to Erie would be reasonable?

If I were able to get that far, I would be able to return and finish the Buffalo to Detroit portion of the trip over an extended weekend later on.

[Dave Lochner]

Originally Posted by Iduna

Thanks, do you think that two weeks to get from NYC to Erie would be reasonable?

If I were able to get that far, I would be able to return and finish the Buffalo to Detroit portion of the trip over an extended weekend later on.

If the mast is unstepped in NYC so you don't have to stop in Albany to unstep it, yes, 2 weeks would be sufficient in most cases.

When I did the trip a couple of years ago, I went from Liberty Landing in NYC to Albany in 2 very long days. We motored the whole distance because of time and crappy winds.

The Erie Canal is not open 24 hours, so timing to get through the locks efficiently will be important. Crossing Oneida Lake is the only section where weather will play a big issue, it lies E-W and a strong westerly or north westerly can make the lake very uncomfortable, especially with the mast down.

[Lazy Jack 32]

I bought a 32' schooner in NYC last April and planned to sail up the Hudson in early May, drop the masts at Albany, and motor across on the Erie Canal to her new home in the Finger Lakes. Alas, it was not to be. High water in the canal delayed the opening for some weeks, and ate up the time I had for the trip. So I had the boat trucked up here instead. Costly, but not too bad. Where the canal is involved, many things can come up that make an exact time frame hard to count on.

[Lazy Jack 32]

Another thing to remember is tides on the Hudson. We ran down it once is a 22' Westerly with a 7 hp Volvo diesel. When the wind and tides were against us, we had to find some place to explore and wait for the tide to change.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Lazy Jack 32

Where the canal is involved, many things can come up that make an exact time frame hard to count on.

This is absolutely true. And that's why I recommend running the longest days practical, at least early in the trip. That way you can hopefully make up some time over what you'd plan, leaving some extra contingency time for any delays.

As far as the canals route goes, you should be able to get from the NYC area up to Waterford at the start of the canal in 2 days cruising at 6kts, figuring you run 10 - 12 hours each day. Depending on exactly where you're starting, you might even be able to get a bit further on the second day.

Beyond that, you can realistically run about 10 hours a day in most of the canal due to lock hours. Some areas the locks stay open later, so you could run closer to the end of daylight. Figuring with time spent in the locks (I'd assume 20 minutes per lock, that should get you close on average), you can probably make somewhere in the 40 - 60 nm / day range at 6.5 kts in the canals.

If you push for long days and run the trip at delivery pace, barring any unexpected delays, you can probably do the entire Erie Canal in somewhere around 6 - 7 days in a 6.5 knot boat. So even with a little lost time somewhere in there, you should be re-stepping your mast on Lake Erie by day 10 of the trip.

[SeaRaider]

Originally Posted by Iduna

Wondering if anybody here has an idea on how long it would take to deliver a boat from NYC to Detroit.

I'm considering a boat just outside of the city and would need to bring it back to Detroit. Not looking to do any night sailing, just making as many miles as I can during the days.

I would look for a boat closer to Detroit. Better yet, find a boat for sale in Canada. Bargain prices with the exchange rate. I bought mine up on the Georgian Bay.