Planning to make the jump to a liveaboard monohull

[Red Dirt Sailor]

Hey everyone! I need some advice.
I've spotted a 30 foot 1984 S2 9.2C that is within my budget, but it is going to need a considerable amount of work to get the boat live aboard ready. So if I jump on the boat and buy her my plan would be to sail her from Florida, where she currently is, to New Orleans. Then motor up the Mississippi river to the Arkansas river to a marina somewhere near the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir back home in Oklahoma so that I can do the refit with only a 2 hour drive to the boat. (The alternative would be a more expensive marina slip in Galveston, Texas and a 12 hour drive) I have two concerns that I would like advice on. The boat has a Yanmar 2GM 13hp motor, is this enough horsepower to get the 30ft monohull upstream on the Mississippi River? And with a 4.67ft draft, is the boat safe in a 9ft dredged Arkansas river?

[TrentePieds]

13HP is enough to push a 30ft five tonner in most circumstances, though the norm these days is 4HP per ton displacement. Thus 20HP would be closer to the mark, but 13HP will do it provided the prop is of "correct" diameter and pitch. Do you know what your prop size is?

With 13HP on flat water and in reasonably calm weather powering under bare poles I would expect to get 5 1/2 knots THROUGH THE WATER, and that is obviously what counts. If the river current runs at 6 knots, you'll be going backwards OVER THE GROUND if you attempt to go upstream. VOG (Velocity Over Ground) is obviously what determines how far you can go in a given time and therefore an essential element in passage planning.

The theoretical "hull speed" of this boat, given her 25 foot LWL, is 6 3/4 knots and more HP will not drive her any faster than that. More will just make her intractable. So you need to discover from local current tables what the speed of the current is at any given stretch of you up-river voyage.

Your charts will tell you the depth of water at any given place on the chart and if it is 9 feet (as you suggest) then you need not fear running aground. In rivers, however, sand bars and mud bars sometimes appear where the charts do not show them. Something called "NOTMAR"s (Notices to Mariners) are issued periodically and from those you update your charts.

Have fun

TrentePieds

[Spider0804]

Mississippi River velocity is 3 mph at New Orleans.
1.2 mph is the average speed of the Mississippi.

If you hit a bar motoring upstream atleast you will have the current to push you off.

New Orleans would be the tricky part as you would be travelling quite slow and need to be wary of the commercial traffic and avoid it.

From the mouth of the river at New Orleans to your destination reservoir is maybe 840 miles and some sections of the Arkansas look a little iffy for a 5 foot draft, I am not familiar with how well they keep the waterway open for the Arkansas but if it is anything like other state rivers there will be submerged trees. It looks like there are commercial barges going all the way up so it might be alright.

I do not know how far you intend to get to that reservoir but there are several locks and dams to navigate along the river as well.

You did not say where in Florida but to Tampa is 1400 miles if you follow the coast. Way more if it is on the east side of Florida.

Just to spitball if you assume a speed of 4 mph average for your boat fighting the current the whole way up the river and a burn rate of 0.5 gallons per hour you are looking at 210 hours of running the engine and 105 gallons of fuel for the river portion.

Just be sure you know what you are getting into, it is a pretty big trip.

You will want to make a backup plan incase the motor dies.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Red Dirt Sailor

it is going to need a considerable amount of work to get the boat live aboard ready.

Oh, like what?

840 plus miles at 4mph in a strange yacht in a busy waterway against the current? Have a look on You Tube for sailing magic carpet and their battle up the Rhone in France with a similar sized yacht and 21hp diesel.

I would strongly recommend investigating what it will cost you to ship it first instead of spending several months motoring and fixing stuff on route. She will be home in two days secure and ready for you to start work. Not cleaning out old fuel tanks in the back end of beyond, when all the filters and fuel pipes have clogged up.

Originally Posted by Spider0804

Just be sure you know what you are getting into, it is a pretty big trip.

You will want to make a backup plan in case the motor dies.

Agreed.

Pete

[Benz]

Unless you're keen on the adventure of it, and have some time set aside, Pete's right--have it trucked.
The HP is fine (came up the St. Lawrence river, 3 kt current against, with an 8hp outboard pushing a 10-ton cutter). Draft is fine.
My concern would be, how comfortable is the boat for spending a few weeks on? Does the work it needs render it sketchy? Does it have good ground tackle? Does the cook stove work?
Even if everything was near-perfect, I'd still have it trucked.
Unless I wanted the adventure of the trip.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Benz

Unless you're keen on the adventure of it, and have some time set aside, Pete's right--have it trucked.
The HP is fine (came up the St. Lawrence river, 3 kt current against, with an 8hp outboard pushing a 10-ton cutter). Draft is fine.

Blimey, braver than me We don't use rivers with 3 knots of current, but we do have tides of that strength. In a small yacht we will always passage plan to avoid travelling against that sort of flow even if it means a 2am start and yes it normally does for some reason

It's a difference of 8 knots verses 2 knots given our 5 - 5.5 knot cruising speed on a 31ft yacht which is remarkably similar in stats to the S9.2 apart from having a 28hp diesel.

Pete

[Manateeman]

The Mississippi is a exceedingly dangerous river. I’ve worked on it and have seen some horrific accidents. One night I witnessed a set of run away barges climb up the stern of a 160 foot supply boat and sink her stern. The crew was lucky to live. It’s a commercial river filled with junk large enough to hole or swamp your boat in a minute.
The water is cold. Killing cold. Crossing the river east to west going downstream is rolling the dice in a boat twice you size.
There is nowhere to stop or anchor. People who work on the river are in big steel boats with huge engines and they get in trouble. I took a mini supply...160’ into the river and had a prop wind up with heavy plastic sheeting and wire cable and lost one engine. I’ve taken a sail boat up the Atchafalaya river to Baton Rouge and after the upper lock, found nowhere to tie up for miles and impossible to anchor. We did not float down the Mississippi.
There are numerous fatal accidents and vessel sinkings every year in large commercial oil field vessels. The tugs and barges working north of New Orleans have enough to worry about and they are experienced professionals. They simply cannot maneuver around some small sailboat that has lost power or is trapped in debris. The advice posted so far is not inaccurate if you are in a lake but The Mississippi is no where you want to be in a very small boat. The posts are from those who have little experience with the dangers of this river.
Happy trails to you
Captain Mark and his Merchant Mariner Credentialed manatees

[PaulvR]

So I sailed 15000 miles with a 9HP BUKH single pot.

It was fine as long as you were sailing :-)

[Zzmeyer]

I'm guessing a 30 foot 1984 S2 needing a lot of work price is less than $10k. I'm guessing haul out, launching and trucking fees might make that option prohibitive. Manatee man seems to know the risk of the river so I'd listen to him. If you make the move I'd make sure the engine and other issues to make the boat seaworthy are addressed in its current location.

[Dave22q]

Very long trip for boat not ready to liveaboard. Trucking is not cheap and my hunch is that you are better off looking for something in better shape or taking some time to liveaboard and do some work to get it into better shape before leaving. Sounds like you are looking at a 3-4 week trip so confort will matter.

I would recommend you not try the Mississippi single handed even as an expert seaman. Too much traffic, very slow speed over ground limits maneuvering, lots on commercial traffic you need to avoid.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Red Dirt Sailor

Hey everyone! I need some advice.
I've spotted a 30 foot 1984 S2 9.2C that is within my budget, but it is going to need a considerable amount of work to get the boat live aboard ready. So if I jump on the boat and buy her my plan would be to sail her from Florida, where she currently is, to New Orleans. Then motor up the Mississippi river to the Arkansas river to a marina somewhere near the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir back home in Oklahoma so that I can do the refit with only a 2 hour drive to the boat. (The alternative would be a more expensive marina slip in Galveston, Texas and a 12 hour drive) I have two concerns that I would like advice on. The boat has a Yanmar 2GM 13hp motor, is this enough horsepower to get the 30ft monohull upstream on the Mississippi River? And with a 4.67ft draft, is the boat safe in a 9ft dredged Arkansas river?

I'm sorry it sounds like folly. ( no pun intended) Have you seen the boat or just an ad?

[Hudson Force]

I wouldn't choose this trip, but if I did; then, I would take the Tombigbee Waterway north from Mobile to approach the Arkansas River on a shorter portion of the Mississippi River heading with the current.

[Mrfish]

While everyone points out the dangers of the Mississippi River.

Another thing you should look at is the two hour drive to work on the boat.

Two hours does not seem like long way to go right now. But the farther the boat is the less often you will likely go to see her and work on her. Even when the boat is in a marina nearby, many distractions, like rain, weather, storms and the like, can keep you from making the trip and keep you from working on her.

Have her trucked to your back yard and then you can work on her every chance you get.

The alternative, IMO, is find a boat ready to live on, buy her and relocate to a location where you can enjoy her NOW!

[Spider0804]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

I wouldn't choose this trip, but if I did; then, I would take the Tombigbee Waterway north from Mobile to approach the Arkansas River on a shorter portion of the Mississippi River heading with the current.

This is the way people tend to go when doing the great loop backwards.
There is less current and less traffic.

If you go up to the Ohio and turn around there the trip is 1350 or so miles of river travel from mobile to the reservoir. 400 miles of that is going down the Mississippi with the current.

From Mobile to Tampa is a trip of 450 miles for a total of 1800.

Something not mentioned is you would need to take down your mast whatever way you go.

You also want a radio to talk to the barge tug captains and let them know your path and if you should make corrections or stop and wait...barges turn wide and being on the outside edge of them in a narrow section is not recommended.

[kryg]

I like part of your plan. However, it has One Big Flaw that most people who take this road, discover too late. Me included. I learned from experience It is best to buy a boat that has less repair work to be done. Even if it cost some dollars more.

Find a way to make more money using your work skill set. This approach will be far more productive less frustrating, and not waste time learning how to rebuild a boat if you don't need too. This has a far better chance of success.

Two hours is a long drive and can be demotivation to finish a pending job till next day, week or month, in bad weather and believe me there will be a lot of it.

The Best Advice, even if the boat is FREE! Don't Do It. From experience, I would wait till the right boat comes along that fits your budget but it is far in better repair. Put your skills to work to make money instead of spending it, in either lost time working on the boat or lots of cash, this way you will start sailing earlier.

Good luck with it.

Originally Posted by Red Dirt Sailor

Hey everyone! I need some advice.
I've spotted a 30 foot 1984 S2 9.2C that is within my budget, but it is going to need a considerable amount of work to get the boat live aboard ready. So if I jump on the boat and buy her my plan would be to sail her from Florida, where she currently is, to New Orleans. Then motor up the Mississippi river to the Arkansas river to a marina somewhere near the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir back home in Oklahoma so that I can do the refit with only a 2 hour drive to the boat. (The alternative would be a more expensive marina slip in Galveston, Texas and a 12 hour drive) I have two concerns that I would like advice on. The boat has a Yanmar 2GM 13hp motor, is this enough horsepower to get the 30ft monohull upstream on the Mississippi River? And with a 4.67ft draft, is the boat safe in a 9ft dredged Arkansas river?