As a delivery, very doable if you wait for weather and make miles when you have good days. Do plan to get caught for a week or more at times.
 
I'm assuming you can do around 230 miles/day if you make long runs:
 - Day 1: to Buffalo if the welland goes smoothly.
 - Day 2: western Lake Erie
 - Day 3: Port Huron
 - Day 4: Grand Haven (consider the west coast to take advantage of the predominant west winds)
 - Day 5: Chicago
 
Assuming you lose 3 out of 4 days that puts you in Chicago before November.
 
The river system is easy by comparison with negligible open water and weather essentially a non-issue
Top up at Hoppies as suggested then idle down the mississippi to maximize fuel economy (not sure if Kidds is still open) then get up and go upriver on the Ohio & Tennesse (call the lock ahead of time to see if you should run the cumberland route due to lock delays). It's around 250 miles from Hoppies to Kentucky Lake. The 3-6kt current should still keep a boat that size doing 12-14kts. Once you reach the Tennessee you are home free with plentiful marinas that are open later in the year.
 
For a boat that size with all the locks, I would recommend at least 3 able bodies to handle lines.
 
Mike & Tammy
Valhalla II

Good advice, except for the Port Huron to Grand Haven day. This is well over a 400 mile trip, from the bottom of Lake Huron, up and around the Straits and halfway down Lake Michigan. I have suggested to Terry that he go Port Huron to Cheboygan, Michigan (about 210 miles) and then decide to either go down the east side of Lake Michigan if winds permit or cross over to Sturgeon Bay and travel down the west side.
 
Sally
ONE OLIVER II

--- On Wed, 9/21/11, M S valhalla360@yahoo.com wrote:

From: M S valhalla360@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: GL: Transit Great Lakes Starting Oct 10
To: "great-loop@lists.trawlering.com" great-loop@lists.trawlering.com
Date: Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 3:16 PM

As a delivery, very doable if you wait for weather and make miles when you have good days. Do plan to get caught for a week or more at times.
 
I'm assuming you can do around 230 miles/day if you make long runs:
 - Day 1: to Buffalo if the welland goes smoothly.
 - Day 2: western Lake Erie
 - Day 3: Port Huron
 - Day 4: Grand Haven (consider the west coast to take advantage of the predominant west winds)
 - Day 5: Chicago
 
Assuming you lose 3 out of 4 days that puts you in Chicago before November.
 
The river system is easy by comparison with negligible open water and weather essentially a non-issue
Top up at Hoppies as suggested then idle down the mississippi to maximize fuel economy (not sure if Kidds is still open) then get up and go upriver on the Ohio & Tennesse (call the lock ahead of time to see if you should run the cumberland route due to lock delays). It's around 250 miles from Hoppies to Kentucky Lake. The 3-6kt current should still keep a boat that size doing 12-14kts. Once you reach the Tennessee you are home free with plentiful marinas that are open later in the year.
 
For a boat that size with all the locks, I would recommend at least 3 able bodies to handle lines.
 
Mike & Tammy
Valhalla II

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