John,

Based on the information I have the answer is, at a required 20 feet
clearance requirement, YES this is a problem.  The controlling height
from Chicago to Mobile is 19 feet, set by the swing bridge on the
Illinois Waterway.  This presumes first that you cannot lower your
height below 19 feet AND that the river height (gage level) is below the
datum level.  Note, river levels can and do change significantly within
relatively short time periods meaning hours to days).

An alternative is to truck your boat from say Lake Michigan to an area
down river where height will not be a problem, or even better all the
way to Mobile, AL thus eliminating the problem all together.

Hope this helps,

John

On 8/29/2011 4:52 PM, John Buckwalter wrote:

Depends on how you define the "loop."

The Champlain Canal is limited to 15.5 feet, so you couldn't go through Lake Champlain. You could get through the Erie and into Lake Ontario via the Oswego Canal. There is a 22 foot limit on the Rideau Canal so that should be ok.

There's a bridge just north of the Federal Lock south of Waterford that is 20 feet! You might have a couple if inches to spare, but you would be close, particularly if the water level were high. If you can't clear that you can't do the loop. An option is to figure out a way to temporarily reduce your air draft, such as lowering a mast or removing a piece of equipment.

You really need to check the charts!

Sent from my Droid2 phone with K-9 Mail.
Follow our cruise at http://sanderling2011.blogspot.com/

John Buckwalter steam@usa2net.net wrote:

Champlain Canal is limited to 17' if negotiated with the lock tenders who
can lower the relevant pools to give a 17' clearance.  However, the real
issue for the loop is the fixed railroad bridge on the Illinois River just
south (downstream) of the confluence of the Calumet and Sanitary canals in
Chicago.  There is no way around this and it is less than 20' charted at
19'1-2" but rarely allowing 20' unless severe drought and little traffic
that open the upstream locks.  That's the ultimate show stopper by water.

Joe

M/V "Carolyn Ann" GH N-37
MTOA# 3813
AGLCA# 5485 (Gold Looper)
CarolynAnn-N37.blogspot.com
Joseph.pica@gmail.com

-----Original Message-----
From: trawlers-bounces@lists.trawlering.com
[mailto:trawlers-bounces@lists.trawlering.com] On Behalf Of Bob McLeran
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2011 7:56 PM
To: John Buckwalter; T-Trawlers
Subject: Re: T&T: Height restrictions on the Great Loop

Depends on how you define the "loop."

The Champlain Canal is limited to 15.5 feet, so you couldn't go through Lake
Champlain. You could get through the Erie and into Lake Ontario via the
Oswego Canal. There is a 22 foot limit on the Rideau Canal so that should be
ok.

There's a bridge just north of the Federal Lock south of Waterford that is
20 feet! You might have a couple if inches to spare, but you would be close,
particularly if the water level were high. If you can't clear that you can't
do the loop. An option is to figure out a way to temporarily reduce your air
draft, such as lowering a mast or removing a piece of equipment.

You really need to check the charts!

Sent from my Droid2 phone with K-9 Mail.
Follow our cruise at http://sanderling2011.blogspot.com/

John Buckwalter steam@usa2net.net wrote:

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