Upper Mississippi River planning

[BRAZO]

I'm hoping to make a quick fall trip over to the Mississippi river. Does anyone have experience/knowledge of the marina's in the pool #9 or pool #10 area (Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin area)?

Thanks.

[journey on]

That should be a wonderful trip. Keep us posted.

Boris

[Coastie Dory]

I can give you good information from 19 pool to the mouth of the Ohio, but I have not been further north on the Mississippi. I have looked at the charts and I'm sure it is quite pretty. I recommend getting the ACoE chart of the Upper Mississippi River and a current Quimby's river cruising guide. Between the two you should have all the information you need.

Drop in and see us if you get down to St. Louis.

Best of luck,

Randy

[smittypaddler]

Your best source is Quimby's Cruising Guide -

https://shared1.fasturl.net/~heartlandb/quimbys-moreinfo.htm

They list fuel stops and marinas, and rank them with up to 5 stars, although sometimes I question their rankings. Pretty good, even so. Also, you might find some info in my great loop journal at -

http://smittypaddler.com/cds/cd4/greatloop/index.htm

[BRAZO]

Thanks for the info.

Another question: Yesterday we drove over to the Mississippi and watched some boats lock through. Looked very simple and easy. I will be by myself for much of my trip,

-- is it doable to single handle through the locks on the Mississippi?

[dmengland]

Robert: You need to come to Winona, MN. Much more scenic that downstream. I have a boathouse(20x40') so you could tie up there. Good fishing, good restaurants and two marinas available for gas. Of course, I have an reason for inviting you there....I am currently in the market for a C-Dory so am taking my time and trying to get it right. Would love to have your input. Give me a call if your interested in coming. Doug England 715-983-5521 or sddoc2@triwest.net

[Fairbro]

I live in Prescott, Wi. at mile 811.5. You should really try to make it up this far. From here you can visit St. Paul and little river towns up the St. Croix River too. We'll be glad to advise on places up here but things do slow down in Sept. One great resource for the Upper Miss. is Not For Hire's owner, Mark. I met him in '06 when he spent 2 weeks on the river from here south. He put together a great video of stills that I'm sure he would be glad to forward. It will really get you excited about this area. He locked through single handedly too and told me his technique but I can't recall it now. The locks are friendly and helpful and this time of year when it's so slow if you are the only one going through they will let you "float the middle". That is a lot easier if the lock is draining than if it is filling. C-Dorys seem to steer like a marble while idling in turbuant water.

[smittypaddler]

Locking through single-handed isn't a problem, though I was nervous the first 50 times or so. If it's not windy, a single line from the top will do. Someone will usually drop the line to you. Sit on the cockpit edge on the side of your boat away from the wall, giving you a little better leverage holding the boat against the wall. I put out three fenders. If you're alone, ask the lockmaster if you can just float in the middle. When I do, I place my boat in the miiddle of the lock, fore and aft pointed at the sid e walls. This way if the boat starts to drift towards a wall, a little forward or reverse puts you back in the middle. You're very unlikely to drift from the middle all the way to either end.

Depending on what part of the Mississippi you're on, you'll hail locks 1 to 24 on channel 14, 25 to 27 on channel 12. You'll annoy the lockmaster if you call on the radio before you arrive at the lock. When you arrive, try to be as concise in your transmission as you can, e.g. "Lock 5, this is a northbound recreational craft at the entrance, looking for a lift." This way in the fewest words possible, the lockmaster knows what kind of craft you are, where you're located, and what direction you're headed.

There's a traffic signal, red, yellow, and green, at the mouth of the lock, up above the wall. Don't enter the lock, or even approach to within about 150 feet, until the gates are fully open and you see a green light. If you violate this, the lockmaster will have harsh words for you. Don't leave the lock, or even let go of the line if you're on the chamber wall, until you hear the horn sound after the gates are open. Again, rush out too fast and the lockmaster will likely say unkind things. Enter and leave slowly, no more than 3 knots. Keep it slow exiting until you clear the end of the wall, usually 1000 feet or so past the gates. I find it specially annoying to have some huge cruiser boom past me as I'm leaving. Sometimes those guys pay with a citation when they get to the next lock.

Sometimes you'll have to wait an hour or so. Commercial traffic gets priority, and the bigger tows have to be broken down before they'll fit in the lock. This means the lock will have to cycle up and down twice, with the additional time in between to break the barges apart and then put them back together again. I just get off to the side, out of the way, shut off the engines, and throw out the lunch hook.

Relax. After a while it's fun. I enjoy it now, though in the beginning it was scary.

[journey on]

Judy and I have locked through ~100 locks. Doing them single handed is not something I'd want to do, especially with commercial traffic sharing the lock. That's why I'm always careful to be polite to Judy.

Also, with a C-Dory, you're in a cabin, and after you position the boat, you have to go outside and catch the line. We always had 2 lines, fore and aft, since a boat can pivot around a single line when the water starts swirling, or the tug in front put it in gear.

I would think that you'd have no trouble asking for a volunteer (not a stranger, but someone you can trust.) It's a lot of fun going through a lock.

I have seen the locks south of Winona and they're pretty impressive. By the way, Winona is a great place to visit.

Boris

[Fairbro]

Barge traffic will be slower in the fall now so it will probably go faster than you think. Two years ago, on a trip in September, we went 9 locks down and 9 back without waiting more than 10 minutes. In the locks up here I have never been allowed in with a tow and barges even if there was enough room.

[Not For Hire]

Dear Robert,
First start thinking LDB and RDB that means left descending bank and right descending bank. No use using East and West as there are one or two turns <g>.. I also found pools 3, 4, 5, 6 to be a bit more scenic that 9, 10 , 11. My trip was in September, 2006. Read El and Bills accounts, they cover it well. The Trempeleau area is nice, good marina, very close to trains (as are many others). Red Wing has a nice marina, near park and downtown and trains, Winona is great. Whatever town was the Bald Eagle town was a nice place too. Prairie Du Chien has a marina near soccer fields and historic home and statutes, etc. That marina is off the main channel on the LDB a well protected marina but shower facilities are a small bathroom in the repair building. The other marinas were more standard. I met Smitty on my trip as he was completing his loop, going fast, upbound. Nice overlook at Alma. Lansing and Guttenberg are nice walk around towns. Dubuque has the Miss River museum, worth visiting.

I did all the locks singlehanded. I have also done the Soo and other locks that way. I use two large fenders, stern fender about eighteen inches ahead of stern cleat (downrigger base), and other fender out window on spring cleat or just aft of spring cleat if you have installed a mount there. When you come into the Miss locks they may ask you if you want to float or want to tie up. I floated downbound but tied up upbound. I think floating upbound would be ok if it wasn't windy but there is more turbulence upbound. They will indicate what lines you are to use, they may flip one or two lines over the wall for you to use. The lines will be dirty with weights on them. Coast up to the line and try to arrest your forward progress right at the line. If you grab the line and continue forward your bow will tend to turn into the wall. Using either one or two lines (if you use two lines they make a v with your boat at the apex and this helps hold you straight but one line is fine). I passed the line or lines one turn thru my radar arch but using the vertical hand rail at the rear of the cabin also works well. Don't tie off of course. With the turn through the rail you can keep the boat snug to the wall and snug against both fenders so the boat doesn't start to turn bow in or stern in which could cause rubbing on the wall. You slack off pressure going down and pull in pressure going up. I sometimes was given immediate access and sometimes had to wait up to 90 minutes for tows to clear. I was always treated nice. Try to be efficient with your radio traffic as stated in earlier post.

I have been to Sturgeon Bay by boat and various other ports around Green Bay. Only went up Fox river a few miles. someday want to go farther . What is the current status of the locks to Winnebago? Love Fayette, new Cedar River is a lonely place (I like that). Sister Bay good, Escanaba and Gladstone good.

Minnie Swan was the nicest boat in Prescott. Prescott was the entrance to the St. Croix, nice river, more lake like, clearer than the Old Man. Good (large) marina at Stillwater.

Regards,

Mark

[Joni Lynn]

Hi Robert,
The Prarie du Chien area has several marinas. On the Wiscosin side is the Winneshik Marina which is very nice, and they also have a bar & grill right in the marina serving pretty good chow. There is also an eating place across the street "The Barn" which is good. I don't know how late in the fall the marina stays open, so you may want to give them a call. 608 326-2888. Downstream a few miles is the Prarie du Chien Marina which is in a historical area (St. Feriole Island). The marina and facilities are kinda funky, but the folks are friendly and it's kinda fun hanging out there for a day or two. You're within short walking distance to downtown Prarie where there are lots of food and drink places.
Across on the Iowa side are two great historical little towns (Marquette & McGregor). McGregor has a marina, but we've never stayed there so I can't report on the services. However, we get over there quite often and they are enjoyable places to hang out for a spell for food, drink and antique shopping.
Hope this helps!
Paul & Joni aboard the Joni Lynn

[BRAZO]

Thank You for all the replies - your information is greatly appreciated. The plan (as of now), is to drive the boat to Dubuque, Iowa (about 2 hrs from Madison, WI) and launch above Lock #11. From there I plan on just cruising upstream and seeing what there is to do/see/enjoy. No plan, no schedule - just enjoying the river.

Again, thanks for your help - it'll make the trip easier.

[Joni Lynn]

Hi Robert,
FYI.... The only launch in Dubuque above Lock # 11 is at OLeary's lake on the Wisconsin side. Although it's pretty shallow there, the launch is nice and with the motor tilted up quite high you'll have no problems getting into the main channel. We launch there most of the time when we take our day trips on the river. However, I would strongly recommend NOT keeping your truck & trailer there overnight. The area is supposed to be closed after 10:00 pm, but that doesn't keep away the mischief-makers. So, if you plan on launching in Dubuque, there are several nice places but I would recommend the Mid-Town Marina (815) 747-3310 in East Dubuque below the dam. I think they charge $5 a day to keep your boat & trailer there, and there's always enough legitimate activity around to feel comfortable leaving your rig set for a spell.

The trip upstream from Dubuque is very nice, and if you decide to stay in Gutenberg, there are free municipal docks just below the dam.....however there are no restroom/shower facilities. A few blocks walk uptown brings you to several eating places. Above the dam is a full-service marina with facilities. Just below Guttenberg on the Wisconsin side is Cassville, which has a few public docks, and the restroom facilities are in the city park.

When do you plan on being in Dubuque? If we're around, we'll keep an eye out and say hello. Paul aboard the Joni Lynn

[Fairbro]

Consider this: 60 miles on the river takes about a day. 60 miles towing a boat takes about an hour. Why not get to a more scenic part of the river by driving a couple of hours more?