The St. Lawrence to the Ottawa River, down the Rideau Canal to Kingston, Ontario, and on to Trenton, Ontario to start the Trent Severn Waterway to Lake Huron's Georgian Bay and across the North Channel to Mackinaw Island, Michigan. Down the East side of Lake Michigan, and across to
We begin our river trip south from the Illinois River to the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers to Mobile,
This cruise will take us approximately 9 months to complete.
Our boat is a 2001 Mainship 390 Trawler that we bought new in 2002. It is powered by a single 300 HP Cat Diesel and has a Bowthruster. It is 39 ft 9 in long, has two helm stations; one on the flybridge and one in the salon. Brenda and I think that it is the perfect boat for this trip.
The electronics on both helms include Radar, GPS/Chartplotter, Autopilot, VHF Radio, and various gauges.
As many of you know, the Engine was completely rebuilt in 2015, so basically I have a new Engine.
There are two staterooms, a vacuflush head, enclosed shower, salon, full galley, Heat, air conditioning, TV, and radio. There are two air conditioning/heating units. So we have all the comforts of home in a downsized version.
There is an 8 kW Generator for power when away from shore, and a Dinghy with a 9 HP Outboard mounted on the swim platform to get to shore when anchored.
The trawler design allows for a full walk around with large rails that allows First Mate Brenda to safely attend to Lines, Fenders, and Anchor.
In 2010 I added an Articulating Rudder that improves the turning radius but more importantly allows me to move the stern from side to side while docking. Check out the Bayview Engineering web side for videos of this interesting mechanical device.
Looking into my crystal ball, I see our plans and boat almost identical to yours; just 6-7 years out. I'm interested in your dinghy approach. After working through all the compromise decisions of what will fit, what can be lifted, what can carry us, and what can take us where we want to go, I have (thus far) arrived at a Boston Whaler 9' Tender. While not much heavier than many RIBs, it seems a bit much to secure on its side with Weaver davits and a bit much to hang on its own "lifting" eyes. Do you find it challenging to secure the dinghy to the swim platform in less than ideal conditions? Thank you!
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