Dream Cruise of 2015

[rickalan35]

For those of you, who like me don't boat year round due to the advent of cold weather and the white stuff that accompanies it, I would love to hear your 2015 Trojan Cruising Story in detail, hopefully along with some photos. Any multiple day cruise you undertook this past summer will qualify in my book.

This summer I took delivery of a new boat (new to me), sold my old boat and then contracted full blown shingles around my torso - all in that order. So needless to say, I cruised absolutely nowhere.

So give us a rundown of where you took that Trojan of yours this past summer, what you saw and experienced and how the boat performed. Plus surely the heck you screwed up a docking somewhere along the line.

[LandVF36]

We had a great season. Splashed in early April and hauled out in October 10. We were at the boat 2-4 nights a week every week except for a three weekends when we went boating with other boats to other places. The biggest trip in the Trojan was from Red Wing, MN where our marina is to Genoa WI and back.

Leaving Red Wing. The weather was pretty overcast all week. 80s, so it was nice to have the "shade"


At anchor early morning before breakfast...


Coming up on Lock #5


Near Fountain City, WI


The old girl tied up while we stop for a burger at Slippery's (Yes that famous bar from the mvie Grumpy Old Men)


Kick'n it up on plane to try to outrun a storm. Turns out you can't out run a storm thats approaching at 40 mph when you can only do 29 mph fully loaded for a trip. At 50+ GPH, though, the longer you run at that speed the lighter you get


Just one of many bluffs on the upper Mississippi


It was a good trip. We were gone 8 days. Covered about 280 miles of the river. There is no better way to recharge than by taking a boat trip.

[prowlersfish]

rickalan35 , Kind of a slow cruising year for me also . Was able to get away for a few days early on and anchor out and a few days over the eastern shore .

[The Dog House]

My dream cruise of 2015 was from Bordentown, NJ to Chesapeake City, MD. It was my dream cruise because I actually was able to get down and back without the boat breaking down! This was the third time I had tried to make the trip. The first year my transmission went. The second year my V drive went. Last year I couldn't try to make the trip because my trim tab motor broke before the trip. After rebuilding the transmission and V drive, and installing a new trim tab motor, I was able to finally make it down and back. Hopefully this is the start of many more successful years boating! Wish me luck!

[prowlersfish]

Dog House , that sounds like a great trip

[rickalan35]

LandVF......... Great trip and photos. I mapped your cruise on Google Maps and realized that I'd twice ridden my motorcycle over that same bridge you cruised under in Lacrosse, Wisconsin on two separate trips out west.

The Mississippi at that point was divided into several individual rivulets and there was also a lock there in what I assume was the main navigation channel.

When I got to the western side of the bridge, I began a five mile long steady climb northward along the riverbank until the road turned west again. When I got to the top I expected to be at the summit of a big hill but instead, I came out on a huge expanse of grasslands and a Welcome To Minnesota sign. No trees in sight. I guess it was the elevation change.

Dog House, I bet it felt really great after a couple of setbacks to finally get out on the water and have that boat purring along.

Just like LandVF, you planned yourself a pretty extensive cruise. I think you were running the same canal into Chesapeake City that my friends here in Canada took when they cruised south on the ICW during their trip to the Bahamas. They went north up Delaware Bay and then across that same canal through Chesapeake City (am I right?) and then into Chesapeake Bay.

[prowlersfish]

I bet it was . Its called the C&D canal

[The Dog House]

Yes, the C & D canal connects the Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay. I approached the C & D canal from the North since I was coming down the Delaware River toward the Delaware Bay. It took me about 5 1/2 hours to get to the C & D canal and then another 1/2 hour to cross the canal to Chesapeake City. We tied up at Schaeffer's Canal House for the night and then headed back the next day. The trip was uneventful, which is my favorite kind of trip.

If I can get better at turning the boat around in close quarters, we'll take a trip to Delaware City next year. Delaware City is a great town, but the canal that it is on is narrow and the current can be swift. If I can get in and out of Delaware City, I can pretty much go anywhere.

[P-Dogg]

Any multiple day cruise

How about the only cruise, from one side of the river to the other??? I was out, gulp, 13 months for upgrades. So far this year, I moved the boat from the yard where the work was done to across the river where the slip is. As I don't mind boating when it is cold, I expect to do something else this year. Access to black and white water services is usually what stops me.

Hey Dog House -- Chesapeake City is almost as far south as some of the potential 2016 rondezvous sites that are being mentioned. Just sayin'....

[prowlersfish]

Since you brought it up .
My dream trip of all time was to the 2009 Trojan Rendezvous . I ran most the way ( 140-160 miles ? ) the first day ( met up with friends a few miles away ) about 4 days in St Mikes . 2 days up the wye river with 2 other Trojan boats and maybe 5 days getting home . That was a Dream trip The best yet .

One thing that made it great ( besides meeting the best group of boater ever ) was that , 2 months before I almost put my boat under and on the bottom when I put a 4"x 5" hole in it . Doing all the repairs and making it up there trouble free was a great satisfaction . The dream of the trip is what got it done ( and it almost put me in the hospital from exhaustion )

So Dog House I know how you feel , Its great . Perry , a trip down the bay may do it for you ( yes I am picking on you )

[P-Dogg]

Perry , a trip down the bay may do it for you

I was going to do that this last summer, to give my new engines a workout while they were under warranty, but I, umm, took a little longer than expected to complete some other work. Recall that you offered to buy me a beer and convince me to be a genuine conservative instead of a moderate independent. Okay, so it was two years ago. Beer gets my attention.

I'll get down there eventually, because I want to do the not-so-great loop -- Baltimore, C&D, Cape May, Ocean City, Norfolk, Baltimore.

[prowlersfish]

That would be a fun trip

[WayWeGo]

Our dream cruise of 2015 was this past weekend, when we crossed the Chesapeake Bay and went up the Miles River to St. Michaels, MD. On the way over, my wife and I were onboard with my daughter and one of her girl friends. Our daughter's boyfriend joined us for a day in St. Michaels and the cruise back home. The seas were flat on the way home, which only happens when the winds are down and there is little boat traffic. All in all, it was a great mini-getaway!

Our wake heading across the Bay to the Eastern Shore.

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My wife at the helm -- she was grinning ear-to-ear, though I am not sure if it was because she was not at work or because she was on the boat. Probably both!

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The small cruise ship (52 cabins) Independence, leaving St. Michaels for an overnight cruise to York, VA.

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[WayWeGo]

A few more photos from our trip (still haven't figured out how to upload more than three photos per post):

Leaving St. Michaels looking back at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

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The Bloody Point Light at the mouth of the Miles River. Note the light fog that remained throughout the day.

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Almost home just before turning into the Rhode River, another popular fall cruising location that we are lucky to have a slip on!

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[prowlersfish]

That is one of nicest places on the bay to go .