34 overland

[bootneck]

Hi Guys,
l live in Spain, Europe and am planning to buy a Catalina on Lake Michigan. Then sail back to my home in Spain, via the Caribbean. What would be the best way to get it to the Atlantic coast, say below Washington.
Do l sail it through the Lakes to Cleveland and have it over landed to the coast, and what would be the cost, or can l sail to the coast direct. Also what would be the best time of year for the trip.
l would appreciate any info.

Happy sailing.

[patrice]

HI,
Wouldn't be a lot easier and cheaper to find one on your side of the water ....   
If you really want it, yes you can sail it thru the lakes and St-Lawrence seaway to the atlantic water.

[Footloose]

You could go via water the entire way.  It would require going north on Lake Michigan and going through the Straight of Mackinaw then south in Lake Huron to Port Huron/Sarinia.  You would then enter the St Clair River go across Lake St Clair to the Detroit River to Lake Erie.  You would go across Lake Erie to the Erie Canal.  The mast would have to come down.  Take the Erie Canal to the Hudson River.  The Hudson river then flows to New York City.  You could then Put the mast back up and go down the coast to the DC area and begin you crossing.  I would think Summer would be best for the Great Lakes part of the trip but you would not want to start out across the Atlantic in the hurricane season.  I don't have a good timeline but I believe you could get to DC from Lake Michigan in a month or less of hard core sailing/motoring.  There are lock at contend with and they can slow things down.

I am sure others will chime in.  I would not feel comfortable sailing a C34 across open ocean.  It is a great coastal cruiser.

[Jim Hardesty]

I talk to people doing the Erie Canal every year.  While I was cruising Lake Erie in August, met 2 separate boats doing just that.  One was going to use the Welland Canal and enter the Erie Canal from Lake Ontario, they wanted to visit Toronto.  The other has made the trip a few times before was going to enter from Buffalo.  Both thought entering the Erie Canal in mid August was about right for a leisurely trip, even with some expected delays.
Jim

[Ken Juul]

Not quite sure you have the tankage to make it across the atlantic.  Planning on buying a water maker?  Also hope for good winds so you don't have to run the engine much.

[Clay Greene]

The Erie Canal is supposed to be beautiful but you do have to contend with taking the mast down and storing it on sawhorses.  Trucking the boat from the east end of Lake Erie to the coast probably would not be that expensive.  It is about 350 miles so I would guess it would cost about $2,000? 

As much as I support the Catalina brand, I would be reluctant to expose a C34 to ocean conditions without some substantial modifications. 

[chuck53]

We all love our C-34's, but agree with others...it's not a blue water boat built to cross oceans.

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

Or depending how much time/experience you have, you could sail up the coast from New York or the Intercoastal Waterway to  South Carolina or Florida, then a short hop over to Bimini to start your trip to the Carabean.

Mike

[patrice]

Still don't get it why would come buy a both here to sail back to spain ?
There should be plenty of both for sail in your area.

[Footloose]

FWIW- I talked with a ship captain that regularly sails the great lakes.  It takes a lake freighter six days to get to Quebec City.  Keep in mind that he is making 13 knots 24 hours and day when not going through locks.

[lazybone]

Big dreams, way bigger than mine.

[Lance Jones]

You've missed a major point in this post, he wants to cruise the Caribbean first. From the Caribbean, he should start up Florida coast and used both trade winds and the Gulf Stream to Eeeeeengland. Far more fragile boats than ours have done it. It would depend upon experience level.

[Stu Jackson]

Google "The Great Loop" - there's an association that has members who do that trip.  There's also a great writeup of an Erie Canal trip by a C34 skipper:

Sorry, can't find the link right now, I'll keep looking, it used to be on the CLR page for Catalina Fleet 21 in Chicago.

"C34 Erie Canal" Google search finds this:


https://www.google.com/search?q=C34+erie+canal&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

There's also this:

http://www.pcmarinesurveys.com/ICW%20A%20index.htm

[bootneck]

Thanks for all your info guys. l will try to answer one or two questions.
We want to visit the USA so what better way than by boat. We plan to buy a one-way ticket, buy a boat, do some trials to make sure it is sea-worthy and basically just chill out.   Lance jones  hit the nail on the head!
My wife and l have had a lot of experience, my wife has already done the ARC and raced in the Fastnet, and we both have RYA skipper certs. Some of you will have gathered by my name that l have some experience with the sea. Believe me,  gale force 10 in the North Sea is no joke, great fun though!
Buying a boat in Europe is expensive and we want the best we can afford being pensioners. l have seen boats in NY , Florida, but depends which one is right for us.
l understand some of your misgivings about sailing the Atlantic and some of you suggest modifications, what would be these, don't say a long warp.
Don't fancy going via the St Lawrence Seaway, bit to far north. The lntercoastal Highway sounds just the ticket. then head for the Caribbean and hom :thumb:e.

[mregan]

Sounds like a great trip.  If you do go ahead with the C-34, keep us posted on your travels.