Chicago to St Louis run 5/4-5/5 Great Loop Run

oh man. Missin this by a day lol but that loop is on our list of to-do's eventually.

well be in Chicago may 6-7 but boatless.

safe travels and post pics!

I'm praying for a turn in weather, right now the rivers here are all flood stage and beyond.
I waited too long to pull my boat as my marina flooded with some 30ft of water above "normal" by yesterday... all launch ramps under water.

Well, on a positive side, with ramps gone I had to get creative and go for an "amphibious landing-style" boat retrieval, lol.
(I also figured it could be a useful exercise for the incoming the trip, albeit I'm not planning on it!)

I did it! It was kind of unbelievable, I wish I could have taken a video clip or good pics...
Enough to say, my guys at the marina were pretty impressed.

Basically, I launched the trailer (with help) over a bunch of shrubs strait over a completely muddy river bank - and then pulled the boat out!
(Look Ma, no ramp! lol)

Here is the bank with the truck and trailer (pointed with red arrows) just to give you an idea. Water is about 30ft high, the trailer is launched over the last remaining accessible strip of "dry" land:


Here is a shot from the boat - on my approach - while the truck is backed up over the muddy bank into the water...
(I was not entirely sure this was such a great idea at this point...lol)



A short while later - she was out!


I must say Toyota Landcruisers are just unreal. While I had guys with a bobcat on standby ready to pull the boat and truck out of the mud, and possibly out of the river if needed, the Landy didn't even show any hesitation, just a strait pull w/no drama. Wow!

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So a couple quick questions... Where is everyone staying on Saturday 5/4 night? Do we want to do dinner at Alexanders in Peoria? Do we have an list of who is going for sure?

Nickp98 said:

So a couple quick questions... Where is everyone staying on Saturday 5/4 night? Do we want to do dinner at Alexanders in Peoria? Do we have an list of who is going for sure?

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Our preliminary plan is to stay downtown and slip in Peoria Boat Club, that is IF we can make it that far on Saturday - across all the locks, we have a crew of six.

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please someone tell me I got this wrong and there is not 7 locks we have to go by ......

Illinois Waterway - Wikipedia

Betik said:

please someone tell me I got this wrong and there is not 7 locks we have to go by ......

Illinois Waterway - Wikipedia

Click to expand...

@Betik You are correct! It is not 7.

It's eight.

Here is a better look:


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Lol my good sir yes there are a lot of locks on the way if it was a straight shot this would be a one day Run for me on the ski

Ok, so what does everyone use for extra fuel? Cans on swim deck?

Nickp98 said:

Ok, so what does everyone use for extra fuel? Cans on swim deck?

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Eight or nine 5 gal cans with fast spouts, at the bottom of the ski locker (towards the rear of it).
That locker fits a 90 gal ballast bag, BTW. Extra weight in there actually adds stability, the boar rides like a Cobalt, lol.

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swatski said:

Eight or nine 5 gal cans with fast spouts, at the bottom of the ski locker (towards the rear of it).
That locker fits a 90 gal ballast bag, BTW. Extra weight in there actually adds stability, the boar rides like a Cobalt, lol.

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Click to expand...

Never tried what @swatski is talking about but since I am going on his boat guess I have to trust him. I think vp race jugs or 14 gallon caddies would be a good fot for a 24’ ski locker. What concerns me is who is hanging over the side to refill. I have a feeling it will be me and I have put on more than a few pounds over the winter. Hopefully @swatski, @Betik, and @robert843 have been eating their wheaties. Seriously though I agree this is a good plan and even if not open there seems to be a bunch of marinas along the way where one could tie up and refill.

My BMI is like 32. I am officially obese. I make any boat ride like a Hatteras

Mainah said:

Never tried what @swatski is talking about but since I am going on his boat guess I have to trust him. I think vp race jugs or 14 gallon caddies would be a good fot for a 24’ ski locker. What concerns me is who is hanging over the side to refill. I have a feeling it will be me and I have put on more than a few pounds over the winter. Hopefully @swatski, @Betik, and @robert843 have been eating their wheaties. Seriously though I agree this is a good plan and even if not open there seems to be a bunch of marinas along the way where one could tie up and refill.

Click to expand...

Well, I'm always open to learn new things, lol. But you will not see me juggling anything bigger than a 5 gal can to fill up from inside the boat, I'm just not that strong/crazy - in any chop/rough weather it can become just downright crazy. I have never had much luck with fuel transfer systems in that context one would need one for anything larger than the 5 gal.

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You guys are all crazy as I mention in this video I prefer the much more sophisticated 2.5 gallon gas can so much easier to manage its just the sensible choice lol.

So yall will have 18 2.5 gallon cans instead of 9 5gallon cans... wish I could have made this work.

Water is still so high...
Here is the public ramp under the new Alton, IL bridge - today:




I would say - usable in a emergency but not really under normal circumstances. Would need water to drop another 5ft to be comfortable, and be able to walk off. Not going to happen though in the next two weeks...

We will likely end the trip here - and leave the boat in a guest slip in Alton Marina, next door to the right.
The marina's done great with all the flooding this year, no issues so far.

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What is this marinas name ?

Never mind you did say “Alton Marina “

It looks like the marina is right before the locks right ?

Betik said:

It looks like the marina is right before the locks right ?

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Yes. Mel Price, the largest dam and lock on the Mississippi, and the beginning of the Pool 26.
After that there is another lock - Chain of Rocks channel before downtown...
If time and conditions permit we could go all the way - past downtown to my marina up on the Meramec River - south of 255. But the water level would need to be just right, too low (not likely) - no go, too high - we may not clear a small railroad bridge by Tesson Ferry.

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You crack me up. Cannot wait for the 10 days to pass

Do you plan to pull out there or are you just going to leave your boat up in Alton? Is this trip doable you think right now or do we need to re think it?