Carver Owners Forum

Hello All! Just purchased a 1994 350 Aft Cabin. The boat is in very good condition w/only 252 original hrs. and 30 on genset. Will have to drive the boat back in the spring as I live in central IL and the boat is in Cincinnati. Looking for some info about the run down the Ohio River to the Mississippi to the IL river. If anyone has done this trip and has some advise, please let me know. Will be leaving bout mid may? Thanks Dennis

I can't help with your specific trip but I brought my carver 450 miles to my home after purchase. I suggest( if you can,) dont be in a hurry and enjoy the journey, welcome aboard.

Congrats and welcome aboard

Welcome aboard!

Welcome Aboard and good luck with your Carver.

In May you might have high water, high currents. Downbound tows will have the right of way under these conditions, as they have very limited maneuverability. Get AIS capability if possible. Always look beyond the next bend for approaching tows, and radio the skipper as to your presence and ask how he wants you to pass.Tows stay the outside of bends where the water is deeper. Debris will be heavy and damaging if you hit it, tree trunks etc. Maintain a bow lookout, stay mid-channel, and ALWAYS communicate asap with approaching traffic. If no AIS, announce by radio your approach to a bend, ref mile marker,and wait for reply, if tow is approaching. Especially in the Illinois,Tows are DANGEROUS...be very cautious!

You will be traveling up-current, using more fuel, so research fuel availability. Your mileage will be 0.5 mpg range, so plan accordingly. Do not run after dark. Plan overnight stops. If the water is flood stage you will need to be able to spot all hazards visually, don't assume perfect gps accuracy.

Make sure your engines operate consistantly at ok oil pressure and temperature, and that strainers and fuel filters are serviced before leaving. I suggest a 20 mile trial run before starting, out and back to your starting point. Prep the boat meticulously.

Finally, test your anchor, in the channel, full rode, to make sure you know it will set and hold if you need to stop and repair. This can save your boat, maybe your life. Your boat was not used very much, could be crud in the tanks, carry spare fuel filters.

Whatever your level of experience,it is also great idea to have some nice long conversations with local boatmen. Preferably...before you start!

Phil Little

Good job Phil

Thanks for the Info! UPDATE: Unable to pick boat up until mid June due to the Marinas inability to perform almost ANY job. I sent them not one but 3 Navi units, 2 Garmin and 1 Lowrance. Also had the original in dash small lowrance depth finder which wasn't working. After waiting 9mths and getting angry I decided to leave Aurora, Indiana (Lighthouse Point Yacht Club, Stay Clear of the owners!) and drive blind W/ no depth finders. Not the smartest, but didn't have much choice. No other services available. I have been boating for over 60yrs, so do have experience. But have been on the Illinois River and many lakes, nothing like the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers! Here's my dilemma: We ran the 450mi on the Ohio, with hardly a problem. Did realize very quickly that much of my info on available Marinas and fuel were outdated. You REALLY need to call every single one before leaving. Gas was and is my #1 concern. Just to put it out again the boat is a 1994 Carver 350 Aft Cabin with 252hrs on Crusader 454XL 350hp. Fresh bottom paint and new props. Going down stream on the Ohio was awesome, I could run approx. 1600rpm @ 11mpr. NOW you get on the Mississippi and BAM everything changes. I've done research on best fuel mileage ie... Approx. 7.5knts. I quickly realized that this wouldn't work with a 220gal fuel supply. Running upstream it took almost 2600rpm to achieve 8/9mph! But did go up to 3100/3200rpm @ 14/15mph. So after only 25mi I knew we had a problem as the 1st fuel opportunity was Hoppies @ the 158 mi marker. I Think that probably running on plane (14mpr) could be better Really need to hear from someone who has done this run. We ended up back tracking past Paducah (only have trans.dock an fuel) and back to Golconda Marina where the boat currently is. I've purchased a 50gal gas container and 4 15gal containers. And still not sure if this will get me there? I did fuel up right @ the mouth of the Mississippi/ Ohio Rivers. SOOO I can Completely fuel up with 158 miles to Hoppies. Also when we got back to Golconda, I did install 2 - 10" Navi. Units and was able to fix the in dash Depth finder! (installed in one day with only tools on the boat). The Mississippi Kicked MY A**! Anyone have thoughts? Thanks Dennis

With these days of chartplotters and decent chart updates, I think having a chartplotter is more important than a depthsounder. A chartplotter (or good updated charts) will show you which side of the river is deep water.

Running against current is tricky. Let's say you have 200 miles to go, and you have a 4MPH current you're up against. At 8 MPH, you're actually only making 4MPH headway, so you'll actually travel 400 miles over water to make it to your destination (50 hours later!!). At 17MPH, you're making 13MPH headway and will "only" travel 261 miles over the water and it will only take 15 hours. This is where the higher fuel burn on plane may actually be an advantage.

In order to make headway at 8MPH, you're going to be starting to push a lot of water and economy is going to suffer. You might be at 6-8GPH, which would be 300-400 gallons for that trip. Up on plane at 17MPH, you might be at 20GPH but only consume 300 gallons total.

Might check the "great loop" site for updates on fuel stops. I'd think they'd have some pretty updated info on there.

Hello, thank you for responding. The distance I need to travel to get to Hoppies to refuel is 158.0mi. The boat only holds 220gal gas. I just purchased fuel cells to add another 125gal, so now a total of 345gal. I agree that a higher MPH should work out better? You responded you think maybe 300gal to travel 200mi. REALLY don't want run out on the Mississipi. Thanks Again