Personal Boating on the Mississippi?

[reako]

Hell yeah I have friends that go out there at least every other week and put around. Drop in near Alton, IL then cruise up and park at the beach for a couple hours. Anything around 19', 20' and up would be perfect - any style (from fishing boats to pontoon boats). The major concern I see is to be sure to know the dangers of the area like sand bars under water etc. and be aware that the depth is not very deep most of the time (under 20').. Definitely avoid the area after huge rains as there are quite a few small tree limbs and other obstacles which clutter the waterway and may damage your prop.. Other than that, yes I believe it's a very underutilized asset in this area.

[Orwelleaut]

Sounds pretty cool!! How about swimming in the Mississippi?? You mentioned a beach, reako, near Alton. Are there public beaches on the big river?? The Ohio River has some pretty decent swimming spots, so I'd imagine that one could swim in the mighty Miss if they are careful and know the spot they are swimming in.

[Versatile]

Originally Posted by ShadowCaver

I am amazed that you survived. We built a houseboat of sorts years ago. The motor flamed out and we were in a whirlpool along the bank on the south side for about 3 hrs. About the length of a Louis LaMour western. A buddy decided he was going to row us out of it. He was in my little 10ft jon boat and rowing like hell. I told him he better get back on the big boat because the front of the 10ft jon boat was over the eye or the center of the whirlpool and you could see daylight underneath the first 1/2 of the boat. It sure looked to me like that had he not been hooked the the big boat by a rope;then he surely would have gone down the drain.

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by Versatile

I am amazed that you survived. We built a houseboat of sorts years ago. The motor flamed out and we were in a whirlpool along the bank on the south side for about 3 hrs. About the length of a Louis LaMour western. A buddy decided he was going to row us out of it. He was in my little 10ft jon boat and rowing like hell. I told him he better get back on the big boat because the front of the 10ft jon boat was over the eye or the center of the whirlpool and you could see daylight underneath the first 1/2 of the boat. It sure looked to me like that had he not been hooked the the big boat by a rope;then he surely would have gone down the drain.

All I know is that the particular ones we paddled above in our canoes, while looking something fierce at times were actually little more than a tease... of course me being foolish leader ala some of Mr. Twain's characters was the primary goofball riding over 'em, trying to see what would happen - which disappointingly in those cases was little more than a gentle nudge into a different direction. Of course, the above are not recommendations for anyone reading this - your floating abilities and/or experiences may vary.

[DinsdalePirahna]

I used to Pilot River boats in West Virginia but I have never seen fast flowing water like it does past Stl. I think you need a special license (at the time ) to operate in the StL and New Orleans Area.

The Alton pool (north of the Locks) looks rather placid. People even operate sailboats. I guess I can't be that bad.

Personal boating is one of the reasons I moved to Lake Saint Louis. We have two lakes. one is excellent for smaller personal boats, the other is great for waterskiing. It appears that both lakes are adequate for fishing activities. The best part is that jetskis are not allowed on either lake