My buddy and I will be trailering a 21' Sea Ray cuddy to Pittsburgh September 11th or 12th for a trip down the Ohio to Louisville. We're looking for a marina and have these requirements:
1) We'll need to launch the boat and leave the trailer at the marina for about a week. We need to either slip the boat and stay on it overnight or have accommodations within walking distance or have a shuttle available. We want to have the boat in the water and ready to go the morning we depart.
2) The evening before we depart, we need to get the truck out to PIT airport. What I'd like to find is a marina that has a courtesy car for my co-captain to drive or some other means to be able to get back to the marina after positioning the truck at PIT. We're UPS flight crew and after boating to Louisville, I will be riding one of our airplanes back to PIT to get the truck and then I'll pick up the trailer for the trip home. I can park the truck at the UPS facility while we're on the water.
I know this sounds like a goat-rope, but it's the best way for us to handle this. I'm open to other ideas!
You might look at Midway Marina, located on the Ohio near the Sewickly bridge. I have not used their services, as I dock further up on the Allegheny, but the location might be beneficial being right down the hill from the airport. There is a Fairfield Inn fairly close or you could just stay at one of the airport hotels after dropping your vehicle and then a quick cab ride to the marina in the morning.
Last edited by Buzzman; 08-31-2010 at 02:27 PM.
Reason: Sewickly Bridge, sorry
You might look at Midway Marina, located on the Ohio near the Seickly bridge. I have not used their services, as I dock further up on the Allegheny, but the location might be beneficial being right down the hill from the airport. There is a Fairfield Inn fairly close or you could just stay at one of the airport hotels after dropping your vehicle and then a quick cab ride to the marina in the morning.
Good call. It is about a $60 cab ride from the city to the airport.
Call Newport Marina. It is the first dock on the Ohio River. They have a launch ramp there and they should be able to find someplace to park the truck and trailer for the week. (if I were you i would forget about dropping the truck off at the airport and just take a cab to the marina when you land at greater pitt) Newport does not have showers but they are a short cab ride or a 15 minute walk to the North Shore hotels.
Good luck! We just went to Marietta and back and had a blast!
Thanks everybody. The UPS facility is on the opposite side of the airfield from the terminal and it can be tough to get a cab early in the morning when our airplane arrives from Louisville. That's why I'd like to have my truck in position.
Another option is to leave the truck at the marina. Our crew hotel is the Westin Convention Center and after arriving at back at PIT to retrieve truck and trailer, I could go with the crew to the hotel and then get a cab from there to the marina. That would beat the big taxi fare to the city.
We're still planning this. It's possible that we'll do the boat trip Louisville-Pittsburgh, slip the boat and then return to Pittsburgh with the truck and trailer if the logistics work better.
Sea Ray stopped by Weirton Marina this afternoon on his way to Wheeling to spend the night.
They left their truck and trailer at Washington Landing. They will return to PIT via UPS plane to their freight facility. Then use shuttle to downtown for a cab to WL to get vehicle for return trip.
We're at Augusta, Ky (Mile 427) using the wifi at a pub.
We've had a GREAT trip so far. Weather and river conditions have been fabulous. That's about to change. The small lock at Meldahl is out of service. Got there this evening at 5:30pm and was told it would be at least four hours until we could lock with a downbound tow with only two barges. It would have been dark by the time we would exit the lock. Not a good idea. Gonna try again first thing in the morning, but tomorrow high winds and thunderstorms are forecast. May hang out here until Friday to let that get by.
OK, for the rest of the story. Because of the Meldahl lock uncertainties, my buddy's wife drove to Augusta on Thursday to pick him up. He HAD to be back in Louisville by Friday. Of course, because of a fortunate timing of Meldahl lock needing to take two of their own small vessels down Thursday morning, I transited Meldahl with zero delay. I encountered a few minutes of rain after exiting the lock, but my trusty convertible top kept me dry.
I stopped a few miles later at New Richmond, OH for fuel and the marina owner also owns a restaurant in town five blocks from the marina. He INSISTED I that come for breakfast. New Richmond is a neat little town.
I cruised by Cincinnati and down to Markland Dam. The winds picked up significantly past Cincy and the river started getting pretty rough. On headings west and southwest, it was very choppy. When the river turned south to southeast, it was almost calm. I thought about stopping at Warsaw for the night, but decided to press on to Louisville. Big mistake.
Markland Dam is just below Warsaw. After taking on fuel, I was able to exit Craig's Creek where the marina is located and go straight into the lock. Below the damn, the winds were very strong and the river miserably rough. After 16 miles of getting pounded, I elected to stop at Carrollton. I went into town, had dinner and then motored up the calm Kentucky River and anchored for the night. The next morning, it was a calm, beautiful cruise the remaining 50 miles to Louisville.
And to close out the thread, this morning I rode a UPS jet to Pittsburgh. After arrival, I rode with the crew in the limo to their downtown hotel and the driver knew exactly where Washington's Landing Marina was located. He even offered to take me there after dropping the crew at the hotel. I tipped him $10. So ends the saga, except for the drive to Louisville. I'm visiting family in western Maryland for a couple days.
Looking for Pittsburgh Marina
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Originally Posted by Buzzman
