New Orleans?

I've only been there once about 8 years ago. But, I remember being struck by the fact that I never saw any pleasure boat traffic on the river in the downtown (French Quarter) area, nor did I see any marinas. And we were there during a weekend in the late spring. In other cities I've been to (e.g., Washington DC, Tampa, San Diego, San Fran, Seattle, etc.) the waterways would be busy with pleasure boaters.

Is is possible/practical to take a cruising trip to New Orleans? Are there any marinas within walking distance or short cab ride to the popular downtown areas? Is the river just to hazardous for pleasure cruising in that area?

Didn't notice any pleasure boats or marinas there either. (Last visit April 2014.)

As far as I know there is no docking suitable for pleasure boats, the size of most of our trawlers, on the river near the downtown area. Those docks are set up for ships, ferry's, or the sternwheelers. Most pleasure boaters dock at one of the marinas on the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal between the Miss.Rriver's Industrial Lock and Lake Pontchartrain or stay at one of the marinas on the "south shore" the New Orleans side of the Lake P. some have shuttle service to downtown or are not a too expensive cab ride away. If you are familiar with the Activecaptain.com site you can see these marinas described and read user reviews.

MrJim said:

I've only been there once about 8 years ago. But, I remember being struck by the fact that I never saw any pleasure boat traffic on the river in the downtown (French Quarter) area, nor did I see any marinas. And we were there during a weekend in the late spring. In other cities I've been to (e.g., Washington DC, Tampa, San Diego, San Fran, Seattle, etc.) the waterways would be busy with pleasure boaters.

Is is possible/practical to take a cruising trip to New Orleans? Are there any marinas within walking distance or short cab ride to the popular downtown areas? Is the river just to hazardous for pleasure cruising in that area?

Click to expand...

Not sure if you valve them....will provide links if you need them...but online cruising guides are available from Web site's like Active Captain. The can help identify marinas in your area of interest or ones further away but they may have courtesy cars.

Mr Jim
Come on down to Houma,60 miles SW, Steve and I will take you a tour and show you what south Louisiana is really all about.

In the late 80s when I had less sense than now one Sunday afternoon I took my Dad and a a friend of ours visiting from Costa Rica over to the Mississippi River for a ride in my Whaler Montauk 17' with 75 hp Johnson. We launched into the river at the Luling, La. ferry landing rode the 23 miles or so down to the river front near New Orleans' Jackson Square. We pulled the Wharler up to the rock revetment of the levee bank the friend from Costa Rica and I got off and went up to buy us a 6 pac of beer and some Shrimp n' Oyster Poboys. My Dad stayed on the boat holding it off of the rocks, we returned with the goods and had a nice lunch on the ride back. It was a nice trip in a small boat in a very big river with lots of big traffic. Nice memory I still have the Whaler but Dad is gone now.

Wow. That was kind of brave IMO. I've seen those rocks and the current ripping through there.

Young and bulletproof came into play I assume? ?

Thanks for the input, and thanks for the invitation Kartracer. I'd love to see what the real south LA is like. If I ever make it that far...

I don't have my boat yet, but I'm starting to think about future local and not-so-local cruises I can take. New Orleans seems to be at the distance limit for the near future -- I still have a regular job that I can't get away from for more than a week or two. I've just never been to a waterfront city that seems so inhospitable to the pleasure boat crowd. Makes me wonder if it's worth venturing that far to the west. Maybe Houma is...

Mr Jim
N.O. is very hospitable to water craft, sail, cruisers an mega yachts, just not on the river, everything is on Lake Pontchartrain. The lake is only a mile or so from the river using the Industrial Canal. There is a marina that is only about a mile from the French Quarter, South End Marina home of the New Orleans Yacht Club

Seabrook Marine is an excellent facility near downtown New Orleans. It's just a short distance off the ICW. (Accessible from the Mississippi). Deep channel. Will accommodate up to 145'.

Most of the pleasure boating by locals is done on Lake Pontchartrain which is just north of the downtown area. It is covered with marinas, the largest being those owned by the City of New Orleans. Obviously there was a lot of damage due to Katrina and took years to rebuild to the prior state. There are a lot of residential areas on the north side of the lake, where extensive flooding resulted from Katrina. Lake Ponchartrain is on the shallow side so we haven't been there, stopping at Seabrook. It also as a wide shallow lake can get rough quickly. Under normal conditions the minimum depth is about 7' but it would be important to check current conditions. However, Seabrook is a good stop.

Lake P. is going to be 10+ ft in most areas away from the shore (100yds) in the areas a pleasure boater in a larger boat (30+ft inboard) would be cruising. All marinas will have a well marked channel. I would not hesitate coming in from the East to New Orleans via the Rigolets/Lake Ponchartrain...draft or navigation will not be an issue. Avoiding locking through to cross the Ms. River because of all the red flag tows....you might have to wait hours to get through the Algiers (westbank) or Industrial canal locks (east bank). The Harvey Canal lock on the westbank are usually a short wait. In my opinion I would stick to the lake by boat and view the riverfront by 4 wheeled "dinghy".

Rardoin, check your profile page I sent you a private message there

New Orleans/Louisiana would be on my short list of places to cruise.I would be fascinated with the activity going on afloat and ashore.

Sailor of Fortune said:

New Orleans/Louisiana would be on my short list of places to cruise.I would be fascinated with the activity going on afloat and ashore.

Click to expand...

Its such a unique place. Bourbon Street isn't what it once was. To us, Commander's Palace is worth the trip there. Of course last time we were there, we had nine of us and I don't even want to remember what the meal cost.

Still some great jazz to be heard.

There are no yacht facilities on the Mississippi River near downtown New Orleans. No problem making the run along the Miss River in front of the city. Also no problem locking in and out of the river going east or west. There are just no mooring or docking facilities for yachts in the river near the city.

Theoretically you could anchor over to the side but there are lots of submerged snags and lots of traffic. I anchored once about 50 miles downriver from the city and spent a sleepless night amid crew boat and tub traffic; not much fun. Houma, Cypress Cove Marina in Venice, Empire Marina, marinas on Lake Pontchartrain, marinas on th Mississippi Gulf Coast are all much better options.

Pick a marina, leave your boat in safety, rent a car and visit the city.

Very True. New Orleans/ pleasure boating is not generally done. As mentioned earlier, the ICW is where you will find the few available marinas. Northshore (Slidell/ Mandeville/ Madisonville) is the area where most boating takes place. Or cross the mighty Mississippi and head towards Houma and more. It's beautiful down there. Morgan City. Bay Wallace. Eagles. Cypress trees.
The Mississippi River this far south is really too industrial to lend itself to recreational boating.
There are many other areas to explore that guys like Steve Willett and Charles Culotta can tell you about. If you could make it down to Steve's Trawler Do one year you would find charts and pictures available that participants bring. Come on down. You will have a great time cher!!


1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's

And don't overlook Seabrook. It's a good marina and very convenient.

And Mandeville city dock, water, electricity, no charge. Good restaurants in walking distance. Really enjoy going there.

The "Trawler Do" is Saturday Feb 28 near Houma any one interested let me know, I'l send details.