Crewing a boat on the Mississippi River

Had a request recently from a young adult interested in “hopping” a boat down the Mississippi River. In the fall, owners of many larger yachts are moving boats south to warmer climates. Some few will take the Mississippi River all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Most will detour through the Tom-Bigby Waterway. But sometimes these yachts do need crew for the journey. We’ve added a “CREW” category to our Travel Directory. So if you are interested in crewing or looking for crew, have a look. Good luck!

Capt. Norman Hillman lived as a professional on Americas rivers for over 60 years. In his book he shares his pilot house perspectives on the dangers and suprises of life on the river.

Capt. Norman Hillman lived as a professional on America's rivers for over 60 years. In his book he shares his pilot house perspectives on the dangers and suprises of life on the river.

If you are interested in the world of commercial towboat crew, have a look at ONE MAN AND THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI by Capt. Norman Hillman. He shares 60 years of commercial river experiences. Newly reprinted and available at our online shopping cart. I might also recommend THE RIVER COMPANION which is a primer in brown water navigation. The DISCOVER! AMERICA’s GREAT RIVER ROAD guidebooks will introduce you to life and culture of the Mississippi River.

I also just rediscovered a contribution in our feature story section with specific advice for finding a job on a barge crew. Visit http://http://greatriver.com/features/finding a tow job.htm

3 thoughts on “Crewing a boat on the Mississippi River

  1. Taking a boat all the way down the Mississippi river to the Gulf would be an amazing adventure. What would the price of such an endeavour be?

  2. i am planing to take my 27 ft maxum down to the gulf over to the keyes for the winter iam going to trailer from pa looking for a place to put in and have warm wheather in down in dec thanks AL SMITH

  3. I just got my 100 ton inland capt. license and I want to take a boat down the mississippi river next fall after my season is up here in Ak. If anyone else is already planning such a trip or has already took this trip I’d like to talk with ya.

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