At 25' I assume it's fairly light and you can provide most of the technical knowhow to hook it back up. You just need a lift for a fairly light mast.
 
You might try Harborside just past Joliet. You may need to do a little explaining before they realize the travel lift should be capable of providing what you need.
 
Otherwise, down by Peoria the river opens up into a lake and there are a fair number of sail boats so one of the marinas there should be able to help.
 
Once you get down to the Kentucky Lakes area there are a number of options. That's where we kept the mast down until the two times we went down. There are a number of lift bridges on the Illinois so there is a convienence factor if you can slide under them when they are in the down position.
 
Try Active Captain as they list all the marinas with what their facilities are and they have phone numbers to you can get it right from the horses mouth.
 
Mike & Tammy
Valhalla II

Hi Mike
We are on a trawler and our mast is hinged. My wife and I can easily drop it
or raise it ourselves but it takes about 45 min. or so to prep for it.
So the main question I have is -
Can we rely on keeping it up after Joliet, or is there another low bridge on
the way south?
R

-----Original Message-----
From: great-loop-bounces@lists.trawlering.com
[mailto:great-loop-bounces@lists.trawlering.com] On Behalf Of M S
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 8:11 AM
To: great-loop@lists.trawlering.com
Subject: GL: Subject: bridges after Chicago

At 25' I assume it's fairly light and you can provide most of the technical
knowhow to hook it back up. You just need a lift for a fairly light mast.
 
You might try Harborside just past Joliet. You may need to do a little
explaining before they realize the travel lift should be capable of
providing what you need.
 
Otherwise, down by Peoria the river opens up into a lake and there are a
fair number of sail boats so one of the marinas there should be able to
help.
 
Once you get down to the Kentucky Lakes area there are a number of options.
That's where we kept the mast down until the two times we went down. There
are a number of lift bridges on the Illinois so there is a convienence
factor if you can slide under them when they are in the down position.
 
Try Active Captain as they list all the marinas with what their facilities
are and they have phone numbers to you can get it right from the horses
mouth.
 
Mike & Tammy
Valhalla II

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I was thinking you were on a small sailboat, where a mast down on a 25' boat can really get in the way. A trawler is a little different.
 
Ideally, see if you can rig it up so it goes up and down in a few minutes. Then you can put it up or down as needed.
 
Otherwise, I would say if it's not in the way very much, leave it down until you hit the Mississippi at Grafton. You might even consider waiting till further south as there are many marinas that provide covered slips and if you can't fit into them, you are always out on the very end with a long walk to shore. If you arrive at a busy time, it may be the difference between a slip or moving on.
 
If it's in the way when down and you can put it up yourself, Joliet will be fine, you just may have to wait for a few bridge lifts and watch out for covered slips.
 
 

Hi Mike
We are on a trawler and our mast is hinged. My wife and I can easily drop it
or raise it ourselves but it takes about 45 min. or so to prep for it.
So the main question I have is -
Can we rely on keeping it up after Joliet, or is there another low bridge on
the way south?
R