On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 20:31:42 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

There's something called the Tenn-Tom whereby you bypass the
Mississippi for a piece. I think they come out near Mobile, AL.

Exactly right, that is the preferred way to take a small boat south to
the Gulf of Mexico. The normal route is to take the Illinois River
south to the Mississippi, Mississippi River south to the Ohio River,
north east on the Ohio, and then south again on the Tennessee River to
the Tombigbee Waterway which runs south to Mobile, AL.

The lower Mississippi is not very friendly to small boat traffic:
strong currents, lots of large commercial traffic and very few
marinas.