Randy,
I have gone the long way a couple of times without incident, but I was told that you can break your prop because of debris and tree roots. I did find a lot of debris on one trip, but since so many people advised me not to take the New River to Dania Canal anymore, I stopped.
It was convenient to me to go from Thunderboat to Marina Bay. Actually, it was the short way to go. It's been a few years so I don't know if any cleaning has been done on the canal lately.
Has anyone gone the long way lately?