Cruising The Great Loop - Bucket List

[Lakewood90712]

As a youngster , 3 summer vacations on the California Delta. Now Cruise The Great Loop is on my bucket list.

Any veterans of this on the forum ?

 

[Sunny]

I had to google what you meant, so I'm not obviously experienced with it. Sounds like a lot of fun...I'd think the ocean and great lakes would be more exciting than the rivers, but who knows.

Although I have often thought that taking one of the cruises down the Mississippi River would be fun.

If you go for the loop, report back!

 

[CaptTom]

I did the Down East Loop in 2016. Looking to maybe do the longer, but less exposed, Great Loop one of these days.

Have you checked out the American Great Loop Cruisers Association? I hear it's worth joining if you plan to go.

What boat did you plan to take?

 

[Lakewood90712]

I did the Down East Loop in 2016. Looking to maybe do the longer, but less exposed, Great Loop one of these days.

Have you checked out the American Great Loop Cruisers Association? I hear it's worth joining if you plan to go.

What boat did you plan to take?

Thanks for the link. Will be quite off in the future. Doing eldercare now, could not go until that ends if/when .

Would search for something 25-30 ' large cabin and small single diesel cant justify getting less than 2 mpg. Not going to be in a hurry , 8 knots is plenty

 

[folivier]

Trawler Forum has lots of info on trawler style and motor yacht boats. The Loop is a frequent topic there as are expenses.

 

[JDARNELL]

Look up capt johns website. Practical info

 

[mrWinter]

It's on my bucket list as well! Wish I spent less time dreaming of it actually, as I've got a long long time to wait.

 

[Bamaman]

Many Great Loopers start at a meeting at Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, AL in the early Spring. They go back west and down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to Mobile, AL. Many loopers will also go up the Tennessee River as far as Chattanooga and Knoxville before they head south.

These Loopers come right by our house, and I sometimes will stop and talk to them when they're anchored.

The best boat for this trip is a 36' trawler with a single diesel--good for 10 mph tops. The last guy I talked to had a 39' Mainship trawler with 300 hp, and it too was a great long distance boat. They need to be big enough for a couple of open water legs, but not too tall to get under a bridge south of Chicago.

The internet has some really good reading. I just wish my family situation allowed such a voyage in my future. But water in front of our house gets too rough to dock any boat without it being lifted out of the water.

 

[CaptTom]

Your most efficient speed on a 36'er is going to be below 8 knots. On a 30'er closer to 6.5 knots. I normally cruise at 7.5 knots or so in my 36' trawler with twin diesels. I know it doesn't sound like much difference, but if you're planning to go over 3000 miles then you want to figure it correctly.

A lot of people consider 36-40' to be the minimum for a liveaboard. I've done weeks on a 28' express cruiser with 5 people aboard, and some people do the loop in small open boats. How much space you really need is a very individual thing. I'm big on interior space. Some people prefer a large cockpit.

In the 32' range, the older Bayliners are nice loopers. Down to 30' look at the Prairie 29 or Atlantic 30, which are also older makes. Below that there are trailerable, outboard "pocket trawlers" like the Rosborough which are pretty efficient and make decent use of the limited space. These are just starting points, lots of other makes and models to choose from.

 

[capjak]

I found this old blog very interesting as I was investigating a few years back.


https://www.boatus.com/cruising/kismet/kismet_logs.asp?bid=2347

"America’s Great Loop is best described as a 6,000-mile circumnavigation of the Great Lakes, inland river system, Gulf of Mexico, ICW of Florida and the American East Coast, Chesapeake Bay, the Hudson River into the Erie Canal or Lake Champlain, through to Canada’s Trent-Severn Waterway or Rideau Canal, Georgian Bay, and the North Channel. The “Loop” can be started from any of these locations.

While we’d become avid boaters during our marriage, Lisa and I were never aware that pleasure boats could do this trip as easily as the Millers were describing. From that moment on, we became obsessed about retiring early, and began planning to make this adventure a reality. We were surprised, and then happy, that we were both in total agreement about focusing our energies toward one thing. We wanted to become “Loopers.”."

 

[Midpack]

I was going to suggest https://www.greatloop.org too, great place to start. I also see Great Loop threads on http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/ from time to time, but it’s mostly just a good forum for general cruising and liveaboard info.

I might have been interested but I’d be alone, DW wants no part of it. Every year I see several great loop boats pass through our marina, with their flags displayed. IME without exception they’ve been interesting people (usually couples), with lots of good stories. Best of luck, looks like a great bucket list item! I’m jealous.