Anyone made The Great Loop?

[Tubingluvr]

Cruising the loop is my ultimate dream.
Hope to make it happen someday.
Any one here made it yet?
What size boat?

 

[skargo]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

That would be a trip of a lifetime!

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

Yes it would be the trip of a lifetime.
It is my retirement dream.
I know this has been done with smaller cruisers.
I was hoping to stay fairly close to shore and try it in a 27' cruiser.
What do you think?

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

All the boats that have come by Peoria doing the loop have been trawler type boats. or at least displacement hulls. None have been planing hulls. The amount of fuel burn in a gas powered planing hull 27' cruiser would be astonishing! The ones with trawlers claim they get 8mpg. That's still a lot of fuel, but much less than at 2.5mpg!
If you do it, make sure go west across the Great Lakes, down the Illinois and Tenn/Tom Waterway, and "up" the east coast. That way you will be running with currents as much as you possibly can.

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

thanks for the info I will keep that in mind.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

All the boats that have come by Peoria doing the loop have been trawler type boats. or at least displacement hulls. None have been planing hulls. The amount of fuel burn in a gas powered planing hull 27' cruiser would be astonishing! The ones with trawlers claim they get 8mpg. That's still a lot of fuel, but much less than at 2.5mpg!
If you do it, make sure go west across the Great Lakes, down the Illinois and Tenn/Tom Waterway, and "up" the east coast. That way you will be running with currents as much as you possibly can.

That was the first thing that came to my mind, the cost of the trip would be pretty outrageous with today's gas prices.

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

That was the first thing that came to my mind, the cost of the trip would be pretty outrageous with today's gas prices.

But we are talking about a life long dream, a trip of a lifetime. The cost does matter to some degree but it is not the only important factor.

 

[bubba68]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

that would be a awsome trip i would love to do somthing like that when i get my baja finished.

 

[Blue Crabber]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

This is my dream as well! We are planning on doing it someday, even though that day is a ways off yet. I know at least one other member wants to as well. (Freelancer)

If you haven't done so yet, google "Great Loop" and you will come up with and endless reading material.

This link is to one of the many blogs created by people who have done the trip or are currently doing it.

http://www.cruisingthegreatloop.com/

They completed the loop back in 2005 and did it in a smaller planing hull boat. I am sure that you will find thier blog helpful as they recorded a lot of information on it. We are dreaming of a 40' trawler for our trip some day!

 

[freelancer]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

I know at least one other member wants to as well. (Freelancer)

This link is to one of the many blogs created by people who have done the trip or are currently doing it.

http://www.cruisingthegreatloop.com/

quote]
Great link! Sounds like they spent over $11,300 on fuel and slip fees alone, now add in repairs, food, entertainment and misc stuff. I would tack on another $15,000 just to be safe...who cares I'll be retired by then anyway

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

I know at least one other member wants to as well. (Freelancer)

This link is to one of the many blogs created by people who have done the trip or are currently doing it.

http://www.cruisingthegreatloop.com/

quote]
Great link! Sounds like they spent over $11,300 on fuel and slip fees alone, now add in repairs, food, entertainment and misc stuff. I would tack on another $15,000 just to be safe...who cares I'll be retired by then anyway

Step 1: Win the Lottery

Step 2: Buy brand new boat

Step 3: Set off on the loop with $100,000 in my pocket (Need to pick up souvinirs)

Step 4: Lose contact with the kids for the duration of trip.

 

[freelancer]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

Step 4: Lose contact with the kids for the duration of trip.

What do you think that duration would be? I plan on going on a slow bell so I can take it all in...four months maybe

 

[Les Robb]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

It does sound like a grand adventure but I wonder how bored one might get after a few weeks. One of the boats I maintained and operated for a private owner was a Chris Crash cruiser. The old gentlemen liked to travel up and down the intercoastal during the winter and play cards with his buddies. Most of the east coast we boated was idle only manatee zones and let me tell you it's a long day trying to make it from Stuart to Ft pierce and back when you can't get up and run. This was 25 years ago and don't have a clue now but suppose it might be worse.

That said if I was going to make the loop it would be in a boat capable of running offshore during favorable weather and tuck in a preplanned dockage at night. I don't have a clue about the western or southern loop that would be totally uncharted waters to me. My wife says the great lakes are extremely dangerous during summer storms due to the shallow water.

I think my ideal would be the great loop around the Bahama's in June.

Good boating ya'll

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

The Great Lakes can get nasty, but I doubt it's due to shallow water. (With the exception being Lake Erie, it's average depth is only 62') Their average depths are deeper than most water you ran in off the east coast of Florida!
Fact is, this trip is done all the time. Yeah there are some really remote boring places (I would think all the way from Peoria to Alton, IL would be just awful, cause I driven it by car, and it's not very scenic!), but as an overall boating experience, people seem to really love it. Just have to plan ahead, and take your time. You can't get into a hurry.

 

[Blue Crabber]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

What do you think that duration would be? I plan on going on a slow bell so I can take it all in...four months maybe

The couple in the link I posted did it in about that time. However, I am planning on more like 1 year to do it. Since I want to do it in a trawler, the average speed is going to be around 8 or 9 knots probably. Most of the reading I have done suggests doing it this way to enjoy the scenery and not feel like you are rushed from point to point. Alot of "Loopers" spend a legnth of time in a port to take in everything around them when it is feasible to.

Another thing to consider is the weather. You may have to wait out a storm and be in port longer than you planned to.

Another advantage to taking close to a year to do it is you can be in the north during summer and then head down to the gulf in the winter. This minimizes your exposure to storms and also allows you to take advantage to the downstream current in the midwest rivers. Not to mention that it keeps the weather in your favor as well!

You can check out the AGLCA (America Great Loop Cruisers Association) website and find out all kinds of info and blogs from people who have done it or are currently doing it.

Yeah, I am obsessed with this if you can't tell!

 

[woosterken]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

tubing,
check this out,these two girls are doing it in a 16' durocraft!

http://www.boatinglife.com/article/Other/Video-Blog-From-the-Desk-of-Randy

woosterken

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

that is crazy woozterken.

 

[Les Robb]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

No doubt if you had those young ladies on the boat there wouldn't be any boring scenery. I guess my old age has taken away the patience I had in my youth for laid back and relax. It's too bad but here on the farm, I just can't ever seem to catch up with my chores. Between honey do's, mother in law do's and my own do's my free time is very limited.

Maybe I should move to the city ya'll (NAH)

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

I have never been on a boring boat ride.
If boating is what you love to do, then how can it be boring?

 

[Randybeall]

Re: Anyone made The Great Loop?

Great loop sounds like a great adventure. Unfortunatly it also sounds like a great way to transport the Zebra mussel over a large area. Just an observation.