Cruising Over 1000 miles Southbound on the ICW (getting to our Great Loop start)

[@SchoandJo]

Want to keep up with us in real time? Sign up for our weekly email to be filled in our current cruising plans and adventures. schoandjo.com/sunday-summary Do you have recommendations for future stops along America’s Great Loop? Please share them with us here! forms.gle/WsnG16jUfMRYtCyp9

[@chrism1164]

A condensed version of your 60 day journey South. Sad to see Andy nd Gwen part company. : ( Bless you all on your way. ❤

[@AdventuresofAplusK]

So many awesome full circle moments with the kayaking spot and Gwen and Andy spot!

[@SchoandJo]

Full circle but not the "big circle" another name for the Great Loop 😂😁 And we get to do it again in a few months!! Woot woot

[@frankrice5364]

Awesome shots as you travel

[@tomreid5184]

This is from the movie Jeremiah Johnson ,but it fits todays video. "You've come a long ways Pilgrim". The learning curve is steep, but you've handled it well. Problems will arise. It's how you deal with them that makes you stronger. Safe travels.

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks Tom! Wise words... Looking up that movie I've seen clips from it before... might have to check it out! Thanks for sharing.

[@silverfox199686]

Just a chuckle 🤭 when y’all get south it will be time to to turn around and go back north!!!

[@SchoandJo]

Haha that's the way it is sometimes!

[@silverfox199686]

Keep continuing the dream y’all are doing a great job!!!Enjoy the site’s and views!!!

[@larrydicenzo3826]

Y'all have come a long way with your boat knowledge, very proud of you 👏🙌

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks so much Larry 🙏

[@AbroadReachTravel]

This was so much fun to watch!! Miss you guys already!!!!!!

[@SchoandJo]

Aww!! You guys are awesome!!! Hope you are enjoying Aiden's first new country 😁😁😁

[@judebug329]

We will be here waiting for you!

[@SchoandJo]

Woohoo!

[@debakey7111]

There's always more to learn, but you have definitely come far!! Great work!

[@SchoandJo]

Absolutely! And we are excited to keep learning! Thanks Deb 😁

[@mohiuddinbillah]

Very nice videos

[@Vegvisir_Oceanis]

It's great to see you on the move again. Fair winds and calm seas 🙂

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks Vidar!

[@tmac709]

Brrrrrrr...that was cold up north! Glad you made it to Key Biscayne, Florida where the weather looks great. Enjoy your time there.

[@SchoandJo]

Definitely too cold without heat! Thanks T Mac 👍

[@haroldconnell2973]

Love the adventure and the attitude of being able to pivot!

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks Harold! Gotta stay flexible and pivot when its called for 😁

[@billmead5052]

Welcome back to FLA! I like your bloopers 😁

[@SchoandJo]

Haha thanks Bill!

[@trevorzander9387]

When planing you trip north you should come to the trent system in Ontario you won't regret it

[@SchoandJo]

Absolutely! Hopefully we will be there at the start of summer!

[@davekupfrian6444]

New to your channel but wanted to thank you for posting. I hope to find my future self doing the great loop. Keep up the videos

[@SchoandJo]

Awesome - thanks Dave, best of luck starting the Loop in the future!

[@charlesfinerd6171]

Hope you make it to the great lakes next summer. You won't have to worry about bannicals and a lot less chance of running aground.

[@SchoandJo]

For sure... we are really looking forward to the lakes! Thanks Charles!

[@billsandlin9432]

Have been binge watching your past videos. Very impressed on how you both figure out how to get things done with thing go wrong. Also impressed with all the hard work you have put into the boat. I hope to start the loop in 2023. I was curious about when you woke and it was freezing in the boat. How come you don’t run the generator so you can warm up the boat? I was told by other more experienced boaters than myself that when you run the boat run the generator also. But not all boaters do that but just something I have been told a few times. Safe travels!!

[@SchoandJo]

Cheers Bill, thanks for watching! Great question! For us the reason why we don't run the generator often, typically to heat or cool the boat is 2 fold. 1) cost and 2) our set up. Every hour we run the genny is roughly 1/2 a gallon of diesel which translates to ~2$. Now that might not seem too much but if you run it all day for a weekend that could be ~ $150 bucks! When you live on a boat full time like us, its more cost effective to simply chase the seasons and leave Pivot open to the weather of the environment 😁 Now on top of the fuel costs, every hour you run the engine is one hour less to maintenance time. Our genny likes oil changes every 100 hours so that could theoretically be an oil change a week if we run it all the time which adds to our work load and takes away from enjoying our surroundings. For the 2) option is sort of a catch 22. Our AC will heat the boat but right now it cycles off our inverter and onto our batteries which is a no-go. This is totally fixable but since we don't want to use it anyway we haven't looked into it. We can, though, run our 1500W space heater on the genny. Hope that helps!

[@kevinmccann938]

For safety it may be a good idea to be tethered to the boat. You never know with currents, hitting your head, etc. Just a thought. Most boat accidents happen when NOT underway.

[@SchoandJo]

Makes sense, safety is always a huge concern for us. Thanks for your opinion Kevin!

[@AlaskaRog]

Great video! Avalon and I are in Fort Pierce tonight and are headed south too.

[@SchoandJo]

Very cool! How south are you heading?

[@AlaskaRog]

@@SchoandJo, likely all the way to Key West, and then up the west coast. The Florida portion of The Loop in reverse!

[@craigr2048]

What is the name of the bar at 11:40? The one in Savannah with all the dollar bills hanging all over.

[@SchoandJo]

That is Abe's on Lincoln - it's one of our favorite spots! Its a little big grungy and there is typically loud music. In this case we just grabbed our beers and went for a walk 😁 It was too dark to tell really, but the dollar bills were actually all different hand drawn Abrahim Lincoln; It's definitely got a lot of character!

[@mikeriester8798]

I know it’s too late now but next time you wear a wetsuit in cold water, warm up some water first and pour it in the wetsuit (just before you enter the water). Otherwise, the cold water trickles in and your body has to heat it up before it’s comfortable. Enjoy the keys! Looking forward to the continuation of the loop videos.

[@SchoandJo]

That is a fantastic tip... Will absolutely try it next time! Thanks Mike!

[@ronjohnsen242]

We love your videos and we're about to buy our first boat. We're wondering how difficult and expensive boat insurance is to get. Thanks

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks Ron - good luck buying your first boat! We had no problem finding insurance and went with Geico. If you are looking for budget I heard recently from another looper that State Farm was simple to set up!

[@jungleland72]

How on earth did you figure out you had air in your fuel lines, let alone how to fix it? Amazing. My biggest worry about getting into boating is being clueless on stuff like that.

[@markbuker8947]

Books, because the internet and KZbin aren't always available, are a wonderful resource. A few knowledgeable friends, and of course one of my favorites, life's experiences.😉🤙

[@SchoandJo]

Akin to what Mark said - in this case it was mainly experience! We didn't know any of this when we started either... For diesels they need fuel, air, compression, and coolant. So it had to be one of those and looking at the symptoms; RPMs slowly decreasing and the engine dying - we knew it had to be fuel related. Most times the issue is the most likely and air in the fuel lines made the most since. It was also on our minds because we were running low on fuel but thought we had enough. ALSO when you change fuel filters for maintenance you have to bleed the air out of the system so these symptoms were all consistent! It was new having it happen in the middle of the river but besides a huge adrenaline boost - it ended up ok :)

[@royyoung3456]

Get yourselves a hooka compressor, air hose and regulator. Then you can dive and scrape your bottom without a haul out. Also get that auto-pilot fixed.

[@SchoandJo]

We've never heard of that! It's a very interesting concept! For now I think I will just continue to work on holding my breath and scrape... It's exercise and will also save money 😁 As for the auto-pilot we are in limbo because the price of the extremely old display is the same as new ones which leads into questions regarding compatibility etc... And what if we buy a new display and the system actually doesn't work? Right now our thoughts are to send it off to get it fixed, there is a person that does it on Ebay I think, but its on the list!

[@royyoung3456]

@@SchoandJo Life will be soooo much easier with an auto-pilot

[@Godofthemoon1]

I’m freezing 🥶 today on i80 east of Des Moines Iowa it’s 9* at the moment and -6 by morning they say! This crap isn’t for me anymore!!

[@markbuker8947]

I know that feeling, can't wait for spring to get here so I can take my newly purchased 41' Hattie South out of Davenport. I'm done with this freezing cold BS....SOUTH UNTIL CLOTHING IS OPTIONAL!!! I say🤣🤣🤣

[@SchoandJo]

Oooh wow - that is not boating weather 😁😁 I think Pivot would stop working haha

[@SchoandJo]

Some would say South Until the Butter Melts but whatever floats your boat 😂😂

[@Godofthemoon1]

@@markbuker8947 Hope you get out of this frozen tundra soon!

[@frankrice5364]

Don,t very be a shame of your mistakes we all MADED them alot of folks don't learn from them ..you guys did

[@SchoandJo]

Right on!!

[@frankrice5364]

You guys need to stop one day and clean out your fuel tanks