Great Loop & Looper Boats

[@joeshmoe7450]

This trip isn't for the faint hearted, boating experience is a must, lots of folks have abandoned this trip,not knowing what their getting into. Good luck Loopers. 👍

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Yes, I'd say that the majority of Loopers we encounter each season are brand new to cruising, so I can see how it would be overwhelming for some.

[@JohnCarter-eg4ws]

I took the great loop in 1995 on my 54’ Hatteras I went clock ways.I started from Virginia Beach,wintered in Marathon and left from there up the Mississippi River.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Nice👍

[@sherroddouglas2340]

Great videos Very informative

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Glad you like them!

[@seanmcc45]

The loop is our retirement goal... I'm with you Paul, Express Cruiser being my preference.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

We met up with a gentleman (follower of the channel) from Midland, who was on his 2nd Loop cruise aboard thier Regal express. Diesel powered #boat that had worked perfectly for them. As he mentioned, it could do an economical 8 knots all day, while giving them the speed to cross the Gulf Stream in two hours when they went to the Bahamas 🏝️ Sounds like a perfect combination to me + it'll keep both me happy with the handling characteristics & Anchor Girl with the styling of the express 👍 #SeaRay

[@seanmcc45]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo not sure if you read their blog, but a couple did it in a diesel powered express cruiser without issue.. A Bavaria Sport 44 firstmatekate.com/tag/great-loop/

[@malcolmpenfold4011]

seanmcc45 This is Kurt aboard Festivus the 44 foot Regal Express. We departed Midland June 2017 and completed our second loop passing Midland July 2019 then spent the balance of the Summer north on Manitoulin. Back at Bayport just now to stop our adventure. Move on board again next May for three months in fresh water heaven. We generally traveled either 30 mph or 8.5 mph for our 13,000 miles and spent two months per year in the Abacos and averaged one mile per US gallon of diesel fuel. Highfield 340 dingy cw 30 hp exec on sea weed davits provided our exploration vehicle. Had a wonderful life style change and look forward to possibly doing a third. Would recommend it. Kurt+Leanne.

[@b_rad5678]

Found your channel about a year ago. I live in Paducah, Kentucky. We are on the Ohio River, near confluence of Tennessee, Cumberland, @ Ohio.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Yes, I know exactly where that is! I've been studying maps in an effort to see what the farthest stretch of the Loop is for gasoline and discovered it's right where you are 😉 And that is why we'll be doing the trip in a diesel powered #boat 👍

[@FotoFFX]

We have a place not far from there on Lake Barkley and are looking for the right boat for the Loop! The tri-toon at the lake won’t cut it!

[@malcolmwill156]

That's my dream to leave my home port in Newfoundland and do the great loop . What a trip

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Hope you are able to do that one day! Just be sure to spend as much time as you can on our lovely Trent Severn Waterway, as well as gorgeous Georgian Bay. Lots of videos (about 300+++) from both areas on my channel!!

[@thomasandkimcowieson8340]

We would love to do the loop but can’t currently take a year off to do it. I think it’s important to mention a majority of loopers have trawler style boats, allot of single engine diesels for fuel economy and they hardly go over 8 knots. We towed our 310 to the Bahamas this past April. And 1 month is NOT enough time. You need to be able to wait out the weather. Keep up the good work and information.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Yes, I think we saw practically EVERY boat doing the loop this year 😉 Also spoke with a number of Loopers in varying styles of #boat and have come to the conclusion that for us, another express style would be what we'd be happy with. Fuel economy aside, there's way more to this journey than trying to save a few bucks on fuel and we don't wanna end up with a stinky old trawler - we saw way too many of those old girls this summer 😉

[@Clickumentary]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo This is a reason the Beneteau Swift trawler series is so attractive to me. Hull designs and power to allow you to get up on plane when you want it, but can still be somewhat frugal with fuel when you need to be.

[@lucassochacki9807]

@boatingwithboogaboo, we have had a 1996 regal402 commodore for 15 years now and still love it !!!! The boat itself was built way ahead of its time , separate shower stall , most of them came with diesel packages full sized fridge/freezer and it handles as responds like an absolute dream . Very solid boat , and Very nice layout too! Don’t know if that was the same “regal express” you were talking about with@seanmcc but that’s the one we have and love it ! Cheers !!

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

The Regal I was mentioning is a much newer model, late 2000's, I believe. As nice as the Regal's are, I'm still leaning towards the Sea Ray line. I know, I know, but it's something I am VERY familiar with and I know where to look for the problem areas ;-) We're still in the preliminary planing stages, so who knows where we'll end up. But that too is part of the adventure!

[@mvoldschool781]

While doing the Great Loop and you want to see New Orleans, take the TennTom Waterway to Mobile AL, then go west along the ICW across Mississippi to New Orleans. It is only a day trip. The lower Miss River (below Ohio/Missouri/Miss River Intersection) can be extremely turbulent with debris. The trip from Mobile to NOLA is beautiful with many stops.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

I just looked that route up on Google Maps. Very cool. Thanks for the heads up!

[@JohnR406]

Good info on the Loop and Loopers for those who aren't familiar with it, but there's no mention of boats. Suggest you change the title of this video.

[@UncleEarl97]

Really? I believe he mentioned boats a few times. Maybe watch it again, with speakers on. :)

[@ericwalters118]

UncleEarl97 He made it seem like he was going to talk about the best boats to use in his opinion but only talked about the route. I agree with John. He should change the title.

[@foreverfixin]

It's roughly about six thousand miles it just depends on how many side trips you take I will be starting my Looper Adventure from the Tennessee River somewhere around Jacksboro Alabama it's less than an hour away from my house hopefully I will be getting the new boat soon more than likely it will be a 1990 390 Sea Ray I guess y'all will be taking the Alabama route they say if you take the Mississippi route that you need to hold over 400 gallons of fuel I'm not sure what y'all boat holds put the 390 it is 300 gallons the 390 has room for bladders though anyway guys I miss cruising so bad and love the videos

[@johnsonbar5022]

Would you consider the Hunter 50cc, with its wing keel at 5.50 draft, a reasonable boat for the Great Loop. I admire the Hunter design and the 50 cc, is perfect to the Mrs., and myself for long term cruising. We'd like to do the Great Lopp aboud the Hunter 50 cc.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Sounds like a good potential choice for someone considering The Loop, but we've decided that that voyage isn't something we're going to be doing. Instead, we're looking forward to a number of 'Mini Loops' that we can do over a summer season. And our current 370 Sundancer is ideal.

[@andrewarmstrong7310]

The Gulf ICW is year-round. I have made the trip between Matamoros, Mexico and Panama City, Florida many, many times. Yes, fueling can be a problem if not thought out in advance as the majority are fleet, ie tugboat, barge, fueling centers if your running diesel, not a problem but most have a 200-gallon minimum policy. The downside their 3-inch nozzles, not your auto-style fuel pumps. If your running gasoline you need to make it 120nm between marinas. A lot of workboats, tugboats, and barges to deal with between New Orleans and Victoria, TX, one lock also not an issue once out of all of that some easy-going and incredible sunsets and sunrises.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Thanks Andrew.

[@stevecook7551]

we live on the Murray Canal at the Carrying Place bridge , we have met a few folks doing theirs .

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

It's always fun to talk to the Loopers when we meet up with them.

[@WhatYachtToDo]

Love this video. When are you going to Join the Looper crowd!

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Well, now that we've watched all your videos, it's looking like a lot more work than Anchor Girl had envisioned. 😂 As I believe I have mentioned, she's a fair weather boater and prefers calm seas for traveling and the security of having the #boat tied to a dock for the night - much like you do, Rev 😁

[@bernie9728]

What no love for Lake Huron? It should be noted that Georgian Bay is part of Lake Huron and you can't get to Lake Michigan with out going on Lake Huron. In Michigan, we call it the "Sunrise Side". From the point you leave Georgian Bay until the time you get to Lake Michigan it's a 147 mile trip across Lake Huron.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Oh brother, you gotta look back at my videos from the past. Lotsa love for Huron, just look around. . .

[@UncleEarl97]

Paul and Anchor Girl are hooked! First, lots of pre-planning, then a diesel boat that can cover the longest distances between fuel stops with plenty of extra range, then acquiring said boat, fixing it up for extended travel, more studying and final planning, then finally the big day! And an epic VLog of their trip! Everyone wins!

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Yes! And as you probably already know about me, it's gonna be that 'fixing it up' part that's gonna take the longest ;-)

[@elmiguel6725]

Thanks for the info... I'd like to know more about your boat, it looks different than othe "loop boats" I see. I guess yours may be classified of more as a cruiser than a trawler... How big? Draft? Power? Did you ever go the the Dismal Swamp route??

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

ALL of the specs are in ,my video descriptions.

[@dukeallen6562]

I noticed how you correctly coached us that we should call the ICW The Intra Coastal Waterway. Thanks. You pronounce of the ICW as I C dub ya. Should that be I C double U? Since you brought it up.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Let's go for a TRIPLE U!

[@patrickhorvath2684]

Call it "The Ditch"..

[@phoenixarizona8441]

Harbor Master coastal 520 is a good great loop boat

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

👍🏻

[@gopher1471]

The route I intend is all the way along the Erie canal and come out onto Lake Erie near Buffalo. So low...ish air draft required. Should be fun, will do Canada later, hopefully. :)

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

What?????? And miss some of the prettiest freshwater boating areas in the world? Don't worry, us Canadians are really friendly folks. Eh ;-)

[@MrGolferguy13]

What is the biggest boat you can take on the loop. ( height restrictions due to bridges) where would one find this information

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

All info on America's Great Loop can be found here: www.greatloop.org/

[@christopherozolins4724]

are you planning on doing loop ?boat of choice for this you've had a few?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3TOqqWPma2ana8

[@MrPink-]

Thnx for the info. For when are you planning the loop?

[@JamesFrank-q5u]

I get frustrated with people that think they have the answer. The best loop boat is the one you can complete the loop with the resources you have. Most of these boats have far too high a cost to buy, operate and maintain.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Right on. Many Loopers are folks who learned about the Loop, decided it would be fun and then went boat shopping. The resulting situation is that with their lack of experience in spending any real time on the water, most feel they need the very biggest vessel they can afford and off they go. Problem is that us regular boaters then have to deal with them on the water 😂

[@timkenyon6088]

Hailed you near Hastings (I think) while looping... Nellie May, Ranger 25 (red). YOu Clearly have the loop in your future....

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Yes! As a matter of fact, I'm am just in the midst of editing that portion of our voyage and it's going to include our brief conversation that we had on the radio! Glad I had the GoPro running at the time. 😉 Where are you guys now? I'm guessing you've got to be either preparing to leave the North Channel, or maybe even be on Lake Michigan already??

[@timkenyon6088]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo This summer, I was re-running the TSW just for fun, because it is the best part of the loop. In 2017 and 18, we looped from Chicago to Parry Sound. Gonna finish in 2021, when the locks near Chicago re-open after maintenance. Probably gonna transit the TSW again in 2020, this time from Midland to Kingston, just for fun!

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

@@timkenyon6088 There are quite a few local #boaters who don't hole the TSW in the same high regard as you and I, but that's because most are afraid to leave their local waters ;-) Each time we've cruised any portion of the system, I still find new beauty in it - I just hope my viewers don't get sick of it. . . Remember to keep an eye out for the upcoming episode of my Epic Boat Cruise 2019 series to relive our brief radio conversation when we passed each other.

[@stevewhelan3770]

Do loopers take on mates who don't have a boat but want to experience it?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

You're gonna have to ask them . . .

[@ZDudeman660]

How do I get the loop layover for google maps? Please thanks JLZ

[@brada4018]

When are you going to buy a nordhavn?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Never.

[@keithsage1593]

Will a 100 ft trawler get through the locks?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

The limiting factors would be the Big Chute Marine Railway (video on my channel) and Lock #45 at Port Severn, which is the smallest lock on the system. There is a large cruise ship that plies the waters up to, but not over, the Big Chute. Check out the specs on their site: ontariowaterwaycruises.com/about-us/the-ship/

[@dahveed284]

Thanks for the links! enjoyed the video

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

You're most welcome - happy you enjoyed it. I'll be doing more on the subject at a later date, do keep an eye out for that one. Cheers, Paul. 🙂

[@ericwalters118]

Thumbnail and title suggests that you would be speaking about the best boats to use for the loop. You only talk about the route.

[@petergibbs]

Click-bait adding boats to the title.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Click bait - what a great idea! From now on, all my titles are gonna include 'Mermaids' 🤣

[@Nunyabizn3ss]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo Good to know that honesty is not a priority for you.

[@Lou_Zasil]

how much for fuel for the loop with twin 454's 40 ft

[@ericdiekmann2308]

All of it

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Bingo👌

[@davidrockefeller2007]

I’m going to guess $30,000

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Not even close for gas engines. Check my video from our 5-1/2 week cruise in 2022 with all the stars to see that we traveled a total of 575 miles and spent $5,500.00 on fuel. Given that the Loop is roughly 6,000 miles (10X farther than our trip), I'm gonna guess closer to 50 G's for gasoline. And, that's why most folks go with stinky diesel trawlers for the Great Loop...

[@adamlivelife2608]

My retirement plan or just a dream

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

We considered it a few years ago, but came to the conclusion that we're not cut out for 5:00 AM starts to catch rising tides or swing bridges 😁

[@adamlivelife2608]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo beats getting up everyday to go work for a someone who will fire you at any time 🤷‍♂️

[@lannyflannery9409]

in the future please dont play the music so loud.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Pardon?

[@kennethmiller2935]

I'd like to do it in a 380 or 410 Sundancer with Diesels, I'd want a Sea Lift Hyd swim platform with a Bullfrog dingy, That would be My ideal Looper boat.