Great Loop 2023
- Thread starter KFoote
- Start date
gulfcoast john
New member
Keith,
Note that Pat’s Daydream blog has over 204,000 hits! Your challenge is now cut out for you. ( I like to think I bumped it up some because I linked to it in an article we wrote on the AGLCA website on Segment Looping in a Trailer Boat).
The toughest issue facing trailer boats on the Loop is NOT getting gas on the long sections, but rough seas/weather. The average 45 foot boat can tolerate much more slop (say, less than SCA conditions but still slow and uncomfortable in a CD22). But in calm conditions you’re way faster and economical to run on a flatter Dory hull!
Therefore you need to allocate MANY more weather days to your trip than large boats do. Many normal folks would not want to ‘camp out’ on a CD22 for six months or more. One option to consider is leaving the boat at a rack n stack for the winter and fly back home to continue next year. That could still be way cheaper than being on a large boat.
The AGLCA convention is to ‘follow the seasons’ including overwintering in South Florida or the Keys. Forget going to the Dry Tortugas (70 miles west of Key West) in a CD22 or the Bahamas in winter when we have an arctic blast come through every 7-10 days (say mid Nov to mid Mar) including the Gulf Crossing, when North winds against the North running Gulf Stream form giant standing waves.
I see from your AGLCA post that you intend to re-locate to the Boston area, and start from there into the NY canal system when it opens, often in mid May.
Instead, we would urge you to consider starting your Loop west of Carrabelle in April. (If you need to get back to your rig due to an unforeseen emergency on your Loop, it’s much cheaper to do so if your rig is near a major airport rather than, say, getting back to Appalachicola). You don’t need to be sitting on the beach from Nov to Mar like the rest of us. You could still be on the Chesapeake by May or June and won’t be worrying about crossing the Gulf in Dec. And you might get by without air conditioning with good fans.
We concur with many others who believe the Triangle Loop and Trent-Severn Waterway to Georgian Bay in Canada is some of the best cruising on the Loop. However, some of their locks require a crew of two (ex Chambly canal leading to Lake Champlain and others). I don’t see any safety reason for the requirement, it’s a French flair thing. Plan ahead and make it happen (Harbor Hosts may be able to help with this or know volunteers who would crew for you).
If you ‘boaterhome’ at RV parks on the way out, you need to convert the gray water overboard D/C (sink or shower) to connect to a hose into a 5g bucket (ie, don’t drain RV gray water onto an RV pad).
Having shorepower available on the boat is invaluable so a smart battery charger can top off the batteries better than the engine. Simple meals can be done on an induction skillet and/or toaster oven. This one allows you to limit the wattage to 600/900 or 1200 watts, which is handy for load management.
https://www.nuwavenow.com/shop/pic-gold
Also get a load management meter for watts, amps and voltage:
https://www.amazon.com/Poniie-PN1500-El ... N8FZ&psc=1
We require a coffee maker and toaster. In a heat wave you can go buy a $100 WalMart window AC. Convert to a Smartplug inlet when on sale (the plastic inlet cover is way cheaper).
https://www.fisheriessupply.com/smartpl ... /b30assynt
You’ll read about how you can’t legally transmit on your VHF (including send/receive AIS units) outside the US (including Canada, Bahamas, Mexico) without the FCC licenses rather than a free MMSI from BoatUS. Trying to change an MMSI after it’s already been programmed into the radio requires sending the devices back to the factory; and I’m not doing that for base VHF, AIS and three handhelds (two in the ditch bag). If you’re buying new, consider going the FCC route, about $250 or so. When you cross the border, remember to change all your radios to the CAN rather than the US bands.
Go ahead and buy and fly your white ‘en route’ AGLCA burgee. (My advice, not official AGLA policy). When other boaters ask you if you are on your loop, you can reply
1 “No, I’m getting used to running my boat in my home waters. So tell me about your Loop” or
2 “Oh yes! If it’s Tuesday, this must be the Alabama River!” or
3 “I think so, but I may have taken a wrong turn at the Panama Canal.” or
4 “ I never thought the NY canals would be as rough as the PNW, am I lost?”
Or make up your own!
Hope this is helpful!
Cheers!
John
Note that Pat’s Daydream blog has over 204,000 hits! Your challenge is now cut out for you. ( I like to think I bumped it up some because I linked to it in an article we wrote on the AGLCA website on Segment Looping in a Trailer Boat).
The toughest issue facing trailer boats on the Loop is NOT getting gas on the long sections, but rough seas/weather. The average 45 foot boat can tolerate much more slop (say, less than SCA conditions but still slow and uncomfortable in a CD22). But in calm conditions you’re way faster and economical to run on a flatter Dory hull!
Therefore you need to allocate MANY more weather days to your trip than large boats do. Many normal folks would not want to ‘camp out’ on a CD22 for six months or more. One option to consider is leaving the boat at a rack n stack for the winter and fly back home to continue next year. That could still be way cheaper than being on a large boat.
The AGLCA convention is to ‘follow the seasons’ including overwintering in South Florida or the Keys. Forget going to the Dry Tortugas (70 miles west of Key West) in a CD22 or the Bahamas in winter when we have an arctic blast come through every 7-10 days (say mid Nov to mid Mar) including the Gulf Crossing, when North winds against the North running Gulf Stream form giant standing waves.
I see from your AGLCA post that you intend to re-locate to the Boston area, and start from there into the NY canal system when it opens, often in mid May.
Instead, we would urge you to consider starting your Loop west of Carrabelle in April. (If you need to get back to your rig due to an unforeseen emergency on your Loop, it’s much cheaper to do so if your rig is near a major airport rather than, say, getting back to Appalachicola). You don’t need to be sitting on the beach from Nov to Mar like the rest of us. You could still be on the Chesapeake by May or June and won’t be worrying about crossing the Gulf in Dec. And you might get by without air conditioning with good fans.
We concur with many others who believe the Triangle Loop and Trent-Severn Waterway to Georgian Bay in Canada is some of the best cruising on the Loop. However, some of their locks require a crew of two (ex Chambly canal leading to Lake Champlain and others). I don’t see any safety reason for the requirement, it’s a French flair thing. Plan ahead and make it happen (Harbor Hosts may be able to help with this or know volunteers who would crew for you).
If you ‘boaterhome’ at RV parks on the way out, you need to convert the gray water overboard D/C (sink or shower) to connect to a hose into a 5g bucket (ie, don’t drain RV gray water onto an RV pad).
Having shorepower available on the boat is invaluable so a smart battery charger can top off the batteries better than the engine. Simple meals can be done on an induction skillet and/or toaster oven. This one allows you to limit the wattage to 600/900 or 1200 watts, which is handy for load management.
https://www.nuwavenow.com/shop/pic-gold
Also get a load management meter for watts, amps and voltage:
https://www.amazon.com/Poniie-PN1500-El ... N8FZ&psc=1
We require a coffee maker and toaster. In a heat wave you can go buy a $100 WalMart window AC. Convert to a Smartplug inlet when on sale (the plastic inlet cover is way cheaper).
https://www.fisheriessupply.com/smartpl ... /b30assynt
You’ll read about how you can’t legally transmit on your VHF (including send/receive AIS units) outside the US (including Canada, Bahamas, Mexico) without the FCC licenses rather than a free MMSI from BoatUS. Trying to change an MMSI after it’s already been programmed into the radio requires sending the devices back to the factory; and I’m not doing that for base VHF, AIS and three handhelds (two in the ditch bag). If you’re buying new, consider going the FCC route, about $250 or so. When you cross the border, remember to change all your radios to the CAN rather than the US bands.
Go ahead and buy and fly your white ‘en route’ AGLCA burgee. (My advice, not official AGLA policy). When other boaters ask you if you are on your loop, you can reply
1 “No, I’m getting used to running my boat in my home waters. So tell me about your Loop” or
2 “Oh yes! If it’s Tuesday, this must be the Alabama River!” or
3 “I think so, but I may have taken a wrong turn at the Panama Canal.” or
4 “ I never thought the NY canals would be as rough as the PNW, am I lost?”
Or make up your own!
Hope this is helpful!
Cheers!
John
Hi John,
Wow thanks for all the observations. This means a great deal to me.
One of the reason’s I am relocating to the Boston area is to live by my oldest son, who lives outside Boston. On launch day, he is planning to come with me than drive the truck and trailer back to its storage area. So my rig would be accessible to major airports.
At this point I have not been spending time figuring out days of travel, stops and “floating” target dates. The only time frame I currently have is, with stops and touring, it takes about 5 -6 days to traverse the Erie Canal. My priorities have been prepping the boat and gathering information.
My untrained and uninformed mind was thinking beginning at Hudson NY, I could complete the loop by the end of September. That puts me through the south during the heat of the summer. When I googled ”Carrabelle” it shows it is in Florida? If I “boaterhomed” to Florida and left from Carrabelle Fl. In April, what would be a realistic destination to break the loop up into 2 segments? If I started from Carrabella Fl and did not complete the loop I would need to fly back to Carrabella, and pull my empty trailer to where ever I stopped. Hmmm
Maybe I need to be thinking of a place to stop for the season where I could leave my boat at a rack n stack. Than fly back to Boston.
Are you thinking that by starting in May I would not be able to complete the loop by the end of September. Due to the fact that there will be many weather days where I will need to sit.
For power I do have hook up for 110 power. I also have a charger plus one of those emergency recharging stations. I am also considering getting the small Honda generator.
I already have my AGLCA burgee
Oh, my cousin Jack is planning to be with me during my trip around the gulf and Florida. He had mentioned going the Bahamas. I nixed that right away. The type of water I would need to cross, did not excite me. I have been in some 4 and 5 foot waves up here in the PNW and it was NO FUN.
Wow thanks for all the observations. This means a great deal to me.
One of the reason’s I am relocating to the Boston area is to live by my oldest son, who lives outside Boston. On launch day, he is planning to come with me than drive the truck and trailer back to its storage area. So my rig would be accessible to major airports.
At this point I have not been spending time figuring out days of travel, stops and “floating” target dates. The only time frame I currently have is, with stops and touring, it takes about 5 -6 days to traverse the Erie Canal. My priorities have been prepping the boat and gathering information.
My untrained and uninformed mind was thinking beginning at Hudson NY, I could complete the loop by the end of September. That puts me through the south during the heat of the summer. When I googled ”Carrabelle” it shows it is in Florida? If I “boaterhomed” to Florida and left from Carrabelle Fl. In April, what would be a realistic destination to break the loop up into 2 segments? If I started from Carrabella Fl and did not complete the loop I would need to fly back to Carrabella, and pull my empty trailer to where ever I stopped. Hmmm
Maybe I need to be thinking of a place to stop for the season where I could leave my boat at a rack n stack. Than fly back to Boston.
Are you thinking that by starting in May I would not be able to complete the loop by the end of September. Due to the fact that there will be many weather days where I will need to sit.
For power I do have hook up for 110 power. I also have a charger plus one of those emergency recharging stations. I am also considering getting the small Honda generator.
I already have my AGLCA burgee
Oh, my cousin Jack is planning to be with me during my trip around the gulf and Florida. He had mentioned going the Bahamas. I nixed that right away. The type of water I would need to cross, did not excite me. I have been in some 4 and 5 foot waves up here in the PNW and it was NO FUN.
Colby,
I found the message you sent me.
Yep "Foote Loose" is currently parked on her trailer next to my house.
Nice - snug - and Dry in her covered area.
It's tracking my phone which was in my pocket.
Very nice.
I looked at it a little bit more today. I still need to learn more about it. I like the idea of it running only when the boat is on. I am going to go with that option. I boat solo a lot. This would be a great addition to include with my float plans.
I found the message you sent me.
Yep "Foote Loose" is currently parked on her trailer next to my house.
Nice - snug - and Dry in her covered area.
It's tracking my phone which was in my pocket.
Very nice.
I looked at it a little bit more today. I still need to learn more about it. I like the idea of it running only when the boat is on. I am going to go with that option. I boat solo a lot. This would be a great addition to include with my float plans.
colbysmith
Active member
I hope you meant 15-16 days. We just spent 20 days on just the western half between Syracuse and Buffalo. Yes that was going both ways and spending some time touring towns. We only traveled at hull speed of around 5 mph which is pretty much the required no wake speed in much of the canal. You probably could do it in 5-6 days, but I suggest they’ll be long days with very little touring of the towns! (Many places it has posted speed limits of 10 mph but also say no wake. In a C-Dory we are probably making our biggest wake at 10 mph. Personally I would plan for a minimum of 10 days and more if you really want to see some of the historic locks and museums!)
The worse thing to have on the loop is a schedule. As for "weather days"--there are a few areas where this may be an issue. But generally there are a lot of ICW, rivers and narrow waterways, where you can run easily even if bad weather.
Take your time and enjoy the trip, It is not a "bucket list" where you have to do the Loop in 60 days or less....It is the small towns which have all of the flavor.
Take your time and enjoy the trip, It is not a "bucket list" where you have to do the Loop in 60 days or less....It is the small towns which have all of the flavor.
KFoote":3vhldlo3 said:
Just FWIW, we did part of the Erie canal between Baldwinsville and Rochester including Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. Yes it was round trip, but it took us 3 weeks.
If you are doing the whole Erie Canal in 5-6 days, allowing for the low speed zones (most of it) and the locks, you are just driving through.
IMO, doing the GL is not a race. Other people have already done that. I think the record is something like 30 days.
colbysmith
Active member
Kieth, just for an idea of timing on the Erie Canal, feel free to peruse my blog here on C-Brats of our Erie Canal trip this past August/September.
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?p=367175
We pretty much stayed on the main canal, except for a side trip down to Syracuse through Lake Onodaga, and also into Seneca Falls. Syracuse had the Erie Canal Museum, which was pretty interesting, but we enjoyed Seneca Falls and it's museums so much we spent two nights there. We also spent some time each afternoon in most of the towns we went through on the western Erie. Many museums and sights that we rode our bicycles to. But you can get to a lot of the places walking as well, just takes a little longer. Some days we only traveled 5 miles. But that was so we could enjoy the towns. The farthest we traveled in one day was 50 miles I believe. And it was a long day! What we missed on the way west, we stopped to see on the way back east. I would say our Erie Canal trip was one of our better vacations. Just enjoying the history of the Canal was worth the time we took. Colby
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?p=367175
We pretty much stayed on the main canal, except for a side trip down to Syracuse through Lake Onodaga, and also into Seneca Falls. Syracuse had the Erie Canal Museum, which was pretty interesting, but we enjoyed Seneca Falls and it's museums so much we spent two nights there. We also spent some time each afternoon in most of the towns we went through on the western Erie. Many museums and sights that we rode our bicycles to. But you can get to a lot of the places walking as well, just takes a little longer. Some days we only traveled 5 miles. But that was so we could enjoy the towns. The farthest we traveled in one day was 50 miles I believe. And it was a long day! What we missed on the way west, we stopped to see on the way back east. I would say our Erie Canal trip was one of our better vacations. Just enjoying the history of the Canal was worth the time we took. Colby
gulfcoast john
New member
Hi Keith,
Stick with the free smartphone version of NEBO for now, until you get used to cruising with it. You may not need or want a log, or your plotter may do log for you.
The time and place on the Loop that I most wouldn’t want a 22 to be is the conventional Gulf crossing in winter. I assumed you wouldn’t want to be in FL in the heat of summer and would prefer not to take up room with a window AC with limited space on a 22. By April the arctic blasts are gone and the Gulf stream may be calm. Locals in Miami take jet skis to the Bahamas then. Panama City to the Hudson would likely give you the time to wait out any weather, and you’d avoid the FL summer. Upstate NY can still be cold in May. We think breaking the Loop down into segments is the best way to experience it (we’ve done half in five years, but we cruise the best parts multiple times). Pensacola to our Erie canal launch marina is under 1,300 miles; under three easy peasy days driving 500 miles a day @ 62 MPH with rest stops (Eileen doesn’t drive the rig).
You’ll be living almost on the Loop! Boston is only some 200 miles from the Loop, an easy three hour trip to the Hudson River. From there you can enter the Erie Canal at Waterford, or continue up into Lake Champlain (but doing the Triangle Loop counterclockwise means fighting the St Lawrence Seaway current, up to 8 MPH at the Montreal non-navigable rapids, so it isn’t done).
The Appalachia staging option (or Panama City, which is closer to the airport) would be a $350 flight from Boston per Rome2Rio.
Some questions so I avoid assumptions…
How important is it to you to ‘complete the Loop and get a Gold flag’ as opposed to doing the segments that most interest you over a few weeks at a time, over a period of years? The adage that ‘you want a boat you can be comfortable on for a year’ is valid for a cruise that on average takes about that long for most boaters. A CD22 is not a boat that MOST folks would be ‘comfortable living on for a year.’ (But hey, 31 flavors of cruising!) We’re comfortable on Cat O’ Mine for only six weeks or so…it’s like camping on a 26 foot floating RV. We wouldn’t want to be on our boat, or the great 65 foot David B, or even an ocean liner for six months, but that’s just us. We know a perfectly sane couple who lived full time on their CD25 for seven years. Are you planning on living on your boat continuously for four months while Looping? What is the longest you’ve been happy ‘camping’ on your 22 so far? 31 flavors of cruising! It could work out great, but we think trying to complete the Loop on a CD22 in four months is too likely to not be much fun.
Do you plan to mostly anchor out, or stay at marinas? Have you anchored out (always into the wind, of course) enough to be sure that wave slap, worries or swinging won’t bother you and the mate? Will you eat all meals on the boat, or eat all meals at restaurants, or unknown for now? If you plan on boat meals, what type of cooler do you use (many favor a chest ARB/Engle type 12v/120v so you can make at least some of your own ice, but it takes up some space in a 22). Your top three expenses will vary in order but will include boat fuel, marinas or meals and drinks. Tow truck diesel fuel is not likely to be in the top five cruise expenses for us @ 11 MPG, but prices are in flux.
What is your ballpark rig fuel consumption when trailering in ‘heavy cruise’ mode? What’s the furthest per day for multiple days that you have trailered comfortably? What is the boat fuel consumption and range at best cruise? (Colby will likely know; I’ve never run a 22). It’s always much, much cheaper to trailer a boat rather than cruise it on the water.
One particular cretin curmudgeon who Colby and Dr Bob knows claims that “The Great Loop is just a false contrivance so that people who own a boat that is too heavy, too wide, too fat and too tall to trailer it anywhere they want and launch it at any ramp they want 24/7 anywhere in the continent can still have an ‘Adventure of a Lifetime (™)’. Also, any Association that can figure out how to monetize a route on a map should absolutely, positively do it to the max, and they should take it to the bank in wheelbarrows.”
Eh? Yes, of course we are Lifetime Members.
Get the 3x27 Great Loop Routes (AGLCA/SHOP/BOOKS AND MAPS, it puts Planning in a Big Perspective. Your small part of the Wheelbarrow.
Be aware that if you cruise various bits and pieces or segments in whatever direction you choose, as long as it all adds up to a completed Loop on your boat(s) over an unlimited time period, it counts (assuming you even care about getting the Gold Flag).
Don’t answer here, and Jim can think about it, but call me any evening; my cell phone number is on the AGLCA site, though numbers not on our Contacts get diverted to voicemail. I also tend to (wrongly?) assume that the majority of C-Brats are grandparents on Social Security on a budget. I get the right Total Knee Nov 7, so don’t call until I’m off the oxycontin for the most erudite advice.
See the C-Brats Forums/Grand Adventures/ any Adventure posted by gulfcoast john including W Erie canal for past cruises. That one took us six weeks, which would translate to a Loop of over four years and may be a record. We are halfway at five years and yes it might take ten or more years. So what?
Keep exploring and considering your options…you have a LOT more options at less cost than the big boats! Doing a practice ‘mini loop’ from your Hudson launch point into the Erie Canal at Waterford to the end at Tonawanda one-way would be an extremely safe, easy, almost weather-proof trial run with nearby support when the NY canals open. You can Greyhound or Amtrak back to your rig (see Rome2Rio). Or if it goes well, sojourn onward!
Hope some of this is somehow helpful…
Cheers and safe travels and planning! Have Fun!
John
Stick with the free smartphone version of NEBO for now, until you get used to cruising with it. You may not need or want a log, or your plotter may do log for you.
The time and place on the Loop that I most wouldn’t want a 22 to be is the conventional Gulf crossing in winter. I assumed you wouldn’t want to be in FL in the heat of summer and would prefer not to take up room with a window AC with limited space on a 22. By April the arctic blasts are gone and the Gulf stream may be calm. Locals in Miami take jet skis to the Bahamas then. Panama City to the Hudson would likely give you the time to wait out any weather, and you’d avoid the FL summer. Upstate NY can still be cold in May. We think breaking the Loop down into segments is the best way to experience it (we’ve done half in five years, but we cruise the best parts multiple times). Pensacola to our Erie canal launch marina is under 1,300 miles; under three easy peasy days driving 500 miles a day @ 62 MPH with rest stops (Eileen doesn’t drive the rig).
You’ll be living almost on the Loop! Boston is only some 200 miles from the Loop, an easy three hour trip to the Hudson River. From there you can enter the Erie Canal at Waterford, or continue up into Lake Champlain (but doing the Triangle Loop counterclockwise means fighting the St Lawrence Seaway current, up to 8 MPH at the Montreal non-navigable rapids, so it isn’t done).
The Appalachia staging option (or Panama City, which is closer to the airport) would be a $350 flight from Boston per Rome2Rio.
Some questions so I avoid assumptions…
How important is it to you to ‘complete the Loop and get a Gold flag’ as opposed to doing the segments that most interest you over a few weeks at a time, over a period of years? The adage that ‘you want a boat you can be comfortable on for a year’ is valid for a cruise that on average takes about that long for most boaters. A CD22 is not a boat that MOST folks would be ‘comfortable living on for a year.’ (But hey, 31 flavors of cruising!) We’re comfortable on Cat O’ Mine for only six weeks or so…it’s like camping on a 26 foot floating RV. We wouldn’t want to be on our boat, or the great 65 foot David B, or even an ocean liner for six months, but that’s just us. We know a perfectly sane couple who lived full time on their CD25 for seven years. Are you planning on living on your boat continuously for four months while Looping? What is the longest you’ve been happy ‘camping’ on your 22 so far? 31 flavors of cruising! It could work out great, but we think trying to complete the Loop on a CD22 in four months is too likely to not be much fun.
Do you plan to mostly anchor out, or stay at marinas? Have you anchored out (always into the wind, of course) enough to be sure that wave slap, worries or swinging won’t bother you and the mate? Will you eat all meals on the boat, or eat all meals at restaurants, or unknown for now? If you plan on boat meals, what type of cooler do you use (many favor a chest ARB/Engle type 12v/120v so you can make at least some of your own ice, but it takes up some space in a 22). Your top three expenses will vary in order but will include boat fuel, marinas or meals and drinks. Tow truck diesel fuel is not likely to be in the top five cruise expenses for us @ 11 MPG, but prices are in flux.
What is your ballpark rig fuel consumption when trailering in ‘heavy cruise’ mode? What’s the furthest per day for multiple days that you have trailered comfortably? What is the boat fuel consumption and range at best cruise? (Colby will likely know; I’ve never run a 22). It’s always much, much cheaper to trailer a boat rather than cruise it on the water.
One particular cretin curmudgeon who Colby and Dr Bob knows claims that “The Great Loop is just a false contrivance so that people who own a boat that is too heavy, too wide, too fat and too tall to trailer it anywhere they want and launch it at any ramp they want 24/7 anywhere in the continent can still have an ‘Adventure of a Lifetime (™)’. Also, any Association that can figure out how to monetize a route on a map should absolutely, positively do it to the max, and they should take it to the bank in wheelbarrows.”
Eh? Yes, of course we are Lifetime Members.
Get the 3x27 Great Loop Routes (AGLCA/SHOP/BOOKS AND MAPS, it puts Planning in a Big Perspective. Your small part of the Wheelbarrow.
Be aware that if you cruise various bits and pieces or segments in whatever direction you choose, as long as it all adds up to a completed Loop on your boat(s) over an unlimited time period, it counts (assuming you even care about getting the Gold Flag).
Don’t answer here, and Jim can think about it, but call me any evening; my cell phone number is on the AGLCA site, though numbers not on our Contacts get diverted to voicemail. I also tend to (wrongly?) assume that the majority of C-Brats are grandparents on Social Security on a budget. I get the right Total Knee Nov 7, so don’t call until I’m off the oxycontin for the most erudite advice.
See the C-Brats Forums/Grand Adventures/ any Adventure posted by gulfcoast john including W Erie canal for past cruises. That one took us six weeks, which would translate to a Loop of over four years and may be a record. We are halfway at five years and yes it might take ten or more years. So what?
Keep exploring and considering your options…you have a LOT more options at less cost than the big boats! Doing a practice ‘mini loop’ from your Hudson launch point into the Erie Canal at Waterford to the end at Tonawanda one-way would be an extremely safe, easy, almost weather-proof trial run with nearby support when the NY canals open. You can Greyhound or Amtrak back to your rig (see Rome2Rio). Or if it goes well, sojourn onward!
Hope some of this is somehow helpful…
Cheers and safe travels and planning! Have Fun!
John
Pat Anderson
New member
It is of course an individual choice whether to do the entire Loop all in one go or split it up. We did it all in one go, and are glad we did. It may depend on how far away your home port is. We live on the extreme Upper Left Coast (look at a map, Blaine / Birch Bay is about as far west and north as you can go). Plus we have such great cruising grounds here, we would not have wanted to leave Daydream in storage anywhere on the Loop and miss any part of the PNW cruising season!
Pat Anderson
New member
gulfcoast john":z9yep8zh said:
John - we'll both be on the oxycodone about the same time. My right total knee is November 24 if the stars align!
Pat
Hi SoBELLE,
I'm not figuring on a race. I have just been working to get a handle on time frames.
Gathering information for proper perspectives is one of the main reasons I have posted my plan to do the GL here and on the AGLCA web site.
Actually, at this time, I'm planning to break this adventure up into 3 parts.
I appreciate your observations.
May All Your Seas be Calm
I'm not figuring on a race. I have just been working to get a handle on time frames.
Gathering information for proper perspectives is one of the main reasons I have posted my plan to do the GL here and on the AGLCA web site.
Actually, at this time, I'm planning to break this adventure up into 3 parts.
I appreciate your observations.
May All Your Seas be Calm
Back to the Nebo question.
I have begun playing with the free version.
Pretty neat. I sent the link to my oldest son who was able to down load it, create an account and tracked me while I was on Lake Washington, out side Seattle.
Still evaluating whether I will use the free or monthly paid version.
I have begun playing with the free version.
Pretty neat. I sent the link to my oldest son who was able to down load it, create an account and tracked me while I was on Lake Washington, out side Seattle.
Still evaluating whether I will use the free or monthly paid version.
Pat Anderson
New member
Patty and I had a nice long lunch with Keith today in Burlington, more or less half way between Marysville and Birch Bay. After going through his photo album this morning and talking to him at lunch, I can tell he already has all the knowledge, skills, and resources to do the Loop. He will figure out all the other stuff, it is little stuff!
gulfcoast john
New member
Pat,
We think making six well marked left hand turns on protected waters while following a convoy is an almost unachievable navigational challenge that requires at least two 12 inch chart plotters and ten years. But maybe that’s just us.
Thanks for getting us started!
John
We think making six well marked left hand turns on protected waters while following a convoy is an almost unachievable navigational challenge that requires at least two 12 inch chart plotters and ten years. But maybe that’s just us.
Thanks for getting us started!
John
It was GREAT lunch.
I am just beginning to digest all the great information they had shared with me.
Thanks to Pat and Patty I am feeling much more confident about my trip.
Also, thanks to Patty and Pat, I know that I don't need to schedule everything out. Just make a plan for the next day or so.
Keep working with "general" dates and goals.
Thanks again !!!
May all your seas be calm
I am just beginning to digest all the great information they had shared with me.
Thanks to Pat and Patty I am feeling much more confident about my trip.
Also, thanks to Patty and Pat, I know that I don't need to schedule everything out. Just make a plan for the next day or so.
Keep working with "general" dates and goals.
Thanks again !!!
May all your seas be calm