Great Loop on a sailboat, but leaving the mast behind...

[48d north]

We did the the Great Lakes part last summer, east to west to get our new to us boat from the east end of Erie to the north shore of Superior. We really appreciated having a mast up through the rocky conditions Erie could get up! More so coming up the Detroit and St.Mary's rivers. Hint, don't do that leg on a weekend, yikes! Here I thought it would be the big ships that would bother us but watch out for the power boat traffic in that stretch.

Granted you will be going against the wind most of the trip but having the mast really helped and sailing on the lakes when the conditions permitted is a dream.

If you give yourself enough time I would try to incorporate either or both of Georgian Bay/North Channel as a lifetime experience. Enjoy your trip!

[DrDelmas]

We did the trip on our cat with the mast down. I am sorry I did not put it up sailing the Great Lakes. That is my only regret of the trip, fantastic journey!

[JoeRedman]

Originally Posted by cgs3

I have made the loop from Greenville,MS down the Miss River to the Gulf, across to Mobile, up the Tenn-To, down the Tennessee river to Paducah on the Ohio River and down the Miss River back to Greenville.

The only fuel on the Miss River from Paducah to Vience is Memphis & Greenville.
About 530 miles from Greenville to Vience. Almost all the 12? lakes on the Teen-Tom have Marinas.

With high water in the spring as we have now the Marina in Greenville is closed

Are you in Greenville? I ask, because I am in Cleveland...

[Quadrille in JB]

We removed both masts on our Morgan 41’6” and travelled the French, Belgian, and Dutch canals in comfort from Marseille to Amsterdam.
Not the great loop but we never had any rolling problems. 5.6 nmpg with a 56hp Yanmar.
What a beautiful, scenic trip

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by SVRocinante

Good day all.

I've been searching and reading the forum for a few hours now, but finally decided my question warranted a new post.

Wife and I will be doing the Great Loop in the next year or two, and I'm seriously considering simply removing the mast/rigging and leaving it behind for the entire trip. I just can't come up with a good reason to step/unstep our mast twice (Erie Canal & Chicago) especially since my sense is that we'd be motoring a huge percentage of the time anyway on the various in-land waterways/rivers.

I'd love to hear from any sailors that have done the loop and would recommend AGAINST that idea. I'm thinking the only real issue would be missing out on sailing the great lakes, but nothing stops us from going back after completing the loop to sail those areas.

Thoughts?

As always, thank you for your input!

You'll need to put the Mast down through the Erie canal. but the rest of the great loop will be nearly impossible to complete without your mast. How do you plan on handling the Pacific without your mast?

[bkrizmanic]

Originally Posted by SVRocinante

Good day all.

I've been searching and reading the forum for a few hours now, but finally decided my question warranted a new post.

Wife and I will be doing the Great Loop in the next year or two, and I'm seriously considering simply removing the mast/rigging and leaving it behind for the entire trip. I just can't come up with a good reason to step/unstep our mast twice (Erie Canal & Chicago) especially since my sense is that we'd be motoring a huge percentage of the time anyway on the various in-land waterways/rivers.

I'd love to hear from any sailors that have done the loop and would recommend AGAINST that idea. I'm thinking the only real issue would be missing out on sailing the great lakes, but nothing stops us from going back after completing the loop to sail those areas.

Thoughts?

As always, thank you for your input!

We are also on a sailboat, the biggest reason to keep you last is there is a lot of great sailing, on the gulf, no reason to take the ICW if the weather is nice, side trip to the Bahamas, Chesapeake. Your a sailboat, sail and enjoy yourself
Remember the Illinois waterway closes July 2020 for at least 120 days
Bruce
Pearson 365

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by pcmm

You'll need to put the Mast down through the Erie canal. but the rest of the great loop will be nearly impossible to complete without your mast. How do you plan on handling the Pacific without your mast?

The "Great Loop" is not a circumnavigation, but rather a circular route in eastern North America on the U.S. Intracoastal Waterway and a combination of inland rivers, canals, and the Great Lakes.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Loop


It is primarily of interest to U.S. and Canadian boaters who want a route that does not require bluewater passagemaking. While a variety of boats are used by people following the route, perhaps the most common is a cabin cruiser of around 30-36 feet, with a planing hull. These boats can attain enough speed that it is practical to spend every night in a slip, and many do just that. Many believe that trawlers are ideal for the route (e.g. Grand Banks). There is a vocal minority who believe that a sailboat without a rig is ideal for reasons of cost and fuel economy (see captainjohn.org for this viewpoint). Similarly, there are those who have sailboats, ones capable of bluewater passages in many cases, who wish to make the trip and adapt their boat to the circumstances by lowering, storing, or shipping the mast.

[SVRocinante]

Thanks, folks - appreciate all the input!

[SVRocinante]

Originally Posted by Quadrille in JB

We removed both masts on our Morgan 41’6” and travelled the French, Belgian, and Dutch canals in comfort from Marseille to Amsterdam.
Not the great loop but we never had any rolling problems. 5.6 nmpg with a 56hp Yanmar.
What a beautiful, scenic trip

That's great!
We're a number of years away from crossing over, but looking forward to it!

[SVRocinante]

Originally Posted by pcmm

You'll need to put the Mast down through the Erie canal. but the rest of the great loop will be nearly impossible to complete without your mast. How do you plan on handling the Pacific without your mast?

I think there is a misunderstanding.
The great loop I'm referring to does not include the Pacific... It's a loop that goes north up the Hudson River, across the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi, into the Gulf, around Florida and back up the East Coast of the USA.

[SVRocinante]

Whoops! Looks like Jammer already clarified the Great Loop reference...

[misfits]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I don't want to turn this into a colregs thread (we have plenty) but feel that I should point out that this isn't completely true. Vessels that are motor sailing are power vessels for purposes of the colregs..

I understand that. As a former powerboater, you see a sail up it gets your attention & you slow down, at least I did... That was the purpose of mentioning it.

[tgrimmett]

Definitely step/unstep your mast! My wife and I transited the Erie Canal and spent a summer sailing in the Great Lakes... it was fantastic. The day or two you spend stepping your mast will quickly be forgotten as you explore beautiful areas in Lake Huron, North Channel, Michigan, Door County, etc. We posted a number of videos on our YouTube channel that you might want to check out. This one covers tips on using the canals (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...VzfOP5RTdLxM5f) and this one for an overview of the sights (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...y6B18XtC3qu6-W)

-Tom
Life Four Point Zero – It's time to go!
https://www.youtube.com/c/lifefourpointzero