Great looper boats

[Whiteoil]

Want to do the great loop. Few thousand NM under my belt as crew. I want to be the captain of my own ship.

Considering Island packet 27 or 29 or the Pacific seacraft 24. I'm already a minimalist, so the Dana might work, but I would need tools, spares etc for any voyage. Any thoughts? I like the full keels they'll be nice at Anchorage and if I change my mind and want to go-to carib the lower draughts of the full keel better in the inland rivers.

Which ones the fastest?

I just looked at a Canadian sail craft 30.. was in average shape. But fin keel and draws 5.5ft. they say max should be 5ft for the great loop. Anybody with experience can comment?

Thank you!

[nuku34]

Pardon my ignorance: what is "the great loop"?
Yes, you would need tools, spares, food, water, and "etc".

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Whiteoil

I like the full keels they'll be nice at Anchorage

Which ones the fastest?

Thank you!

Speed is dependant on lots of things, but waterline length plays a major part.

Not sure I would agree that the full keel is any better than a fin at anchor for yachts in the 24 - 30ft range you are looking at. They will all rock and roll at anchor.

If you want a shallow draft, can you find a lift keel or bilge keeled yacht? Rather good in shallow waters and the main reason we chose bilge keels. However, they need to be modern shaped keels, not the early (1960s) encapsulated type.

Your probably looking at French or British yachts. If the budget is limited then a Westerly Centaur ought to be available in the US.

Pete

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by nuku34

Pardon my ignorance: what is "the great loop"?
Yes, you would need tools, spares, food, water, and "etc".

Its a short trip around the US by sea, lake and canal, take about a week


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

[Island Time O25]

Pardon my ignorance of the subject but wouldn't a 25-30ft trawler with 30-50hp diesel (and a 10hp outboard for a spare) be a better choice?

[tkeithlu]

The loop is around the eastern US, with the Mississippi River as the westerns side. On the other sides, it is largely ICW. The only offshore bit is from Carabelle, Florida to Clearwater, there being no ICW in the "armpit" of Florida.

As such, a trawler is a better choice than any boat with a mast - there are not that many sailing opportunities and hundreds of bridges - 29 that must open for a sailboat between Miami and Fort Worth alone.

This goal needs some serious planning. Good luck with it.

[valhalla360]

Double post

[valhalla360]

It's a great trip. We did it in our 34ft Gemini Sail Catamaran.

I wouldn't worry too much about spares. Sure take a tool kit and the basic stuff but no need for extensive spares as you are never far from a port.

A sailboat will typically take the mast down at Chicago and depending on the height, it will go back up in Kentucky or at Mobile. The again upon entering the Erie Canal until you get done with the canal systems (there are multiple routes from the Hudson River). If we did it again, we would take the mast down and store, operating in power boat mode as the route isn't very conducive to sailing anyway with lots of narrow channels.

Keep in mind a lot of monohulls without a mast will roll like a pig and before you say, it's the rivers and they are calm, we too waves over the bows from passing tows going upbound on the Mississippi.

I would go for the shallowest draft possible. Yes, a 5-6ft draft boat can do it (actually could probably get away with a 9-10ft draft with some additional complications) but there is a lot of skinny water and many anchoring opportunities where you might need to sneak thru 2-3ft depths before getting into a beautiful protected anchorage. Also, some marinas on the river system are focused on bass boats and flat bottom house boats, so they may or may not provide deep draft access.

Power boats are definitely the more popular option but I would say sailboats make up about 30% of loopers.

[Sand crab]

Plus 1 on a power boat. There's no real sailing for most of the trip because you are on the the Mississippi or the ICW. And you have to take the mast down twice unless you motor through the Great Lakes. The only way I would do it on a sailboat is because I already owned one.

[valhalla360]

One other key consideration is range under power. There's about a 250mile stretch from St. Louis to Kentucky Lake. While the current helps you on the Mississippi, once you turn up the Ohio, it's fighting you so if your cruise speed is say 4-5kts, it can take a very long time and you are likely to go thru a lot of fuel.

[flyingnut40]

I was thinking of doing the great loop in a MacGregor 26X or 26M.

Mostly a motorboat that sails with little draft and a mast that you can lower and raise at will so you get past the problem of not having a mast up when you could be sailing.

If you plan on doing the Trent Severn canal instead of the Erie canal then the extra horsepower and shallow draft would be ideal.

We did the Trent last summer and were bottoming out in numerous places with 5' and were glad we were south/eastbound with the current as going up current with a marginally powered boat would be challenging.

Btw, the "Loop" usually takes a year to do......

[flyingnut40]

One other point to my post above...... All of the Trent Severn and a lot of the other rivers you will encounter will not have travel lift facilities to accommodate your fixed keel boat.
If you buy a MacGregor, 95% come with a trailer and if you were to have a problem on the trip, your worst case scenario is a flight home to get your trailer and retreive your boat.

[Sand crab]

Yup. The Mac would be a great looper boat.

[donradcliffe]

I considered a Gemini for the loop, but worried about the reliability of the drive leg. Ended up with a Grand Banks 42 that a friend loaned me, which had accomodations for 4 and a 750 mile range at 7.5 knots.

It is really mostly motoring.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

I considered a Gemini for the loop, but worried about the reliability of the drive leg.

We went with a 4 stroke outboard powered Gemini.

Also, we had the dingy motor on a spring loaded outboard bracket, so it could be deployed for the main boat very quickly. It wouldn't be fast but at least we would have some maneuverability.