Posted on 08/13/2025 6:43:06 PM PDT by eastforker
I weas quite intrigued with Robert Youens trip of the great loop in a flat bottom boat with a tiller steer 60 HP outboard. His trip has inspired me to maybe make the same trip this coming spring however it will not be in a little flat bottom boat. Got my eye on a 33 foot trawler. Take the Boys and grand kids, Just one of the items on my bucket list.
Good guess. Sounds right.
Sounds like fun.
The Great Dismal Swamp and the Intercoastal Waterway are near me. Plenty of videos of people transiting that portion of the waterway on the internet. If you do it, post an occasional update.
Some of the sections of The Great Loop are pretty shallow, like on occasion in the connection from Chicago over to the Mississippi River. Mr Youen’s tiny boat could obviously survive shin-deep creeks, but a 33 ft trawler might not. PLAN ACCORDINGLY!!!
Not a whole lot of people or opportunities for stops between Hawaii and Japan.
Not a lot of people can afford a boat that could handle the Pacific. Old guy in an aluminum pile of crap just proved that a monumental trip IS accessible to just about anyone, though!
What a coincidence.
Some of us have to get up in the morning because we have jobs.
You remind me of a man.
Not gonna bite? Where’s your sense of adventure and derring-do?
I know it’s not that popular here, but, join or go on Facebook and join this group:
https://www.facebook.com/AGLCA
I have never done the great loop (we’ve a 48 ft mast and the Cap’n isn’t going to take down the mast to do it), but, I’ve done a bit of the ICW From North Carolina to West Palm. The ICW has a number of trouble spots that you will want to know about. We’ve lived aboard our boat for 10 years now, and, you DO need to be ready for small house living. You can PM me if you think I can help.
You’ll want to join Bob423’s group for the ICW (mostly the East coast). He travels from NY to Florida every year on the ICW and has safe deeper route with many folks to help track depths and other trouble spots. His Group is:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ICWCruisingGuide
But, he does have a blog, a book, and writes for Waterway Guides. You will want to get their books too.
You MAY want to going the facebook group that I moderate. We’re the GOOD “Sailing and Cruising” group (there are a few imitators). You’ll know it’s us because we have 260,000+ members. Our address is:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/491594394287880
If you join our group, the rules will ask you for an e-mail address. Instead of that, just type “Conan” or “Conan sent me” or something that mentions Conan. I’ll let you in with no issues.
“Join” our group...
You remind me of a man with a great power.
Would you please take this spectacle elsewhere.
Very good ... for a “guess” ...
Yes, if you don’t do the Erie Canal, the next stop is the St Lawrence. That would be a VERY long detour, specially in a power boat.
I’ve met a number of sailboaters who have done the St. Lawrence route. It’s rough, until you are deep into the Seaway
No.
It makes as much sense as a vanity about ‘the Big Loop’.
All this big talk about rowing up and down the east coast, but won’t even play a li’l game on-line.
My hero.
I don’t have a boat, but about 15 years ago, my Denver friends and I did one of my dream vacations out West—the Grand Circle. This involved driving through a lot of national parks. Not that much hiking, but we still were treated to glorious views and the opportunity to see a lot of wildlife. We went through Grand Canyon National Park (not very far due to bad weather), Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park. At Canyonlands, we participated in a wonderful “Canyonlands by Night” boat cruise, with a panorama of Utah history projected on the mountains abutting the Colorado River. It was very unique and could not be duplicated anywhere else. In other parks, I saw magnificent geology, wildlife I’d only seen in books, and Western weather. It was the trip, for me, of a lifetime and I’m so glad I made it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.