Single Handed Great Loop

[Rumrace]

https://www.passagemaker.com/.amp/li...fect-loop-boat

I’ve seen 32’ aft cabin Carver and a 54’ Hatteras make the trip. Most are single engine trawlers due to fuel consumption. A tender is a must and range.

[Rumrace]

Hope you get something from this write up. There is that Chicago area problems I mentioned. I forgot about the beam max at 23’. That’s the Railway Lock 44.
The 27’ trawler would qualify Going up Lake Michigan and crossing Lake Huron in a 27’ boat will be a fun ride. The Great Lakes route is much longer and not as much fun.
Do not come near the Great Lakes November to April. Of the some 5,000 shipwrecks preserved in the lakes half sank in November. Lake Ontario is the only Great Lake which doesn’t freeze. Summer time on the Trent Severn is pure fun.
I’ve been told the correct way to loop is clockwise.

[mickand]

I am currently on my 6th solo loop and would be happy to answer any questions if I can.
If you're serious, join the America Great Loop Cruisers Association. The members have a daily forum, where you can also ask anything and everything. Costs about $85?

[bkrizmanic]

A friend of mine did it on a 34' sailboat. He's in his late 60's. He didn't have any issues except that he would of liked to have company and share the adventure.
Friends always said they wanted to join him but seldom did.

[valhalla360]

We did it twin handed in a 34ft single engine catamaran.

There is a lot of close quarters maneuvering, so you are going to want a relatively small boat that maneuvers well. That's going to limit comfort.

If we do it again, we will leave the mast behind as the trip has very limited portions suitable to sailing. That said, the small sail catamaran was quite efficient compared to trawlers of similar size.

Be careful looking at single engine trawlers. Unless they have a bow thruster (and bow thrusters aren't a cure all), maneuvering is more limited. Our cat was outboard powered and you could turn the engine to provide directional thrust...and even then we had to learn to take advantage of it.

Honestly as a newbie with little or no boating experience, I wouldn't recommend trying it solo out of the gate even with a smaller 22-25ft boat. Not saying it can't be done but really not the best plan.

[svchances]

Want to know everything about solo sailing the Great Loop? Give Jeff's monthly blog a look-see. Lots of expert commentary and pictures.
You will be glad you did !

boatingadventuresblog.wordpress.com

[ohdrinkboy]

Originally Posted by svchances

Want to know everything about solo sailing the Great Loop? Give Jeff's monthly blog a look-see. Lots of expert commentary and pictures.
You will be glad you did !

boatingadventuresblog.wordpress.com

Thanks for the link. What kind of boat is he on?

[svchances]

He completed the Great Loop single handed on a Mainship 34.
He is still soloing, on a little larger trawler including the St Lawrence and Atlantic coast.

[donradcliffe]

https://www.boatblurb.com/post/man-c...oat-in-34-days

[ForeverDes]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

https://www.boatblurb.com/post/man-c...oat-in-34-days

That's interesting, in a lot of ways, but it only takes 140 travel days at 40 miles each to complete the ~5600 mile path. He took 4 years to complete those 34 days, so that's a lot of chances for good travel windows.


Edited because 140 is a lot more than 40.

[flyingfin]

Sorry, you cannot do it solo.
You need at least one crew member, but 3 to 9 others is preferable

[bearkeley]

Just met three men doing the loop singlehanded last month, and they all had positive things to say. They had large, fancy boats and even figured out how to pick up mooring balls on their own! One had hired a captain to do the first 1000 miles with him and another made sure he had friends to crew with him on the sections he was concerned about. There is an issue now though with larger boats and finding insurance and marinas so a smaller boat might be the way to go.

Originally Posted by Scaramanga F25

Single. Go small with like a Ranger tug 27 or Albin 25 or 27. Way buy easy sell. The bigger question is do you really enjoy being alone?

Tugs and Albin are trailerable so another option is to do several short trips. Over the past 5 years, we have cruised sections of the loop on our Mary Jo, a modified Albin 27. We did the Chesapeake, the AICW a few times and just completed the Florida Loop. It’s trailerable with a permit, but given its size and custom Pilothouse design, easy to leave at a marina or dry dock then pick it where you left off again. Might make the wife happier too! It’s a slow trawler so runs at sailboat speed, so fuel cost was never a concern, but much more living space than boats it’s size. It was also a great way to learn how to cruise!

Oh, agree and also highly recommend you join AGLCA as you research and learn about it. A great group of people and a wealth of info.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by ForeverDes

That's interesting, in a lot of ways, but it only takes 140 travel days at 40 miles each to complete the ~5600 mile path. He took 4 years to complete those 34 days, so that's a lot of chances for good travel windows.


Edited because 140 is a lot more than 40.

We met a couple on the loop who did it in 4 months...Other than to say they did it, not sure what they saw. In theory with a jetski doing 60mph, you could probably cut that to under a month if you hit good weather and no mechanical issues but again...why?

At displacement speeds, 40 miles per day is a full day travel. Keep in mind, there are also dozens of locks which can eat up an hour or two each plus some draw bridges, then weather.

The typical is to do it over a year to follow suitable weather conditions.

5600miles is if you take the shortest possible route. We were around 7200miles (not counting back tracking). Of course we also took 5 years but did some meandering and in several places stopped for a month or two.

[GordMay]

Check out: ‘America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association’
➥ https://greatloop.org/page/joinus

This page is a resource for Loopers in the process of identifying and purchasing their Great Loop boat.
➥ https://greatloop.org/page/findingyourboat

[ForeverDes]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

We met a couple on the loop who did it in 4 months...Other than to say they did it, not sure what they saw. In theory with a jetski doing 60mph, you could probably cut that to under a month if you hit good weather and no mechanical issues but again...why?

At displacement speeds, 40 miles per day is a full day travel. Keep in mind, there are also dozens of locks which can eat up an hour or two each plus some draw bridges, then weather.

The typical is to do it over a year to follow suitable weather conditions.

5600miles is if you take the shortest possible route. We were around 7200miles (not counting back tracking). Of course we also took 5 years but did some meandering and in several places stopped for a month or two.

So if the fellow in the article took the shortest route, 5600 miles, and did it in 34 days, that averages 164 miles and change each travel day. That is impressive. Even though over a 4 year period, he only had to travel an average of once every 75 days to do that.

My point of traveling 40 miles a day for 140 days was something I read in "The Looper's Companion Guide". I didn't mean to advocate it was a good plan.