Great Loop

[trailertrawlerkismet]

The Great Loop is a 6,000 mile circumnavigation of the East Coast ICW, Canadian Trent/Severn, Georgian Bay and North Channel, Lake Huron and Michigan then on to the river system thru Illinois to the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee River before going into the Tom-Bigbee Waterway that dumps out in Mobile. In Mobile you head east on the ICW, cross the Gulf or hug the shore to Tarpon Springs where you pick up the ICW again and head south to as far as Key West, maybe over to the Bahamas and up Florida's East Coast.......a 12 month boating trip give or take, that many describe as the trip of a lifetime. I know there a few of us Tubnutters that have done all or part of the Great Loop but for those that have not and may have an interest in exploring it more I thought I'd start a thread for discussion purposes. Who wants to go first?

Jim F

 

[Crewdog]

Gosh, i have a dream of completing the Great Loop, but i think we'll have to make do with doing it in sections like some hikers complete the Appalachian Trail a section at a time.

Does that still count?

Bill
Blue Merle
R-27

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Hi Bill:

Doing the Loop in sections absolutely does count and a good option for knocking off a part each year. I know of one couple who took 6 years or so. They'd be cruising in an area, like Lake Michigan's many small town harbors and the North Channel of Canada and stay for the entire season and start off their the next year. Most people take about a one year stretch, some have done it in 6 weeks on jet skis, last year a fellow did the Loop (needs to finish this spring) in a kayak but most who venture out are on trawlers of some kind, many twin engine aft cabin type boats and a few sail boats each year.

Jim

 

[JamVox]

Would like to hear of anyone's take on crossing Florida's big bend in the Gulf. How hard is the crossing?

 

[Todd]

There is a ton of information on the great loop provided by AGLCA (Americas Great Loop Cruisers Association).

greatloop.org

Check out the site, read the posts and by all means join the group and start planning.

 

[baz]

The Great Loop is kind of an East Coast endeavor/adventure... Is there anything similar for the West side of the USA I wonder ?

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

JamVox what Todd states about AGLCA is absolutely true, their sight and members blogs have tons of information. In addition they have a fall Rendezvous up the road from you at Joe Wheeler State Park Marina in Rogersville, Alabama in October you or anyone else that is interested might want to check out.

We've made the Gulf Crossing from Apalachicola twice in a prior boat but have checked into taking the Big Bend and know many that have. The Bend takes longer in that it's not a straight route and at the end on each day one has to come off of the Gulf and into port, which adds additional miles.....not a bad thing, just an explanation. The Bend route from Apalachicola would be stops at Saint Marks, then Steinhatchee, Suwannee River and then on to Crystal River before hitting Tarpon Springs and the ICW. With our shallow drafts we have on our Ranger Tugs we could get into and out of these rivers where other larger boats have to time the tide.

The big advantage of the Bend is that you do not have to make an 150 mile open water transit, however with the right weather and water conditions we can make it in one long day with our fast tugs. The advantage of the Bend is the relative safety of being close to shore and being able to duck in if conditions change whereas the disadvantage is that, as I've said, it does take more time and if weather conditions change you may get holed up somewhere longer then you may have planned. If you have the time and flexibility I think the Bend is worth exploring, that's our plan the next time thru these waters.

 

[knotflying]

We plan on doing the loop in segments over time. Being able to trailer our boat to areas and taking our time to explore and take in the roses in strategic spots may take much longer than doing it in one trip, but in our case it will be more manageable working around other life commitments. We joined the AGLCA and it has been a great resource of information.

 

[JamesTXSD]

The Great Loop is kind of an East Coast endeavor/adventure... Is there anything similar for the West side of the USA I wonder ?

Yep - the Inside Passage.

 

[baz]

Yep--- The Inside Passage does require much planning and at least 3 months or so. I do believe several in the PNW will be doing this in 2014. One needs to take a sabbatical, a long saved up vacation allotment or be retired where each would require a 1st Mate that's enthusiastic, willing and able for such a cruise. 🙂

 

[Adagio]

Over a period of forty years I completed the southern half of the great loop in segments, Padukah KY to Charleston, SC, in sailboats. The primary reason I downsized to a Ranger Tug three years ago was so I could trail the boat to a few side trips I had missed and to a few of the remaining segments of the loop I am particularly interested in. Getting the tug was a good decision. I've been able to do a few 1-2 week long trips on the TN River, covering the full length of it to the navigable beginning near Knoxville, a month on the St Johns River, and a month on the Northern half of the Chesapeake. In a few weeks, I'll pull out for two months on the NC Dismal Swamp Canal and tributaries of the southern half of the Chesapeake. Next summer I tentative plan on the Erie Canal to the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, the Thousand Islands area of the St Lawrence, the Trent-Severn, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, ending at Mackinaw and the northern tip of Lake Michigan. . . All of this made possible by the seaworthy but trailerable Ranger Tug!

Adagio, taking it slow and easy

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Like Adagio we recently completed 180 miles on the Tennessee River(part of the Great Loop) before storing our R27 for the winter back in Michigan. Because the Great Loop, like the PNW, the Chesapeake Bay, Lake Powell, etc have so so much to see and cruise you can never see or do it all and that's one of big advantages to our trailerable tugs......we can do segments, return if we want for more and or go on to other adventures.

Adagio, although we've been as far east on the Tennessee River as Chattanooga, we understand the section from there to Knoxville stands out as being some of best cruising on the Tennessee River. Was this your experience?

Jim

 

[Adagio]

The TN River from 'Nooga to Knoxville is indeed fine cruising, tho the section known as the TN Gorge or Grand Canyon of the TN, between Nickajack Lock and Chattanooga was also one of my favorites (It's unsettling to be 50 ft from shore and see the depth meter reading over 100 ft!). After locking through to Chickamauga Lake , I took a side trip on Richland Creek to Dayton, home of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial. After locking through to Watts Bar Lake, and then to Fort Loudon Lake, another one of my favorite areas was the Little TN River, which I took to the navigable end in the foothills of the Smoky Mt N'nal Park. Ron and Eva Stobb described the Little TN in their book Great Loop Side Trips, and loved the area so much they made it their home.

Adagio