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Old 03-26-2016, 08:40 PM   #1
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AGLCA Spring Rendezvous

Looking for opinions on the Great Loop Association's spring rendezvous. Will be doing the loop in 2017 and wondering how useful the information presented might be. If you subtract the information about selecting, buying, selling, and outfitting the the boat, how much of the balance was really useful?

Ted
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Old 03-26-2016, 08:48 PM   #2
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Sat with the couple selected to be part of the "loop boat selection" presenters most every night for a month for happy hour. They were in Ft Pierce when you were...

Great couple, very knoledgeable, built their own boat....but are only starting their first loop this year. Roll the dice on the other presentations......

Like many training sescions I have attended...a lot you pick up after hours, at the coffee pot, breaks, etc...not necessarily from the main presentation(s).

Plus it just might be a lot of fun.
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Old 03-27-2016, 12:04 AM   #3
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We hope to be leaving NYC and starting the canals by the time of the gathering.
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Old 03-27-2016, 06:24 AM   #4
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If you can get the Sked of these folks it is best to AVOID the places where they are.

Many places become a Zoo when a dozen boats arrive in one day.

Be early , be late , but don't be there when the gaggle arrives.

Band B , your boat looks high for the loop, what is the air draft?
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Old 03-27-2016, 10:52 AM   #5
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If you can get the Sked of these folks it is best to AVOID the places where they are.
I totally agree with this. The best parts of the loop when we did it was when we were away from the "white flags" - they ended up meaning "danger" to us.
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Old 03-27-2016, 12:30 PM   #6
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If you can get the Sked of these folks it is best to AVOID the places where they are.

Many places become a Zoo when a dozen boats arrive in one day.

Be early , be late , but don't be there when the gaggle arrives.

Band B , your boat looks high for the loop, what is the air draft?
Some like the groups, some don't. Just a matter of choice. Most spread out along the way, since no two boats travel the same speed nor do any two groups on boats want to do the same things.

Interesting observation on our air draft. The avatar is as delivered from factory. Since that time, we have done the following impacting height. The mast is now hinged and electrically operated to bring the radar and mast under 19'. We have removed the bimini top and had a custom hardtop built. It also clears. The minimum air draft now with no passengers, no water, 1/4 fuel is 18'11". So we will clear Chicago.

As to canal bridges, we will take Erie to Oswego and we will go from Lake Ontario to Erie through the Welland Canal.

The original boat with soft top only needed the mast lowered. Had we ordered the factory hard top, it had the electronics on the top instead of on the arch and mast and so it was over 22' even though the top itself was only 18'11". We didn't like the factory hard top for other reasons. Most of the sportier styled boats today are not designed to have the bridges fully enclosed. The tops cover a limited area and there are no enclosures offered. The slopes and angles, especially the wind shield, are not at all conducive to enclosures.

The top now has a center section with front and rear extensions that electrically slide out. The front extension is curved in the same pattern as the windshield so an enclosure is simplified.

Understand I hate making modifications to a new boat. In the past have gotten them delivered as we wanted them and everything set. In using a sports type boat for the loop, some modification was required. The top was the biggest item. We were very tempted to just go with the bimini but decided not to. The mast would have been easy to hinge, but we chose to double hinge it so it could lower but remain upright. It slides to the rear and then down. We also added and changed a few other things.

Resulting air draft 18'11", water draft 5'0". Any bridge under 22', we will lower the mast. If we ever do the Champlain or the Western portion of the Erie, it will have to be with a different boat or we would have to remove a lot of things for the trip.
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Old 03-27-2016, 03:14 PM   #7
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Interesting observation on our air draft. The avatar is as delivered from factory. Since that time, we have done the following impacting height. The mast is now hinged and electrically operated to bring the radar and mast under 19'. We have removed the bimini top and had a custom hardtop built. It also clears. The minimum air draft now with no passengers, no water, 1/4 fuel is 18'11". So we will clear Chicago.
.
I assume you mean going down the Calumet Sag channel which has a 19' limit. To go through Chicago you need 17'
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Old 03-27-2016, 03:41 PM   #8
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Looking for opinions on the Great Loop Association's spring rendezvous. Will be doing the loop in 2017 and wondering how useful the information presented might be. If you subtract the information about selecting, buying, selling, and outfitting the the boat, how much of the balance was really useful?

Ted
We did both the spring and fall rendezvous. They were worth our time and money. The sessions provided useful information on each leg of the trip. We could have skipped them and done fine but having some additional background info was helpful. The admiral took the Skipper Bob books into the sessions and wrote notes in the guide during the sessions. The notes came in handy many times.

I am the type that hates the herd, but that wasn't our experience. We were seldom with more than a boat or two and a lot of time we were the only looper. This may have been because we took a long trip up the Tennessee River and had several instances were we stopped for a week. The "loopers" come and go at different paces and we didn't have big groups.

The occasional docktails with other Loopers was fun and we enjoyed many of the people we met.
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Old 03-27-2016, 05:04 PM   #9
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I assume you mean going down the Calumet Sag channel which has a 19' limit. To go through Chicago you need 17'
Yes, I thought that was a given with my talk about 19'.
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Old 03-27-2016, 05:14 PM   #10
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Wifey B: Have their spring shindigs alway been so late? Just seems like they'd be early enough for anyone looping that year to get either to or close to NY by the first week of May. I think the fall one has comes like mid October and gives time to get down the MS.

For others who have looped, when did you start up the Hudson to the Erie?
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Old 03-27-2016, 05:17 PM   #11
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Yes, I thought that was a given with my talk about 19'.
Not for the folks who don't know what we are talking about.
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Old 03-27-2016, 05:25 PM   #12
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[QUOTE=
For others who have looped, when did you start up the Hudson to the Erie?[/QUOTE]

Started up the Hudson 5/28. Hit Waterford 6/9 to start the Erie. Hit Trenton 7/2.

The next time (there will be a next time, we are ready to just keep going in a circle now) we will be in Canada early in June so we can spend 2-3 months in Canada.
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Old 03-27-2016, 05:31 PM   #13
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It can snow from the Northern Chesapeake on up as late as the first week in April...it can still be dowright nasty. For many taking their time (remember the 6-8 knot crowd)....it is a pretty much 2 weeks from Norfolk to New York (via the Chesapeake)...no leaving Norfolk in May seems pretty reasonable to me....


I would have to run the climate data and back trace my route and times to make sure that isn't too late...but I really doubt it's too late...


It may mean hustling out of Lake Michigan as Fall approaches.
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Old 03-27-2016, 06:33 PM   #14
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Wifey B: Our plans are still a work in progress as we eliminate stops for the first time through. I'd be sad at some we're having to dump except knowing we'll be back in a few years for them. But it's something like this.

Be in NY ready to go on May 1. We're actually running the boat up in early to mid April.

Hudson and Canals May 1-May 16
Lake Ontario May 17-June 6
Lake Erie June 7-June 27
Fly home for break June 28-July 18
Lake Huron (Incl Georgian Bay) July 19-August 8
Lake Superior August 9-August 29
Lake Michigan August 30-September 19
Fly home for break September 20-October 10
Lake Michigan October 11-12
River south October 13-October 29
TN River October 30-November 4

We'll adjust adding a day here and removing one there. Only lakes we've sort of finalized our stops on are the Canals and Lake Ontario. Working on Lake Erie right now. It's freaking rough as you see 30 places worth a stop and only time for 9. That's how many we settled on for Lake Ontario. 10 on the Canals. Obviously, a late canal opening or other things can change it a lot. Always flexible.
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Old 03-27-2016, 06:36 PM   #15
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I would have to run the climate data and back trace my route and times to make sure that isn't too late...but I really doubt it's too late...

.
Wifey B: Thing is you run the date and you have average year and then each of the last five (or more if you're like my hubby who even has the odds and curves down based on some number of years) and you look over and over and you still don't know what it's going to be like this year.
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Old 03-27-2016, 06:51 PM   #16
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No you don't... but being a captain is about making the decision on reasonable info...it's never perfect but nothing ever is.


I have a pretty good idea for East Coast climate data but the Great Lakes would be new territory for me.
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Old 03-27-2016, 07:27 PM   #17
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Wifey B: Our plans are still a work in progress as we eliminate stops for the first time through. I'd be sad at some we're having to dump except knowing we'll be back in a few years for them. But it's something like this.

Be in NY ready to go on May 1. We're actually running the boat up in early to mid April.

Hudson and Canals May 1-May 16
Lake Ontario May 17-June 6
Lake Erie June 7-June 27
Fly home for break June 28-July 18
Lake Huron (Incl Georgian Bay) July 19-August 8
Lake Superior August 9-August 29
Lake Michigan August 30-September 19
Fly home for break September 20-October 10
Lake Michigan October 11-12
River south October 13-October 29
TN River October 30-November 4

We'll adjust adding a day here and removing one there. Only lakes we've sort of finalized our stops on are the Canals and Lake Ontario. Working on Lake Erie right now. It's freaking rough as you see 30 places worth a stop and only time for 9. That's how many we settled on for Lake Ontario. 10 on the Canals. Obviously, a late canal opening or other things can change it a lot. Always flexible.
One thing I assume is with this new boat your cruising at ...25knts?
This will dramatically effect your schedule comments as most are running sub 10knts.
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Old 03-27-2016, 07:59 PM   #18
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One thing I assume is with this new boat your cruising at ...25knts?
This will dramatically effect your schedule comments as most are running sub 10knts.
Wifey B: Yes and No. Speed (or lack thereof) is why we thought most would want to start as early as possible. It means on the Great Lakes we'll cover a lot more territory, but ultimately our time on a given lake might be pretty much the same. As an example on Lake Ontario we're going to Kingston for a couple of days, Toronto for three and Hamilton for 2. Also Sackets Harbor and most loopers wouldn't go there since it's the wrong direction.

There are really only two scenarios. One you come in during the spring and leave at the end of summer or early fall. The other is you go part way and store the boat for the winter. You have a set period during which you can cruise the area.

In the future we'll change things up, like might go up the St. Lawrence to Montreal one trip or might just zoom across Lake Ontario, only spending two days there to get more time on other lakes. Heck, I don't know. I didn't even know until we left Charlotte that we were spending the night in Columbia SC tonight and then I wasn't sure till we stopped. This traveling by car stuff is a pain.

Oh and it cruises 26 - 28 knots. 70-80% load. Yeah, I've been reading all those threads. And in the canal we'll be running about 10% load. Color me worried. Not.
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Old 03-28-2016, 07:02 AM   #19
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"One thing I assume is with this new boat your cruising at ...25knts?
This will dramatically effect your schedule comments as most are running sub 10knts." __________________

In many places in Canada the speed limit is 10 KLICKS per hour , not Knots

no big deal as the built up areas abound with free unlocked Wi Fi sites.
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Old 03-28-2016, 07:08 AM   #20
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Well Ted, after 18 responses it looks like two tried to answer your question.
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