She says "size doesn't matter"

[AusCan]

Originally Posted by MurrayM

Oh, I don't know about that...just because you didn't see one doesn't mean the loop hasn't been done by very small craft.

Where you see limitations, discomfort, and danger, others see adventure. How about a 23 month, 12,100 mile canoe trip from Winnipeg, Canada, to the mouth of the Amazon?

The experience of a journey is completely dependant upon the method of travel.

We've sea kayaked for months at a time, and liken it to hiking or traveling by bicycle where you feel every breath of wind, notice the smallest details as they go by, and you physically work to earn your goal. Traveling by boat is a lot like traveling by motorhome.

I'll ask you this; two people travel the length of the Rocky Mountains, one by motorhome and one by hiking...which experience has more depth?

I agree Murray. You cannot buy a truly deep experience. And generally they do not come with a large bed and fluffy pillows.

As an example - I've watched the transformation in small Indonesian villages as they prepare for their annual cruise ship visit. The tourists are promised authenticity, but receive fake costumes, fake souvenirs, and fake smiles. The tourists get their "native" photo's and the locals get a few bucks for dressing in weird clothes. Then life goes back to normal.


btw - I got to know Dana Starkell after he did that canoe trip; He stayed at our backpacker hostel in Nelson BC for a couple weeks. He's a very interesting guy.

[Woodland Hills]

Originally Posted by Steve91T

You guys crack me up. This thread is stating to remind me of last year when I simply asked how much tip I should give the kid who ties me up.

I think it costs more if he uses his own handcuffs and less if they are yours.....

[MurrayM]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

We are all on a long self-propelled journey..... or hadn't you noticed?

Good one

[BruceK]

Originally Posted by BandB

Wifey B: "Depth" means the same as "real" and "authentic" above. It's someone attempting to insert a word to make their way of doing things somehow make them feel or look superior.

Guess we had a more real, authentic, deep trip to Battery Park to catch the boat to the Statue of Liberty this morning because we walked there instead of taking a bus or train. But then our trip to the Statue wasn't deep at all as we took the cruise instead of diving in and trying to swim there.

You could get even more depth if you made the trip in a submarine.

[Woodland Hills]

What if in the course of one's life, you have been there and done that? You have done the long solo self-propelled expedition, lived with the locals for months on end, seen the sunrise from Everest Base Camp, etc. Do you have to keep doing it forever?

At 17, I hitchhiked from Marrakesh to Goa, 10 years later I spent months in the high Himalayas trekking, a few years later I spent a month walking around Koh Samui sleeping on the beach and eating with the fishermen. Am I permitted to do something else now that i am 65 without someone taking a holier-than-thou attitude about it?

I have fought for my life in an Iranian alley, been lashed in a public square in Saudi Arabia and watched incoming MIRVs splash down in Kwajalein Lagoon, I think I have earned the right to experience the rest of my own life at whatever depth I damn well please.

Does the phrase "paying one's dues" have any meaning? Because I paid mine a long time ago......

[BandB]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

What if in the course of one's life, you have been there and done that? You have done the long solo self-propelled expedition, lived with the locals for months on end, seen the sunrise from Everest Base Camp, etc. Do you have to keep doing it forever?

At 17, I hitchhiked from Marrakesh to Goa, 10 years later I spent months in the high Himalayas trekking, a few years later I spent a month walking around Koh Samui sleeping on the beach and eating with the fishermen. Am I permitted to do something else now that i am 65 without someone taking a holier-than-thou attitude about it?

I have fought for my life in an Iranian alley, been lashed in a public square in Saudi Arabia and watched incoming MIRVs splash down in Kwajalein Lagoon, I think I have earned the right to experience the rest of my own life at whatever depth I damn well please.

Does the phrase "paying one's dues" have any meaning? Because I paid mine a long time ago......

Wifey B: To me, retirement is not what you do but the ability and right to do whatever you want. If that's camping out in the woods it's fine or if it's sitting in a recliner in front of a tv. You paid your dues in some very difficult ways, but most have paid their dues along the way. The doctor who has seen 1000's of patients, the teacher who has taught a thousand first graders, the homemaker who raised 7 kids, the janitor who worked hard for 45 years. Sometimes it's doing the opposite of what you did all those years.

I can't imagine doing the things you did and enjoying some of the luxuries of life would surely seem desirable at this point.

[MurrayM]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

What if in the course of one's life, you have been there and done that? You have done the long solo self-propelled expedition, lived with the locals for months on end, seen the sunrise from Everest Base Camp, etc. Do you have to keep doing it forever?

At 17, I hitchhiked from Marrakesh to Goa, 10 years later I spent months in the high Himalayas trekking, a few years later I spent a month walking around Koh Samui sleeping on the beach and eating with the fishermen. Am I permitted to do something else now that i am 65 without someone taking a holier-than-thou attitude about it?

I have fought for my life in an Iranian alley, been lashed in a public square in Saudi Arabia and watched incoming MIRVs splash down in Kwajalein Lagoon, I think I have earned the right to experience the rest of my own life at whatever depth I damn well please.

Does the phrase "paying one's dues" have any meaning? Because I paid mine a long time ago......

This tread went meandering off the path when someone suggested nobody would do the loop in an 8 foot dinghy, so I gave a 12,100 mile canoe journey example and suggested that the experience could be ‘richer/deeper’ in a small craft.

I’m not saying boating experiences in larger boats are thereby meaningless, but using your Himalayan trekking example, would it be a similar experience if you could hop on a Greyhound bus and tour through those valleys?

We’re close to retirement and enjoy the comforts of our boat, but miss the direct contact with the elements. Last week I was motoring around in our dinghy and couldn’t hear the wing tip whistling of a flock of Surf Scoters, or the "gluck-gluck" sound Ravens make when they turn upside down in flight for the fun of it.

My wife’s Honda Civic got t-boned on the drivers side door by a Dodge Ram pickup driven by a guy having a seizure who had the gas peddle floored. The rules to the game of Life changed in a heartbeat and sea kayaking was out, so we bought a boat to get back out there and have our daughter grow up knowing what an amazing place we live in.

Hey... maybe that’s why I’m going all nostalgic today...because we’re not boaters by choice, but had it forced upon us by a random crap event...

[BandB]

Originally Posted by AusCan

I agree Murray. You cannot buy a truly deep experience. And generally they do not come with a large bed and fluffy pillows.

.

Wifey B: ummmm how to word this.....

One can have some truly deep experiences in a large bed with fluffy pillows.

[AusCan]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

What if in the course of one's life, you have been there and done that? You have done the long solo self-propelled expedition, lived with the locals for months on end, seen the sunrise from Everest Base Camp, etc. Do you have to keep doing it forever?

At 17, I hitchhiked from Marrakesh to Goa, 10 years later I spent months in the high Himalayas trekking, a few years later I spent a month walking around Koh Samui sleeping on the beach and eating with the fishermen. Am I permitted to do something else now that i am 65 without someone taking a holier-than-thou attitude about it?

I have fought for my life in an Iranian alley, been lashed in a public square in Saudi Arabia and watched incoming MIRVs splash down in Kwajalein Lagoon, I think I have earned the right to experience the rest of my own life at whatever depth I damn well please.

Does the phrase "paying one's dues" have any meaning? Because I paid mine a long time ago......

There are no rules on how you live your life as long as it's legal (or can get away with it)
There aren't even any dues to pay. It's your choice.

I don't think anyone was criticising how you live your life. The conversation was whether a larger boat lessens the depth of the adventure.

We've only agreed on a larger boat increasing the depth of the draft.

[dhays]

Originally Posted by BandB

Wifey B: ummmm how to word this.....



One can have some truly deep experiences in a large bed with fluffy pillows.

Which brings us around to the original point of this disaster of a thread, what size is appropriate?

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Bravo Mr. dh. THAT'S a wrap!

[BandB]

Originally Posted by dhays

Which brings us around to the original point of this disaster of a thread, what size is appropriate?

Wifey B: Bigger boat, bigger bed......

[mramoo]

Good call RT

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Thank you mramoo...



Sincerest apologies to Mr. otis maximus (the OP). I hope you got a bit of information out of this...

[Capitaine R]

Originally Posted by dhays

Which brings us around to the original point of this disaster of a thread, what size is appropriate?

The size that the owner is safe and comfortable with . Its a personal choice the owner has to make themselves.

[Mako]

Originally Posted by RT Firefly

Greetings,
Bravo Mr. dh. THAT'S a wrap!

You must have downloaded that video from here in the Middle East. It made me laugh the first time I saw Looney Tunes wrap up without Porky Pig in it!

[O C Diver]

Back to the original question.
Nobody is doing it in an 8' dinghy. While it probably could be done in an 8' dinghy, the point of the trip isn't how small a boat use can use, how slow you can do it, how fast you can do it, or how big a boat you can do it in. This is a sightseeing trip. The object is to see and experience as much as you can along the way. Your boat is simply transportation and accommodations. As the boat gets smaller, one may have to make tradeoffs for space versus time versus money. While not important to some people looping, my boat has a washer / dryer. Clearly it's a luxury item versus going to the laundromat once or twice a week. Putting aside the cost of the laundromat, consider the hours lost. I enjoy a shower every night before bed. Get a small enough boat, and that may not be an option, or maybe a sponge bath. I like sleeping in a bed that wasn't designed for a midget. I like the option to heat or air condition my bedroom if necessary. If I've spent the day hiking the ridge line at Isle Royale, I want to return to the mother ship, have a hot meal, take a hot shower, and sleep in a comfortable bed. All those comforts allow me to enjoy each days treks refreshed, and to experience the loop with the least amount of wasted time trying to camp on my boat.

Ted

[BandB]

Originally Posted by O C Diver

Back to the original question.
Nobody is doing it in an 8' dinghy. While it probably could be done in an 8' dinghy, the point of the trip isn't how small a boat use can use, how slow you can do it, how fast you can do it, or how big a boat you can do it in. This is a sightseeing trip. The object is to see and experience as much as you can along the way. Your boat is simply transportation and accommodations. As the boat gets smaller, one may have to make tradeoffs for space versus time versus money. While not important to some people looping, my boat has a washer / dryer. Clearly it's a luxury item versus going to the laundromat once or twice a week. Putting aside the cost of the laundromat, consider the hours lost. I enjoy a shower every night before bed. Get a small enough boat, and that may not be an option, or maybe a sponge bath. I like sleeping in a bed that wasn't designed for a midget. I like the option to heat or air condition my bedroom if necessary. If I've spent the day hiking the ridge line at Isle Royale, I want to return to the mother ship, have a hot meal, take a hot shower, and sleep in a comfortable bed. All those comforts allow me to enjoy each days treks refreshed, and to experience the loop with the least amount of wasted time trying to camp on my boat.

Ted

Great post. Conveniences can save time and free that time for seeing and experiencing the sights.

Then there are lifestyle changes some are willing to make and others are not. We shower every day and we put on clean clothes every day. Some are fine doing it less frequently and nothing wrong with that, but we're not comfortable doing so. It's like your shower.

We also found that after many days we were very tired when we got back to the boat. We had very busy days.

[siestakey]

Originally Posted by BandB

Wifey B: ummmm how to word this.....

One can have some truly deep experiences in a large bed with fluffy pillows.

[OldDan1943]

Unless they have moved the loop, BC is a long way from the loop. (Do they have a western loop????)

The following is IMO and no one else's.

"The question I have is what are the advantages and disadvantages cruising in a 28 footer?"
It will get very small when you have a week of inclement weather.

IMO a V-berth is for those who do not like to snuggle. Exiting a V-berth with the insert installed? Awkward at best.

There are many great boats in the mid-30 range with many options. It will take time, build your list of 'must haves' and add in 'like to have' then go hunting on the computer. Ah, dont believe the posted pictures. If you are going to entertain the grandkids for any length of time, low 40 to mid 40s.

Things I noticed about my 34AT, that 'make into a berth' bench is uncomfortable and hard on my back. Very little hanging storage space.