Planning way ahead

[Bill V]

Couple of thoughts. Having grown up with boats, owned a bunch and spent 6 years running boats while in the Navy I can assure you that since you have 15 years before you will be doing the Loop you have the time to learn much of what you need to know. Buying a boat, any boat, will teach you the maintenance requirements, and there are a lot. It will also teach you the costs of boat ownership and it is much higher then owning an RV. Start reading up on what maintenance of a boat requires. Start learning the terminology of boating. Read up on the various hull designs, understand the differences too. Try to learn what kind of boat you prefer and why? Boating requires docking, anchoring, mooring on a ball, refueling, pumpouts, adverse weather handling and many more skills for both you and the wife to experience. It will take you every bit of 15 years to learn it.

I have traveled from Seattle to Ketchikan (1500 miles round trip) on my twin engine 28 foot boat in all kinds of weather and was a boater for over 50 years at the time of the trip. Was it the ideal boat? Not in any way but because I knew my boat, my abilities and what to do in emergencies very well I felt comfortable taking the trip on it. For you to take on a 6000 mile trip will require you to learn and experience far more then what is needed for a day on the lake.

By the way, any boat you buy for $10k will in the end cost you far more if it is any size at all.

 

[rgano]

Spent a lifetime caring for the teak of my woodie GB, but I have seen them with practically none at all and that bit pained over.

 

[Trainerdude]

On the GLs consider a 30+ft trawler or fast trawler. My brother has done the GLs for more than 3 years on a Tiara boat with his wife, with great success.

Thanks. I am thinking 36 looks to be a sweet spot for me when I am looking at them online.

 

[Trainerdude]

Trainerdude, ignore fuel costs. It may be a 'wash' between a RV and a boat.
Fuel costs on a boat, IMO, is the least of your costs.

Yeah, it’s not a huge concern for me. Main focus will be making sure I can safely do the journey.

 

[Bill V]

Every boat comes with two (yes 2) PRICE TAGS!
One is the Purchase Price including the cost of yearly maintenance.
The other is your cost of cruising!

 

[Trainerdude]

Couple of thoughts. Having grown up with boats, owned a bunch and spent 6 years running boats while in the Navy I can assure you that since you have 15 years before you will be doing the Loop you have the time to learn much of what you need to know. Buying a boat, any boat, will teach you the maintenance requirements, and there are a lot. It will also teach you the costs of boat ownership and it is much higher then owning an RV. Start reading up on what maintenance of a boat requires. Start learning the terminology of boating. Read up on the various hull designs, understand the differences too. Try to learn what kind of boat you prefer and why? Boating requires docking, anchoring, mooring on a ball, refueling, pumpouts, adverse weather handling and many more skills for both you and the wife to experience. It will take you every bit of 15 years to learn it.

I have traveled from Seattle to Ketchikan (1500 miles round trip) on my twin engine 28 foot boat in all kinds of weather and was a boater for over 50 years at the time of the trip. Was it the ideal boat? Not in any way but because I knew my boat, my abilities and what to do in emergencies very well I felt comfortable taking the trip on it. For you to take on a 6000 mile trip will require you to learn and experience far more then what is needed for a day on the lake.

By the way, any boat you buy for $10k will in the end cost you far more if it is any size at all.

Thanks Bill. Some great advice here.

I don’t doubt that the maintenance costs are far more than RV and I have been looking into them for a while already as this dream has been in my head for a bit.

I am also fully aware of the training involved and I plan to get as much time on a boat as I can before making the trip, but I also know some have done and completed this trip on little to no training, so it can be done. Life is an adventure and sometimes you just need to go for it.

I plan on researching this stuff to death and I am already driving my wife nuts with how obsessed I can be with learning.

As for the 10k boat. I am well aware that Purchase price does not equal end of costs.

 

[LargeMarge]

I try to learn something every day.
I am always interested in folks doing 'it' different than I would do 'it'.
.
I initiated my Keogh in 1973.
I was 21 (twenty-one).
.
I retired at 53.
2003, we built an ExpeditionVehicle, and hit the road.
.
Nearly two decades full-time live-aboard, no regrets.
.
.
An article in INC. magazine asked:
* "What would you tell your twenty year old self?"
The overwhelming answer from industry leaders, entrepreneurs, performers, and medical folks:
* "Action Beats Deliberation"
Over-thinking anything results in developing the habit of 'research it to death'... meanwhile, opportunities slip away.

 

[Trimjb]

You can also gain a lot of information here. The AGLCA rendezvous in October. I here it is sold out.
https://greatloop.org/

 

[Mobcat]

Go to any dock with 4 x 6 packs of heavy beer and I’m sure you will get enough advise to get you around the great loop, maybe take some ice to.
Enjoy

 

[Bacchus]

David
I applaud your having a long term dream and working toward making it happen.
Don't be overwhelmed by the task of having to plan for a 6,000 mi, year or longer cruise. A year is just a series of month long cruises and a month is just 4 week long segments with some necessary flex time.
Researching, Planning and preping for a week or two with a LeBoat rental on the Rideau Canal will give you a reasonable sense of what it would take to do a month.
Check their requirements but I doubt they require extensive training to rent. Get your Canadian / Ontario boater certificate / card as an initial step. Additional training becomes a plus.

My recommendation as a way / source for some training is to join a Canadian Sail & Power Squadron. They not only offer many / varied boating courses but you will immediately expand your network of folks with similar interests. You may be able to find a member that would welcome a helping hand with some maintenance chore or for a day cruise when short handed.
The other possibility is to use the TF Port Capt search feature for your area. It will identify TFers that have "volunteered" to assist others by providing local knowledge & experience. I will guess they might also be willing to share their experiences getting started in boating and again a way to expand your local boating network.
A training Capt can be a much later step once you have your own larger boat and want to know more details about the specific handling traits for that vessel.
Above, of course, my opinions and may vary from what others suggest.
Whatever you and yours do... do it as a team and make it enjoyable. Don't make training a necessary evil when it can be part of a new & exilerating path for vacations and adventures. Don't think of a rental as just an expense but rather an inexpensive way to gain knowledge and experience to maximize your boat purchase $ and avoid a costly purchase mistake... all while enjoying a vacation in a new place / situation.

 

[Trainerdude]

You can also gain a lot of information here. The AGLCA rendezvous in October. I here it is sold out.
https://greatloop.org/

It’s been a great resource so far. Going through all the podcasts now.

 

[Trainerdude]

Go to any dock with 4 x 6 packs of heavy beer and I’m sure you will get enough advise to get you around the great loop, maybe take some ice to.

Enjoy

Now THIS I can do [emoji3][emoji106][emoji106]

 

[Trainerdude]

David
I applaud your having a long term dream and working toward making it happen.
Don't be overwhelmed by the task of having to plan for a 6,000 mi, year or longer cruise. A year is just a series of month long cruises and a month is just 4 week long segments with some necessary flex time.
Researching, Planning and preping for a week or two with a LeBoat rental on the Rideau Canal will give you a reasonable sense of what it would take to do a month.
Check their requirements but I doubt they require extensive training to rent. Get your Canadian / Ontario boater certificate / card as an initial step. Additional training becomes a plus.

My recommendation as a way / source for some training is to join a Canadian Sail & Power Squadron. They not only offer many / varied boating courses but you will immediately expand your network of folks with similar interests. You may be able to find a member that would welcome a helping hand with some maintenance chore or for a day cruise when short handed.
The other possibility is to use the TF Port Capt search feature for your area. It will identify TFers that have "volunteered" to assist others by providing local knowledge & experience. I will guess they might also be willing to share their experiences getting started in boating and again a way to expand your local boating network.
A training Capt can be a much later step once you have your own larger boat and want to know more details about the specific handling traits for that vessel.
Above, of course, my opinions and may vary from what others suggest.
Whatever you and yours do... do it as a team and make it enjoyable. Don't make training a necessary evil when it can be part of a new & exilerating path for vacations and adventures. Don't think of a rental as just an expense but rather an inexpensive way to gain knowledge and experience to maximize your boat purchase $ and avoid a costly purchase mistake... all while enjoying a vacation in a new place / situation.

Great information here Bacchus.

I appreciate very much the thoughtful and well written advice here. I will look into all of it as we go along this journey. The wife and I are excited about the future and are definitely in this together.

 

[Jeff F]

Don't know if the OP is still with us, but I have one more comment as a guy from Toronto who bought his first big power boat with the intention of doing the Loop.

It's not all or nothing. There are several excellent small loops within the great lakes, most of them in Ontario. And by small I mean weeks to months, if you stop to enjoy the sights. I traveled 6,000 miles in the great lakes and local waterways before I headed south, and covered new ground much of the time. The Great Loop presented a few new challenges, but was really just a more ambitious version of what I had been practicing locally for a couple of seasons.

 

[Trainerdude]

Don't know if the OP is still with us, but I have one more comment as a guy from Toronto who bought his first big power boat with the intention of doing the Loop.

It's not all or nothing. There are several excellent small loops within the great lakes, most of them in Ontario. And by small I mean weeks to months, if you stop to enjoy the sights. I traveled 6,000 miles in the great lakes and local waterways before I headed south, and covered new ground much of the time. The Great Loop presented a few new challenges, but was really just a more ambitious version of what I had been practicing locally for a couple of seasons.

Thanks Jeff.

Some great advice here. And yeah, while the great loop is the dream, I will definitely be exploring the Great Lakes as a warm up before attempting it. Plan now is about 4-5 years in our RV and let the prices return to “normal” and then buy a starter boat to learn on and do some shorter journeys. Then sell it for our eventual looper boat when the time comes .