Planning way ahead

[Trainerdude]

Originally Posted by Trimjb

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]

Originally Posted by 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

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

[Trainerdude]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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 .