Planning way ahead

Hello,

New here. Just turned 50 and the wife and I are beginning to plan ahead for retirement. We are committed to doing the great loop, so I am beginning my research on what boat will make that journey with us. Currently spend summers in a 23’ travel trailer in a park, so I don’t know how big of a boat we will need.

Look forward to researching all I can and eventually make the plunge into our new boat…..preferably when the prices drop again….I realize the pandemic has inflated prices, so I am glad that when we go to buy, things should be a little more reasonable.

Dave

Welcome and good luck with your hunt for a boat. You will find a wealth of information here.

trihartsfield said:

Welcome and good luck with your hunt for a boat. You will find a wealth of information here.

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Thank you! I have already been reading for a few days and I know I have come to the right place. So many questions, but I am searching for the answers here as I am sure they all have been asked. ?

Welcome to the Forum!!!
Start with "Boat Search 101" at the top of the "General" forum.
Good luck.

Well, your mission is to complete the loop. That's a start. I'd suggest a mid 30ft to mid 40ft length boat. Will you be happy traveling at 5 mph (trawler hull) or do you want to go faster (semi-displacement)

What else?

OldDan1943 said:

Well, your mission is to complete the loop. That's a start. I'd suggest a mid 30ft to mid 40ft length boat. Will you be happy traveling at 5 mph (trawler hull) or do you want to go faster (semi-displacement)

What else?

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Yep, will be in no rush to go anywhere. Really want to take our time and enjoy the trip,m. Currently we have a 23ft RV we weekend in and although it’s small, it suits us fine. But I currently have no boating experience, so I am unsure if buying a starter boat to learn on would be best, then buy the loop boat closet to the trip when we know what we truely need and have some experience.

firehoser75 said:

Welcome to the Forum!!!
Start with "Boat Search 101" at the top of the "General" forum.
Good luck.

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Read all 12 pages! Sure is a lot of views and lots of great advice. Will continue reading all I can, and learning all I can before making the jump.

Charter a boat with a captain for a week then, you will have boating experience.
Study up on Rules for (safe) navigation. If you are headed north, generally speaking RED makers on your left. Dont rely on that.... read the charts and if you have display follow that too. If you are unsure, park the boat and study the display and charts.
IF you exit the ICW, and you cross the COLREG line, things are different. If you cross a river feeding the AICW, things are different and and and. LOL My point is, study the rules and chart when planning.
Boating can be fun but, at times it is not a "Road Trip". Take your time, pester your training captain.... An over night trip can be fun.... anchoring is necessary and mooring on a ball.... You can I (we all) can only learn from experience. Let's hope our mistakes are small ones.

First thing is to get some boating experience and training whether from friends or through organizations or then by renting and/or chartering. Also think of budget as boating is far more expensive than a 23' RV. If you charter, you can then research the cost to buy and own a similar boat to the one you were in. I'd recommend for you something in the 30-40' range. A site I'd also recommend is https://www.captainjohn.org/GreatLoopcruising.html . However, I'd largely dismiss his boat recommendations as he often tries to do the loop as cheaply as possible, not in the most enjoyable way.

Welcome aboard. Have fun looking.

OldDan1943 said:

Charter a boat with a captain for a week then, you will have boating experience.
Study up on Rules for (safe) navigation. If you are headed north, generally speaking RED makers on your left. Dont rely on that.... read the charts and if you have display follow that too. If you are unsure, park the boat and study the display and charts.
IF you exit the ICW, and you cross the COLREG line, things are different. If you cross a river feeding the AICW, things are different and and and. LOL My point is, study the rules and chart when planning.
Boating can be fun but, at times it is not a "Road Trip". Take your time, pester your training captain.... An over night trip can be fun.... anchoring is necessary and mooring on a ball.... You can I (we all) can only learn from experience. Let's hope our mistakes are small ones.

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Is chattering a more American thing? I am in Toronto Canada and it seems around here that just means some dude in a big boat will take you out for a few hours to drink with buddies.

And looking in the US, that seems to be a costly endeavour. Wouldn’t it make more sense to buy a smaller boat and use it for a few years learning to do some shorter trips around us…taking classes and maybe hiring a captain for the first bit, then sell it and buy the loop boat?

BandB said:

First thing is to get some boating experience and training whether from friends or through organizations or then by renting and/or chartering. Also think of budget as boating is far more expensive than a 23' RV. If you charter, you can then research the cost to buy and own a similar boat to the one you were in. I'd recommend for you something in the 30-40' range. A site I'd also recommend is https://www.captainjohn.org/GreatLoopcruising.html . However, I'd largely dismiss his boat recommendations as he often tries to do the loop as cheaply as possible, not in the most enjoyable way.

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Oh I am sure the costs are greater for sure . Only pay my seasonal site costs and maintenance is much easier. I was more thinking size and that I didn’t really feel uncomfortable here so I don’t think I need a 44’ boat to be happy.

Will check out the site you recommended.

I am reading a lot about chartering but from what I can see that is approx $10k US a week and that just doesn’t seem worth it to me.

A TRAINING Captain does just that, TRAIN you and maybe one other person. He/she is not your drinking buddy. For training, once on the water, the captain may stand at your left shoulder to react if you are in trouble.
Start with a smaller boat, sure. IF for no other reason than to see if you actually enjoy the experience. That is why we suggest you charter a boat.
RVing and boating are not the same other than you cant take much stuff with you. RVing, if it breaks down, finding help is much easier than breaking down a mile or more off shore. If you break down in a well marked waterway, ie. the ICW, you want to get you and your crew out of harms way while waiting for help. Weather turns sour when out in the water away from shore, is not the same as bad weather while RVing.

What one might consider "little wake" has forgotten that wake builds as it move away from your boat AND you are liable for any and all damage to boats tied to docks and to boats underway and medical expenses.
If you elect to slow down when seeing an approaching, your wake may very well rock them dangerously. Your wake may do damage after you are gone.
The ICW is no place to go fast.

Trainerdude said:

Is chattering a more American thing? I am in Toronto Canada and it seems around here that just means some dude in a big boat will take you out for a few hours to drink with buddies.

And looking in the US, that seems to be a costly endeavour. Wouldn’t it make more sense to buy a smaller boat and use it for a few years learning to do some shorter trips around us…taking classes and maybe hiring a captain for the first bit, then sell it and buy the loop boat?

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We keep going through this discussion, no fault of yours, but do you really want to buy a boat, any boat, without knowing whether you and your spouse even like boating? Have you ever spent a week on a boat? The two of you? I'm not saying chartering is the only answer but somehow you need to find out if you even enjoy boating. What about the first waves tossing you around, will you get deathly seasick? Find a friend to go boating with or something. My first boating was as a child and I loved it. However, I've known of many adults who bought nice new boats without the problems of an older cheap boat but realized quickly they'd rather be on land. You know you could do the loop in an RV at a small percentage of the cost, not subject to sitting due to bad seas days, covering the ground much faster at 50 mph vs. 10.

Not at all wanting to discourage you. Just don't know how one with zero boating experience decides a 9000 mile trip on the water is perfect for them. My imagination and boating dreams were fed by previous experiences. Those fed by fantasies may be disappointed qucikly. I hope you're not.

BandB said:

We keep going through this discussion, no fault of yours, but do you really want to buy a boat, any boat, without knowing whether you and your spouse even like boating? Have you ever spent a week on a boat? The two of you? I'm not saying chartering is the only answer but somehow you need to find out if you even enjoy boating. What about the first waves tossing you around, will you get deathly seasick? Find a friend to go boating with or something. My first boating was as a child and I loved it. However, I've known of many adults who bought nice new boats without the problems of an older cheap boat but realized quickly they'd rather be on land. You know you could do the loop in an RV at a small percentage of the cost, not subject to sitting due to bad seas days, covering the ground much faster at 50 mph vs. 10.



Not at all wanting to discourage you. Just don't know how one with zero boating experience decides a 9000 mile trip on the water is perfect for them. My imagination and boating dreams were fed by previous experiences. Those fed by fantasies may be disappointed qucikly. I hope you're not.

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Well, I guess I should say that although I haven’t driven a boat, I have been on plenty during my younger days as my friends had them, so I grew up around them . My one uncle ran a chartered fishing business and my other uncle owned a marina.

Now, I realize that being in an RV is different than a boat and I realize I could of course do this in an RV, but it’s a different experience.

This statement is what I really find odd “Just don't know how one with zero boating experience decides a 9000 mile trip on the water is perfect for them.”

It’s an adventure….I don’t retire for 15 years and have a hell of a lot of time to learn if I do or don’t like boating. Seems to me, if you don’t after buying a smaller boat, you sell it and move on. But the idea of not dreaming about an adventure when I retire seems silly to me. Why not think about the next step, and how can one ever know truly if they like something if they don’t just go do it? And sure I can charter a boat, but what does that really do? Teach me how to do a few things, I have friends that can show me that….it might help me narrow down a boat, but again is a week enough time?

I appreciate the welcome and I will continue to read here and learn all I can, but I think it’s just a matter of going for it and seeing for myself.

Buying a smaller boat and getting experience with it is a great way to go. After you are confident, rent a boat on the Rideau for a week and see how you both like the cruising life.

Trainerdude said:

Is chattering a more American thing? I am in Toronto Canada and it seems around here that just means some dude in a big boat will take you out for a few hours to drink with buddies.

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There is a fairly large charter operator in Gore Bay. Mostly sailboats but a couple of power. https://www.cycnorth.com/

But yeah, not much north of the border and east of the Rockies.

By the time you buy a "smaller" boat and then resell it to get the "bigger" boat, that $10K week long charter with a a day or two with an experienced captain will look like chump change. You may well indeed enjoy the first boat and learn good stuff, but you will not recoup the costs associated with buying and then reselling a boat probably at some price reduction to boot.

Jeff F said:

There is a fairly large charter operator in Gore Bay. Mostly sailboats but a couple of power. https://www.cycnorth.com/

But yeah, not much north of the border and east of the Rockies.

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Thanks. That seems a lot better for pricing and something we may consider when looking at a loop boat as the GB32 seems like it could be a good fit.

alormaria2 said:

Buying a smaller boat and getting experience with it is a great way to go. After you are confident, rent a boat on the Rideau for a week and see how you both like the cruising life.

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Thanks! I think I am definitely leaning that direction. In the end, you don’t know till you try it.

Oh yea, a GB, NOT. You do not want to devote your time to the external teak. Been there, done that with a N46 and its huge rail cap. My recommendation is find a boat with little or no external teak and that definitely includes teak decks.

Side note: learn the Rules for Navigation. You may be able to maneuver your boat but, you want to do it in a safe manner.

The Loop is only 6,000 miles

Honestly, any boat that I'd want to take cruising for a week on the great lakes would do the loop just fine. Solve for your local needs, then when you're ready just go.

I'm a fan of learning by doing, but check insurance before you get too serious. More and more that's dictating how much people with no experience are able to just jump into trawler ownership. That and an aging fleet. Many of the boats and brands fondly discussed here are well past mid-life. It's hard to predict whether good used boats will be cheaper in the future, but for sure they're going to be scarcer.

rgano said:

By the time you buy a "smaller" boat and then resell it to get the "bigger" boat, that $10K week long charter with a a day or two with an experienced captain will look like chump change. You may well indeed enjoy the first boat and learn good stuff, but you will not recoup the costs associated with buying and then reselling a boat probably at some price reduction to boot.

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Let’s say I buy a boat for 10k and give it away 2 years later and spend another 10k maintenance costs. That’s 2 weeks of charters vs 2 years of owning. Maybe I am missing something, but my friend has a 27ft and hasn’t spent that much in 5 years.

OldDan1943 said:

Oh yea, a GB, NOT. You do not want to devote your time to the external teak. Been there, done that with a N46 and its huge rail cap. My recommendation is find a boat with little or no external teak and that definitely includes teak decks.

Side note: learn the Rules for Navigation. You may be able to maneuver your boat but, you want to do it in a safe manner.

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Not sold on a GB, just like the layout and size when looking at them. I don’t want a boat that has a lot of teak. Don’t have time or patience for that.

Jeff F said:

The Loop is only 6,000 miles

Honestly, any boat that I'd want to take cruising for a week on the great lakes would do the loop just fine. Solve for your local needs, then when you're ready just go.

I'm a fan of learning by doing, but check insurance before you get too serious. More and more that's dictating how much people with no experience are able to just jump into trawler ownership. That and an aging fleet. Many of the boats and brands fondly discussed here are well past mid-life. It's hard to predict whether good used boats will be cheaper in the future, but for sure they're going to be scarcer.

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Thanks Jeff. It’s a good point. Planning on selling our RV in 5 years and will most likely begin boat ownership at that point. Hoping the bubble has Burst with the covid price increase by then and will certainly look into insurance along the way.

Trainerdude said:

Let’s say I buy a boat for 10k and give it away 2 years later and spend another 10k maintenance costs. That’s 2 weeks of charters vs 2 years of owning. Maybe I am missing something, but my friend has a 27ft and hasn’t spent that much in 5 years.

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Have you priced summer and winter storage in Toronto? If you're not a yacht club member expect to pay $250/ft per year. The ongoing costs are not trivial.

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.
He does pay attention to the weather windows.

Jeff F said:

Have you priced summer and winter storage in Toronto? If you're not a yacht club member expect to pay $250/ft per year. The ongoing costs are not trivial.

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Yeah, I have looked into it a lot as when I got the RV this summer we had gone back and forth about it vs a boat at that time. In the end we were given a very nice RV from a family member so it won out for now. Marina costs were close to what we pay for our seasonal site, but certainly less overall as we don’t have fuel and maintenance costs .

Done my homework on the storage costs for sure.

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.