Honeymoon on the Loop

Hello!

We're new here. Just found out about the Loop and we decided we had to do it. We have kids still in school so we figure we have to do a little bit of it at a time. Our current plan is to buy a 35 - 40' trawler and start our adventure wherever she is. We're getting married in July and we thought we'd do our honeymoon on the Loop for a week. Then we'd find a nice marina to dock it, fly home and when we get another free week fly back out and cruise for another week and repeat.

We're in Florida, North Carolina and Maryland this weekend looking at what's on the market now. My question is does anyone have any opinion on our current thinking of cruise for a week, dock for a few months, then fly home and repeat?

It can be done that way, probable more costly. We meet a couple that had three years of looping, started in Maryland and had made it to Lake Michigan area. There plan was to see everything in each area until they ran out of warm weather, haulout and store the boat till spring. There plan was five years to do all of the loop.

Wifey B: Love the general concept of buying the boat, cruising, flying home and back. However,

Not one week at a time. You'll be spending as much time almost getting to it as using it. So, wouldn't think loop initially, but...

Try to get more time and fine to start it toward Cincinnati from wherever it is. But loop is going to involve winter storage along the way, just as Cincinnati would. I'd want it eventually in Cincinnati and then you could use it all summer, what little bit of summer you get there. You're on a great river and I'd enjoy it for a few years. Maybe an early summer trip to the TN River or maybe the last week of summer so you could use it there off season. Maybe the earlier trip to Pittsburgh. If you had it somewhere like Knoxville for a while, fairly easy to get to it. Perhaps even Chattanooga. Part depends on how you choose to commute. I love Pickwick and it's not as cold, but not decent to fly in and out of.

I'd start looking at the calendar and mapping out possible use and then figure out what makes the most sense.

If you can use it on weekends for summer months, then I'd want it at home. If your only use is weeks here and there, then I'd want it somewhere warm and easy to get to. That may mean a drive or if flying look at places with great direct flights from Cincinnati. Might surprise you how difficult to get some places and how easy to get to others.

I'd study it more and not just say Loop without really seeing what makes the most sense for you. The more boating the better and that may not be possible looping.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard and best wishes for your upcoming nuptials. MY advice...for a honeymoon? Buy the boat, park it and...





You're going to have years of cruising but only ONE honeymoon. 'Nuf said.

My honeymoons were backpack trips, after substantial experience backpacking.

Wouldn't do a honeymoon boat trip unless one has substantial experience "trawlering."

Our longest stay on the boat so far has been one week,and we’ve owned our boat for 6 years. IMHO in a weeks time you are really just starting to get in the groove, kinda like “ok this is what we do now” then it’s over till you come back and start it all over again. Packing and unpacking the boat is the part of our kind of boating that I don’t enjoy.

Wifey B: Ours was Vegas, but then so was our wedding.

BandB said:

Wifey B: Ours was Vegas, but then so was our wedding.

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With Elvis?

L

Lou_tribal said:

With Elvis?

L

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Wifey B: No Elvis and actually beautiful and inexpensive, service as we planned it and a grand total of three guests with us. We sang to each other and together, wrote our own vows, and it was all personal and special, not a show or entertaining hundreds. Definitely not like any other wedding in history, but then that's all I'm going to say.

A boater friend is going to list his beautiful 4207 Carver Motor Yacht for sale at a great price. I know the boat and it is well equipped, and has been kept in fresh water under cover on the Tenn River. The boat is a Loop veteran and it is ready to make the trip again. Even has the dingy and outboard. Sunho this might be worth a look.

Give me a shout I'll give you the contact info. Ray 850 896 6328

Ray said:

A boater friend is going to list his beautiful 4207 Carver Motor Yacht for sale at a great price. I know the boat and it is well equipped, and has been kept in fresh water under cover on the Tenn River. The boat is a Loop veteran and it is ready to make the trip again. Even has the dingy and outboard. Sunho this might be worth a look.

Give me a shout I'll give you the contact info. Ray 850 896 6328

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That boat would not be too far from Cincinnati either. Just up to the Ohio and up the Ohio to Cincinnati. Meanwhile on the TN or Cumberland River a convenient drive from Cincinnati. Not saying that's the boat he should go for, but it's the type situation that could be ideal.

For a non-boating couple to successfully plan, pack for, and execute an enjoyable week aboard a new to them boat, would be major accomplishment. To do it while planning a wedding, would be nothing short of a miracle.

You could always charter a boat for your honeymoon and consider it "research" into what features you'll want in your own boat. Let the charter company take care of provisions, ensure the boat is ready, and help with route planning, and perhaps a captain for a few days. Much less stressful I would think.

Try , before you buy,


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Benthic2 said:

For a non-boating couple to successfully plan, pack for, and execute an enjoyable week aboard a new to them boat, would be major accomplishment. To do it while planning a wedding, would be nothing short of a miracle.

You could always charter a boat for your honeymoon and consider it "research" into what features you'll want in your own boat. Let the charter company take care of provisions, ensure the boat is ready, and help with route planning, and perhaps a captain for a few days. Much less stressful I would think.

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Best advice I've seen in this thread!!!
Just buying the right boat is a large undertaking best done w/o a schedule looming. A deadline has the potential to create lots of problems even for the experienced and seasoned boaters... 'nuff said.
A bare boat charter with a short period of instruction could be a great intro and you get to chose an enjoyable location vs where ever a boat for sale is located.
I would also do some careful planning & budgeting for looping as you described. Storing a boat at transient docking rates for an extended time can add up $ quickly.
After the honeymoon charter decide if you like boating and what style your schedule and budget allows.
For a week at a time chartering in different location or w different boats could be very cost effective and with much reduced work and stress.

The previous owner did this with my boat but not a week at a time. There's a journal with the boat that i'd have to check but I'd say they went 3 weeks per trip with 6 month breaks each time and it took them about a year and a half.

Realistically this is the only way I could do such a trip @ 35 years old.

What kind of boat/budget are you looking at?

Honeymoon Trawler

Hello. Great thoughts from everyone. Thank you! I should have qualified ourselves in the prior post. First, we're not new to boating, just new to Looping. We have 7 boats altogether between us. We boat on Norris Lake and have a 70' Monticello houseboat on the Ohio River. Secondly, the wedding is already planned so that's not a big deal. Thirdly we feel like we have "some" boating experience to imagine what we need to ask to be prepared. But having big fails and bumping into mistakes is part of what makes an adventure right? One mistake we don't want to make is in buying the boat. Reading a lot about engines and I'd like to know what you all think about Volvo engines. We're looking at a 42' Heritage East Aft w/ twin Volvos TAMD 41A. Any opinions on that? Thanks!

I personally would not have Volvos. Some people love them but I had a Pair in a previous boat. Parts are very expensive and take forever to get them.

How much? Could you pm with info?

Greetings,
Mr. S. Never had Volvos but I'm gun shy regarding that particular brand.

No direct experience but a friend I've cruised w has a Tiara w twin volvos & ips... I don't think I would ever want either or the combo. They have had more than their share of problems.
Others w direct experience may have a different opinion.

Bacchus said:

No direct experience but a friend I've cruised w has a Tiara w twin volvos & ips... I don't think I would ever want either or the combo. They have had more than their share of problems.
Others w direct experience may have a different opinion.

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I think most owners have the same experience as your friend...

After experience with 3 Volvos I'd not have them again. Expensive and hard to get parts and in my part of the world, (FL), very few good dealers.

Also, I could make an argument against the 42' Heritage East Aft cabin. No cockpit, which for a lot of folks is a must in dealing with docking, locking and messing with the dinghy.

We have a 1987 Volvo TMD 31A 100HP engine, mechanic charges for valve adjustment, injector tests, cooler cleaning and test charges no more than any other size engine. I buy turbo air and crankcase filters from NAPA. From my mechanic the engine has cylinder sleeves and can be rebuilt and if the turbo goes bad can be bypassed. Making the engine NA would reduce the HP to 50 but the boat design only needs 35HP. I would get a good diesel mechanics opinion on that Boats Volvo engine before deciding to buy.

Thank you all. I love this forum!

We purchased our 1982 41' President DC on Lake Michigan and piloted it home on its own bottom. Traveling 8 kts and driving 6 hrs a day it took us 5 weeks to get home to CT. BTW, 8 kts is very slow. We topped off the fuel once per week

We should have taken our time, it is an awesome journey, take your time on the water, stop frequently and enjoy the beautiful sites, quaint towns etc..... Of course there will be stretches of the trip that are uneventful, like the open water, but those days pass.
Our Trawler has twin 120 Lehmans, I would highly recommend them. We have over 3500 hrs and almost every spare part on board. Be sure to investigate AGLC's

How many miles was MI to CT? Any opinions on Perkins? Looking at a Present Yacht w/ twin Perkins 135. Wish there was available boat with Lehmans. They get best reviews. We're members of AGLCA and Trawlers & Trawlering: Voyaging, cruising and living aboard under power. And I read CaptainJohn.com Anything else you'd recommend?

HiDHo said:

We have a 1987 Volvo TMD 31A 100HP engine, mechanic charges for valve adjustment, injector tests, cooler cleaning and test charges no more than any other size engine. I buy turbo air and crankcase filters from NAPA. From my mechanic the engine has cylinder sleeves and can be rebuilt and if the turbo goes bad can be bypassed. Making the engine NA would reduce the HP to 50 but the boat design only needs 35HP. I would get a good diesel mechanics opinion on that Boats Volvo engine before deciding to buy.

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For all those opposed to Volvo, I have to comment that they're increasing their market share significantly. They've now got near total domination of the Pod market with IPS and with the de-emphasis of Zeus by Brunswick and Sea Ray, specifically. But they're also adding builders as users of all their products. Beneteau and Grand Banks are two examples. In Europe, they're much more highly regarded than in the US.

I believe the service cost gap in the US is narrowing and will continue to do so. Experienced mechanics is still a question in many areas. However, it wasn't long ago MAN was widely criticized by CAT fans in the US for cost of service and there is no distinguishable different today.

I'm not saying someone in the US should run out today and buy Volvo. However, I'm saying they will feel better about doing so in the next few years.

BandB said:

For all those opposed to Volvo, I have to comment that they're increasing their market share significantly. They've now got near total domination of the Pod market with IPS and with the de-emphasis of Zeus by Brunswick and Sea Ray, specifically. But they're also adding builders as users of all their products. Beneteau and Grand Banks are two examples. In Europe, they're much more highly regarded than in the US.

I believe the service cost gap in the US is narrowing and will continue to do so. Experienced mechanics is still a question in many areas. However, it wasn't long ago MAN was widely criticized by CAT fans in the US for cost of service and there is no distinguishable different today.

I'm not saying someone in the US should run out today and buy Volvo. However, I'm saying they will feel better about doing so in the next few years.

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They still lack support on legacy engines more than most engine builders.

I can't think of anything harder than to buy a new-to-you cruising boat and immediately try to shove off for a week long pleasure cruise. There are a lot of unknowns. At least with a charter, everything is reasonably working and cared for.
My vote would be to plan a local cruise for the honeymoon week.

I agree with High Wire.. Would be hard to be fixing plugged heads and overheating problems on your honeymoon..