This is the personal RU-vid channel for Maria Langer, mostly solo Great Loop cruiser, boat captain, commercial helicopter pilot, internet content creator, freelance writer, and jewelry artist.
This is where you'll find videos related to the things that are part of my life: my home, my travels, my animals, and my hobbies.
If you're looking for my helicopter videos, you can find them on the FlyingMAir RU-vid channel: ru-vid.com
Just found your channel while looking for some kind of fuel budget for the loop. I'm retired military so my mind makes me research everything until my brain explodes. Looking for my loop boat now. I'll be soloing it like you but have a bit more experience on boats. I had a 40' sailboat for a while. Single-handed that too. I really like how you do your videos with the duel screens and in real time. Your description of events and things you are looking out for is great. Great presentation skills Maria. Will be following your channel for more info. If your boat has a midship cleat you can set it up like a spring line. Makes leaving and arriving much easier.
Thanks so much. I know I haven't put anything out in a while but I'm on a Desolation Sound Cruise now and will be working on videos and blog posts all winter. Trying to enjoy the cruising now. Good luck finding your loop boat. Might I suggest a Ranger Tug R-29 or R-31? They are EXCELLENT single-handing boats.
My speed ranged from 6-7 knots up to 14-16 knots, depending on what water I was in and how much of a hurry I was in to put miles behind me. 8 knots is a pretty common speed.
I have been doing the LOOP with 15 RU-vid Cruisers. I just found your channel and I can tell you that NONE of THEM has given me the information about locking procedure. Here I should add that I am a deep sea sailor with 55,000 NM in the N Atlantic, 9,000 NM in the Labrador Sea and Arctic Ocean and 5,500 NM in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico....NOT many Locks there!
I like to explain how to do things. Other folks treat the Loop like it's a Marina to Marina, Docktails to Docktails experience. It was way more than that. I want people to learn from my videos. More to come; I promise!
No, I do not have one yet but I want to get one for next year's Alaska trip. I'm back in the Pacific Northwest now, but if I had one in the ICW, I would use it.
The capacities of the Ranger Tug are probably small. How often do you have to take on Fuel and Water? How often do you have to pump out the black water holding tank?
Small but not crazy small. I carry 145 gallons of diesel; I can get more than 300 nautical miles on that if I need to. The blackwater tank is 40 gallons and I've never filled it; depending on where I stop for the night and how active I am on shore, I can get 3+ weeks of use before pumping out. (Remember; it's normally just me on board and I make a conscious effort to minimize head use when possible.) Water is 40 gallons (I think) and again, it depends on use. I know how to conserve when I have to. I can make that last about a week, but I also consistently top off the tank every time I'm at a marina. My propane tanks, which are small, last about a month each with regular use.
Glad you enjoyed the video! I'm not a member of the Looper organization because I don't like its management and profit-driven policies. (It's not a "club," you know; its a for-profit company.) The burgee was given to me as a gift and I flew it to meet other loopers.
Beautiful music and awesome video, thank you for leaving the length of the video nice and long. I will be returning to this one many times i REALLY enjoy it. Fair winds and calm seas.
Thanks! I get off to a slow start; you might want to skip the first 5 minutes or so. But I think there's good info in the rest. You be the judge. More cruising videos to come!
Maria, really interesting watching this as I live in this area. Watching this in August, live in Great Bridge, and drive over those bridges every day. That sunken sailboat has been joined by another junked boat, and we are trying to get both hauled out and put in a dump. Do not know why the city allows this. Thanks for all of the great commentary, and safe travels!
Well done video. We like that you show the actual time between events and not the usual time lapse stuff. We are heading south in our 53' trawler in Sept and like seeing the pace of things.
Maria - I've just found your channel - you're flying, boating, house building, and touring adventures (not to mention the great videos you have made) make me feel like I have done nothing with my life - but very inspirational 👍
I honestly don't see a difference if I use them or not. I need to talk to some folks at the Ranger Rendezvous next month to make sure I'm using them correctly.
Hi Maria! I have just discovered your channel - great content! I have often wondered about locking single handed and have not seen many videos about it. Yours was informative and had great video. I plan to do the loop in the future - working towards it!! It’s so nice to a woman captain also. I am a new boater and keep an old 80s Mainship near Midland, Georgian Bay 🇨🇦 Would love to connect if you’re passing through there this summer on your loop. Best of luck and enjoy!
Thanks so much! I try to make my videos educational and skip the hype. I didn't stop at Midland, but I did go through Georgian Bay. I love the area -- best cruising of the Loop. I'll be back one day, maybe as soon as 2026. I'm near Mackinaw Island now, heading into Lake Michigan tomorrow.
Hi: Just found your RU-vid channel and found it entertain and informative. Thanks for your efforts. In one of your earlier videos you briefly discussed and displayed your daily cruising log. I like the looks of the layout and wondered if that was something you had created or is available online? I have the traditional log booklet form for my boat, but prefer the idea of the single sheet, front and back, for two days on a clipboard. Best wishes on your travels, IO look forward to viewing more of your videos. Thanks.
I actually created my own based on one I'd been using. I added fields I wanted and removed fields I didn't want or need. (Like second engine-related fields.) I actually blogged about it here; there's a link in the post for a PDF: mygreatloopadventure.com/2024/01/logging-your-cruising-days/
I think I might have covered that in a blog post or maybe the video narrative? The Dismal Swamp was closed for another week and I couldn't wait. Poor planning on my part.
You are cruising my neck of the woods in this video. I cross that channel you are running when I leave Tulls Bay, heading East to Corey’s Ditch, fishing for catfish & Strippers. I normally pass Day board 76. That sunken sailboat is currently re-floated. It’s a hug old boat that catches one’s eye for sure. I cross that bridge frequently. Nice video.
@@MariaLanger Excellent. Thanks for the reply. I think it would be fun to anchor up and be somewhat self sufficient...cook dinner, breakfast, etc. On generator power and leave anchorage on your schedule.
It's great, especially with the perfect anchorage -- and there are plenty out there. But if you do it more than just occasionally, you should consider solar power and conserving electricity so you don't have to listen to (or depend on) a generator. I have no generator on board and only 160 watts of solar power, but my four house batteries can last three nights at anchor. The batteries are recharged in full when I cruise 3+ hours, so it's possible to anchor all the time if I just cruise from one anchorage to another every 2-3 days. Doubling my solar or adding a wind generator would keep me powered longer.
I will do a video about that in the future. I have the ability to display my chart plotter on a mobile device and will do videos where I record my tracks and things like that. It's on my list. I just don't have the time lately to edit video! I'm still traveling.
We are enjoying your videos, particularly this one. We just arrived home after finishing a Chesapeake loop south through Dismal Swamp, staying at Lambs Marina then over to Coinjock and back to our home dock just off the Chesapeake Bay on our Ranger Tug R-31 Shutter Speed II.
I liked Lambs Marina. The showers were great. And that catering deli across the road was awesome. I sure wish I could have gone through the dismal swamp again.
Kind of. You can take your dog to the beach facing the anchorage. There are no signs. There are No Dog signs for the paths to the ocean beach. A lot of folks ignore them. No matter where you bring your dog to shore, PLEASE pick up its poop! Poop on trails is one of the reasons No Dogs signs go up.
Really enjoyed your video. I was on the ICW YEARS AGO - farther south - brings back memories. Like the camera angle but wish you could inset the nav displays. Hope to see more.
Thanks very much. I'm working on a way to feed one of my nav displays to my iPad (via Active Captain) and capture it there for inclusion in the video as an inset. I think some viewers might find it interesting. I don't expect to get that up and running until September, though. I'll be cruising in Puget Sound and perhaps Desolation Sound then.
Curious about your real world fuel burn. Is it pretty close to the performance data from Tanger website? 1600RPM 7.2kts 2.0 GPH? Thank you, love the videos! 🙏
Speed is highly dependent on current, so it's hard to nail down. I do occasionally log performance info. Here's some from the Erie Canal and Trent-Severn Waterway which have small, variable currents: 1510 RPM 6.4 kts 1.6 gph 1810 RPM 7.3 kts 2.7 gph 2010 RPM 7.9 kts 3.9 gph 2220 RPM 8.1 kts 5.3 gph 2400 RPM 8.6 kts 6.6 gph 3000 RPM 12 kts 11.4 gph Oddly, although I've been going slower lately, I haven't been recording performance data. So this is the best I can give you. Maybe it's something I could do a video on. I'd have to grab chartplotter data with my iPad. Let's see what I can do. My engine is a Volvo Penta D4 300. I think they're currently using the 320 engine, which I believe gets better performance. I hope this helps!
@@MariaLanger Thanks a ton, Maria! I like real world data as I’m doing research on a couple boats. I’m easily two years out unless I get a 30yr old boat and hope for the best. That’s not really my style, lol. I’m at a stand-off between an older Nordic 32, which usually comes with a Cummins 5.9, or the Ranger 29 or 31. 31 ideally. My gf is 6’1 so extra space is nice 😂. Those numbers are very close to the 320 stats which is nice to know, fuel is the biggest expense so I need to have good data. The Cummins at 3000rpm shows a 20GPH burn, way too much. Although the newer Nordics are now using the D4 240, they’re really expensive. Kinda out of reach for me. The Nordic hit my radar due to the larger beam and living quarters. Anyway, thank you kindly for your reply! It’s appreciated. I’m trying really hard to ‘do it now’ thanks to watching your videos. Stay well out there! 🙏
I’m with you. I don’t want an older boat either. I’d rather pay for repairs up front by buying a boat new enough that it shouldn’t need many. But every once in a while, a pampered boat comes up for sale. Worth keeping an eye out for. Good luck!
@@Shane_Little Hello Shane. In 2021 I ordered and took delivery of a new Ranger Tug R-31 CB after carefully looking at the Nordic 32. My thoughts on this are as follows. The Nordic 32 is a really great boat but I did not like the fact that you had to step down several steps to go from the cockpit to the salon. However, in complete objectivity, the Nordic has more interior space but the Ranger has more cockpit space including the port and starboard pull out seating which I thought would serve me better. We spend more time in the cockpit and on the bridge deck than we do inside although the master stateroom is quite comfortable.The Ranger is a faster boat which gets really good fuel economy when I run her at 8 knots although I can cruise comfortably at 15-16 knots all day. As far as 'bang for the buck' is concerned, the Ranger comes with more features that are standard equipment; solar panel, bow & stern thrusters with remote, (2) TVs, Fusion stereo, wine cooler, (2) Garmin electronics suites, etc. Don't get me wrong, I think the Nordic as well as the American Tug are fantastic boats, but subjectively for me, the Ranger R-31 Command Bridge suited me the best. I boat on Long Island Sound NY, coastal CT and RI. After three seasons of use, I absolutely love my Ranger Tug..!
No, there are no blowers on diesel engines -- at least not on mine. That's a gasoline engine thing and, to my knowledge, is very important to do before starting, especially after refueling. (Maybe someone else reading this with more first-hand knowledge could provide more info.) Interestingly, in the Trent-Severn Waterway, where I am now, all locks advise inboard gasoline engines to keep their blowers running in the lock, even though we're all supposed to lturn our engines off.
Thank you so much! These videos are super helpful. I really appreciate your talking through what you are doing. Not just a pretty view but a narration of what you are doing how you are doing it and why. I found and subscribed to your channel recently and am going back and watching your loop videos from the beginning.
I'm glad you find the videos helpful. I have so much footage I haven't edited yet; I suspect there will be lots of videos covering the earlier parts of my trip. For now, I'm trying to put out videos of my more recent travels. With the improved audio setup, I think they'll be a lot better.
