Before making any plans, try to drive every day for a few weeks to see how you like 8 plus hours of driving for months. Way better off Marina jumping around every summer, and exploring that area for a season then move on... Remember its not a vacation its an accomplishment. Like climbing a mountain. Not that fun to do, but still rewarding only because of all the effort.
8 hours per day? Hardly. The AGLCA stats are that Loopers on average do about 5 hours per day. And do about 120 travel days. That is moving about one day out of three. 5 hours x 10 mph = 50 miles 50 miles x 120 days = 6000 miles - roughly the size of the loop. Walmart is the only store? Hardly. The loop route will involve lots of small towns with local stores. Some larger towns with local stores.
Fyi, Top speed on all motoring sailboats is 4 mph... I'm giving advice to try long hour driving prior to making plans, seems reasonable. No floatila groups offer 1 day travel out of 3. It's topical 3 days on 1 off for group packages. Most travel that way 90 percent. Thanks for the info on your boat's speed, and how long it would take you. Also, watch a few loopers on RU-vid as Walmart has closed almost all small town stores. Living on this route and River full time on 2 different boats has given me lots of real world experience that tells me your 6000 miles is not the travel distance, it's the route distance. Most see almost 50 percent higher travel distance logged.
@@ATAP...AnotherTime Sorry - the video shows a power boat, not a sailboat. Didn't realize you were thinking about sailboats, since nothing in the narration mentioned sailboats. Agree that motoring sailboats are different. Not going to be travelling at the same speed as motor cruisers. AGLCA data suggests sail boats are only a small percentage of loopers, I forget the number but something like 3% of loopers are on sailboats. Flotilla groups? Not sure what you are referring to. You travel on your own, at your own pace. There were some informal flotillas set up recently, just to organize the backlog of loopers caught behind closed locks. That was specific to the unusual problem of a group of closed locks, which created groups of loopers that all wanted to get through the locks quickly. AGLCA organized informal flotillas to coordinate movement of the crowd efficiently through the locks. Otherwise, people travel as they choose. No inherent reason for a sailboat (or any boat) to motor for 8 to 10 hours. That does not sound like fun. But the AGLCA data, is that on average, Loopers choose to travel about 5 hours per day, and on average typically travel about one day in three over a year or year and a half. Some people choose to do the Loop more quickly, some more slowly, some in small bites a few weeks or a month or two at a time, spread across years.
Good information bud thanks... My boat is the sailboat in the clip... The 2nd boat. My channel focuses on off-grid travel on a budget and most loopers that come through here or I meet, travel in groups setup by planning companies. 2 or 5 boats, together all spending every night arguing about what another boat did or didn't do. In fact I've only met 1 boat that was travelling alone. Everyone else is in a group of 2 or more boats. That's just my experience, 4 different marinas from Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi all documented in 383 videos over 7 years. Take a minute and watch an episode 👍🙂. I rebuilt a 1972 sailboat and built my own houseboat to live on.
Let me think run my boat only 8 hours 5 days a week. Or i can work 12 to 14 hours everyday at least 6 days a week. Yeah I'll take the Great Loop any day and yes thats a true vacation. And yes i have well over thousands of hours running a boat. So be postive and do it. Yep things break and life happens , thats how great memories are made.
Yeah I don't think working is better then boating and never said anything like that... but maybe you're right, folks should go on a 6000 mile trip without trying to drive their boat for 2 weeks., before hand. Because life's an adventure. Not very good advice, you should test your boat and yourself ahead of time as I was pointing out. Lots of places to drive a boat without going in a big circle... Thanks for the comment try watching a few episodes of me living 5 years boondocking on the river in my boats.
Your math is off. If you drive 8 hours a day every day, you would finish the loop in 3 months. Nobody does that. If you did it in a year, you would average about 16 hours per week. Break that up however you choose. Two. 8 hour days a week with a 5 days a week to enjoy. Or five days a week for 3+ hours a day. Breakfast-cruise-lunch-relax and explore. It’s a cool road trip on the water, not a race.
Fyi, Sailboat top speed is 4 knots... You average 3 knots 3x8 hours is 24 miles a day x 250 days = 6000 miles... However focus on the advice I was giving.. try your boat and multiple days driving prior to planning a trip. Most folks don't finish because they start to realize the grid of miles ruins the trip. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍
A 3 knot sailboat is the worst possible choice for the loop if you’re concerned about time behind the wheel. Trawlers, and many sailboats, easily manage 6 to 8 knots. If your boat only does 3 knots, then I can definitely understand you view on the loop.
@jp3925 Yeah, I used 8 gallons of gas last season. My channel is about travel on a budget. My diy shanty boat is way faster, more like 4.5 knots 😂. My boat is the 2nd one in the clip. I rebuilt it and moved aboard 5 years ago.1972 Islander , Ck out a full episode when you get a chance...
Umm, I live in a DIY shanty boat on the river, maybe see a marina 3 days a month.... I get it. Try any episode, you may like life on the water.👍 I recommend driving a boat several days in a row., to see if you like it. that's good advice bud.
I’ve done a decent amount of research so far into doing the loop. I immediately came to the conclusion that I want a faster boat so I spend less time “actually” traveling and more time relaxing. I am ok if fuel costs $20k for the trip. My time is worth money. My budget for the trip would be about $65k.
I'm glad somebody thinking ahead of time. Most people just say it's an adventure and take off without doing any planning... Five miles an hour versus fifteen miles an hour is a huge difference. Good luck on your trip.
8 hours? More like 5 hours, and you're not suck in a seat. Wake up, make some coffee, enjoy a few hours floating down the river, and be at a new port by 2pm to enjoy the resources and town. Not to mention the people you get to meet? People only yell at you on the roads.
My boat is the 2nd one in the clip... Top speed 4 knots, average speed 3 knots. 3x8hours is 25 miles per day, 250 days to complete the 6000. I know this as I've traveled a 3rd of it to explore. The advice I was giving is to make sure you like to drive a lot, and to make sure your boat can handle several days driving 8 hours a day. It's actually very good advice. However feel free to start the loop and never test your boat ahead of time. 😅👍. Ck out a full episode of me living on the water for 5 years. 👍. As far as yelling, all the looper groups spend every night arguing about what boat started late , didn't get to dinner on time and so on,,, like high school. Everyone of the groups I've docked next too.
The sail boat? I believe the better question or advice would be to make sure you have the right boat. Realistic you need a boat cruise speed of 8-9 knots and comfortable seating. Nice boat by the way, just not a typical looper for a reason, besides the air draft clearance.
@JayRSwan Yep the sailboat 1972 Islander So, It took me 8 gallons of gas to go from Illinois to mid Tennessee. Budget wise, It's the right boat to travel the world, After I rebuilt her. I retired at 32 and need to stay cheap with no concern about timeframe. With such different priorities we wouldn't pick the same boat for a trip. But lots of boats out there ....Season 0 boat rebuild, 1 RV life on public land, 2 diy Houseboat, 3 Great lakes to the Bahamas with 400plus videos. Ck some out 👍
@@ATAP...AnotherTime what a great life to live. My hats are off to you, sir. 3 knots is rough, haha 😄 but I get the affordability of it. P.S. I'm the guy they are always "talking" about hahaha I get going at 9-10am and play music at night. 🌙 cheers 🍻 have a good weekend
Makes sense. I want to do the river system in a shanty for 6months or so, get to the gulf and switch to a sailboat. Live and work in the gulf for a few years. Then continue if I'm still into it. I have a feeling ill never leave south Florida/bahamas 😂 Doing the loop as fast as possible seems wasteful. If I do complete it, It'll take years lol
You absolutely got it right doing any traveling down the river 8 hours a day and not staying anywhere. Just drive drive drive is not good idea. Basically, you're just paying for a lot of gas. I. Like the idea of moving a hundred or two hundred miles a year.. lol 😆
@ATAP...AnotherTime I like it! I've been doing vanlife and I cover way too many miles, miss so much stuff and pay too much in gas . Trying to slow my roll
I have done a third and realized I didn't like to rush past the world. So, my advice is from experience. However no need to take it.feel free to, Plan a loop trip without driving your boat a few days in a row. ..
The average sailboat goes 5 miles per hour at 8 hours a day. That's one hundred and fifty days of driving to get back to where you left. I never said. Don't go I just said. Make sure your boat is ready to go prior to trying it. 8 hours a day, a 150 days. That's a job. It's not an adventure. I suggested that a person tries to drive 8 hours a day for a few days to see if they actually like it. That seems like pretty good advice. But go ahead and you take the trip without trying your boat out. And without going for a test drive, you adventure you...
Read the other comments, 3 Knots x 8 hours is 250 days non stop to get to 6000. My boat is the second boat in the clip and travel at 3 knots. My diy Houseboat goes 4 knots . However the advice is to test yourself and your boat prior to making any plans.
