Tbranton01
New member
Has anyone considered, planned, or done the Great Loop with a C-Dory. I would be interested in hearing about your experience. Thanks, Tom
The Great Loop
- Thread starter Tbranton01
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It's been done a couple of times in a 25'.
These guys from Australia did in 2016 or so.
https://balakera.com/trip-plan/
These are C-Brats: https://daydreamsloop.blogspot.com/
I've been thinking about doing it in my 22', but so far life has gotten in the way. Hope to do it eventually though.
These guys from Australia did in 2016 or so.
https://balakera.com/trip-plan/
These are C-Brats: https://daydreamsloop.blogspot.com/
I've been thinking about doing it in my 22', but so far life has gotten in the way. Hope to do it eventually though.
smckean (Tosca)
New member
journey on
New member
We did most of the Great Loop in a 36' sailboat. During our trip, we saw 2 ea C-Dory's, a 22' and a 25'. They were both single handing.
Except for our side trip to the Bahamas, a C-Dory 25 is a great boat to take on the Great Loop. First, depending on where one lives, one can trailer it to various points and do the Loop over several seasons. That's a big plus because there's so much to see on the Loop, from Mobile, around Florida, up the coast to NY and through the Eire canal and the Great Lakes.
Also the C-Dory has a low draft, can make speeds of 20 knts, if need be and is (relatively) small. The major disadvantage is living in 25'. If one can do that for 3 mos and break the trip in segments, it should be easy.
We have spent several summers on a 25 and found it acceptable.
On a C-Dory, the important thing is the remember why you bought the C-Dory in the first place: no size envy and trailerable.
Boris
Except for our side trip to the Bahamas, a C-Dory 25 is a great boat to take on the Great Loop. First, depending on where one lives, one can trailer it to various points and do the Loop over several seasons. That's a big plus because there's so much to see on the Loop, from Mobile, around Florida, up the coast to NY and through the Eire canal and the Great Lakes.
Also the C-Dory has a low draft, can make speeds of 20 knts, if need be and is (relatively) small. The major disadvantage is living in 25'. If one can do that for 3 mos and break the trip in segments, it should be easy.
We have spent several summers on a 25 and found it acceptable.
On a C-Dory, the important thing is the remember why you bought the C-Dory in the first place: no size envy and trailerable.
Boris
gulfcoast john
New member
Tbranton01,
Lots of C-Dories and other trailer boats have completed the Great Loop. One frequent AGLCA poster did the 6,000 miles in a 20 foot center console, staying at hotels every night. More than one kayak has done it, but without air conditioning. We don’t think it should be done without air conditioning.
The crew of Salty, a CD22, has completed the Loop at least five times and gave a memorable talk last year at the 2021 Hontoon Hoot about their adventures. He admitted that for various reasons some of his loops would be disqualified by the American Great Loop Cruisers Assn rules, but who cares? It’s all on the honor system...members fly their white ‘in progress’ vs gold ‘Loop completed’ vs platinum ‘multiple Loops completed’ burgee.
Here’s an old thread from 2014:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=20968
To see Grand Adventures posts, at the top of the C-Brats site click on Forums then Grand Adventures under The Pub heading. Here’s our latest Loop segment on that site:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=29899
We attended the last AGLCA Norfolk convention, where the Exec Dir, Kim Russo, stated that a number of PWC’s have gone gold. A member PWC driver started there, but a week later posted that he had been thrown off in a rough patch of the Chesapeake, broke a few ribs and would try again next year. He too did not have air conditioning. Maybe it’s an over-65 thing.
Although we are AGLCA Life members, we’d rather trailer to and cruise the best segments one-way twice or thrice rather than cruise the boring segments once. On the route, our white AGLCA burgee gets more attention and ‘docktails’ invitations from fellow Loopers than having a puppy on board. (And a TC255 gets lots of attention at any marina, any gas station, and from any guy driving a truck). Few segments are out of sight of land. Of course, some segments require a weather window, including the Gulf Big Bend, much of the Chesapeake, Lake Ontario, all the Great Lakes etc.
We scouted out the Trent Severn waterway, Georgian Bay small craft passage by car, hiking and biking in 2019 and plan to trailer up next summer to to circle the Bay and North Passage, hop over to Mackinac if the US is open and cruise the western half of the Trent Severn going east one-way to Rice Lake (all the Loopers are will be moving west, so we’ll face empty locks).
We think cruising the lower Mississippi, with its heavy industry, giant tows, submerged trees, bruising current etc would be less fun than your average root canal.
Instead, trailer the boat to cruise the San Juans, Inside Passage of British Columbia, Lake Powell, Yellowstone, Isle Royale upper Lake Superior, Sea of Cortez, etc etc. Average Loopers in their average 40 foot boat can’t do any of that. The Great Loop is, in many ways, a contrived way to allow ‘bucket list’ seniors to have a one and done Adventure, because they’ve never been boating before (esp now with COVID) then sell the boat to another one. We’re on our 13th trailer boat after 40 years.
Much of the Loop (especially the canals with locks) feels to us like a caravan of RV’ers spaced at three boat lengths, going the max 6.2 MPH to the next free town wall by 2PM before it fills up. However, they are the nicest folks and will re-tie off and reposition the boats to squeeze in someone new. Then it’s off to Wegmann’s to find OMG! They’re out of Grey Poupon and fresh salmon with crabmeat dressing again!
It’s pretty hilarious compared to the logistical, navigation, administrative, and weather challenges faced down and conquered by the St Louis crew on Inspiration on their Alaska expedition on a CD25. Now THAT’s impressive! We plan to do almost the same thing next year, except on a 12 day, 65 foot cruise boat with gourmet meals that only takes three other couples. It will be considerably more expensive, but we’ll see if we like the area on this ‘learn to cruise the Inside Passage’ trip.
If you have an interest in the Great Loop, consider joining for a year ($65) and attending the Jan 23-25 Winter Rendezvous in Ft Myers (details will be announced on the site 90 days prior). We may attend and put Cat O’ Mine on the Boat Crawl list as a trailer boat option.
https://greatloop.org/
It’s a lot of fun, and the weather will definitely be warmer than in MA. We’ll be staying on the boat at the FMB Pink Shell Marina Resort again this year until the Hontoon Hoot in March. You have no idea how miserably cold it is in Pensacola in February!
Although long-winded as is my nature, hope this is helpful as you search.
Best of Luck,
John
Lots of C-Dories and other trailer boats have completed the Great Loop. One frequent AGLCA poster did the 6,000 miles in a 20 foot center console, staying at hotels every night. More than one kayak has done it, but without air conditioning. We don’t think it should be done without air conditioning.
The crew of Salty, a CD22, has completed the Loop at least five times and gave a memorable talk last year at the 2021 Hontoon Hoot about their adventures. He admitted that for various reasons some of his loops would be disqualified by the American Great Loop Cruisers Assn rules, but who cares? It’s all on the honor system...members fly their white ‘in progress’ vs gold ‘Loop completed’ vs platinum ‘multiple Loops completed’ burgee.
Here’s an old thread from 2014:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=20968
To see Grand Adventures posts, at the top of the C-Brats site click on Forums then Grand Adventures under The Pub heading. Here’s our latest Loop segment on that site:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=29899
We attended the last AGLCA Norfolk convention, where the Exec Dir, Kim Russo, stated that a number of PWC’s have gone gold. A member PWC driver started there, but a week later posted that he had been thrown off in a rough patch of the Chesapeake, broke a few ribs and would try again next year. He too did not have air conditioning. Maybe it’s an over-65 thing.
Although we are AGLCA Life members, we’d rather trailer to and cruise the best segments one-way twice or thrice rather than cruise the boring segments once. On the route, our white AGLCA burgee gets more attention and ‘docktails’ invitations from fellow Loopers than having a puppy on board. (And a TC255 gets lots of attention at any marina, any gas station, and from any guy driving a truck). Few segments are out of sight of land. Of course, some segments require a weather window, including the Gulf Big Bend, much of the Chesapeake, Lake Ontario, all the Great Lakes etc.
We scouted out the Trent Severn waterway, Georgian Bay small craft passage by car, hiking and biking in 2019 and plan to trailer up next summer to to circle the Bay and North Passage, hop over to Mackinac if the US is open and cruise the western half of the Trent Severn going east one-way to Rice Lake (all the Loopers are will be moving west, so we’ll face empty locks).
We think cruising the lower Mississippi, with its heavy industry, giant tows, submerged trees, bruising current etc would be less fun than your average root canal.
Instead, trailer the boat to cruise the San Juans, Inside Passage of British Columbia, Lake Powell, Yellowstone, Isle Royale upper Lake Superior, Sea of Cortez, etc etc. Average Loopers in their average 40 foot boat can’t do any of that. The Great Loop is, in many ways, a contrived way to allow ‘bucket list’ seniors to have a one and done Adventure, because they’ve never been boating before (esp now with COVID) then sell the boat to another one. We’re on our 13th trailer boat after 40 years.
Much of the Loop (especially the canals with locks) feels to us like a caravan of RV’ers spaced at three boat lengths, going the max 6.2 MPH to the next free town wall by 2PM before it fills up. However, they are the nicest folks and will re-tie off and reposition the boats to squeeze in someone new. Then it’s off to Wegmann’s to find OMG! They’re out of Grey Poupon and fresh salmon with crabmeat dressing again!
It’s pretty hilarious compared to the logistical, navigation, administrative, and weather challenges faced down and conquered by the St Louis crew on Inspiration on their Alaska expedition on a CD25. Now THAT’s impressive! We plan to do almost the same thing next year, except on a 12 day, 65 foot cruise boat with gourmet meals that only takes three other couples. It will be considerably more expensive, but we’ll see if we like the area on this ‘learn to cruise the Inside Passage’ trip.
If you have an interest in the Great Loop, consider joining for a year ($65) and attending the Jan 23-25 Winter Rendezvous in Ft Myers (details will be announced on the site 90 days prior). We may attend and put Cat O’ Mine on the Boat Crawl list as a trailer boat option.
https://greatloop.org/
It’s a lot of fun, and the weather will definitely be warmer than in MA. We’ll be staying on the boat at the FMB Pink Shell Marina Resort again this year until the Hontoon Hoot in March. You have no idea how miserably cold it is in Pensacola in February!
Although long-winded as is my nature, hope this is helpful as you search.
Best of Luck,
John