Looping by the Numbers (So Far, v2)

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After more than 365 days on the Great Loop — including a “boomerang” journey from the Annapolis area to Key West and back — I take another look at the statistics and finances of this trip.

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May 6, 2024 marked a milestone: it was my 365th day on board Do It Now on the Great Loop. I was just returning to the boat from my second time away — this time, just a month while I went to Texas to see the eclipse and then home to prep my house for summer. (You can read about my crazy month of April in my personal blog soon; I’m hoping to write that post today.)

While most folks think they can finish the Loop in a year or less — and many folks actually do — some of us have lives that draw us away from cruising now and then. I’m one of those folks. I was not in a hurry to finish the Loop. I took two breaks totaling about seven months and then backtracked all the way down to Key West over the winter. So this is my second year on the loop and I’ve already done more than 6,000 miles. I expect to finish it up in August 2024 in Chicago.

I’ve been logging my travel days, overnight stops, and expenses along the way. I thought I’d take a moment to share the info with you. This data is as of May 17, 2024; I’m stuck in Cape May waiting for a weather window as I type this so I can project a few days out.

Cruising Solo vs with a Friend

I refer to myself as “a (mostly) solo Great Loop cruiser.” That’s because although I am mostly cruising on my own, I occasionally have a companion. Since my last update, my friend Jason spent quite a bit of time on board with me.

My spreadsheet shows some interesting data based on companions and I thought I’d present the full table of data based on companions so you can see how the costs varied from one to another. Keep in mind that this data is for all costs, even if some were shared.

Janet was with me at the start of my trip and we kept a relatively slow pace, fueling where it was convenient and staying at marinas most nights. We also waited out weather that we probably didn’t need to wait out. That’s fine — I was new to the boat and new to cruising at the time. Better safe than sorry.

Things changed when Alyse came on board. First of all, we were running far behind the “Looper pack,” leaving Alton after Thanksgiving. Many marinas were in winter mode, with water turned off and some facilities simply not available. We were in a bit of a hurry to catch up with other loopers. Later, we experienced a lot of rain and floodwaters often hurried us on our way. We were also hurried by the simple fact that Alyse was not enjoying herself at all and wanted to get off the boat. Unfortunately, she was unwilling to find her way home from any stop except one with a large airport nearby. So we hurried down to Mobile to get her off the boat.

This is probably my biggest regret of the loop: going home for most of November 2022, forcing me to rush through the inland waterways so late in the year. I think there was a lot there I could have enjoyed if I’d gotten there sooner in less of a hurry, either alone or with someone who was able to enjoy the cruise.

After a long time of solo cruising, Jason came on board for two stretches totaling nearly two months. Jason, who lives on a boat in Washington, DC, is a big fan of anchoring out. That’s great because it saves money and gets you closer to nature.

Cruising Numbers

With all that said, here are the cruising numbers broken down by companion.

Stat	Total	Solo	Janet	Alyse	Jason
Loop Days	377	277	22	22	56
Cruise Days	193	134	10	17	32
Cruise Hours	816	523	45	114	134
Cruise Hours/Day	4.2	3.9	4.5	6.7	4.2
Cruise Miles	6,498.4	4,270.3	321.3	830.4	1076.4
Avg Miles/Loop Day	17.2	15.4	14.6	37.7	19.2
Avg Miles/Cruise Day	33.7	31.9	32.1	48.8	33.6

Where We Stayed

I stayed at a combination of marinas, free docks — including a spot at the dock in my dad’s backyard — and anchorages. Here’s how that breaks down:

Stat	Total	Solo	Janet	Alyse	Jason
Marina/Mooring Ball	238	186	15	16	21
% of total	63%	67%	68%	73%	38%
Free Dock	73	50	6	2	15
% of total	19%	18%	27%	9%	27%
Anchorage	66	41	1	4	20
% of total	18%	15%	5%	18%	36%

It’s also interesting to see this data on a month-to-month basis because I spend a lot more time at anchorages now than I did when I first started the loop.

This free dock right off the ICW in Georgia wasn’t exactly free after I figured in the $450 it cost me to repair the screen I tore on a protruding bolt while fighting the current to get out. (That repair cost is not included in my numbers here.)

Expenses

This is where you get to see how much all this cost. I only track expenses for fuel, marinas, ground transportation, and other costs such as laundry or pumpout. My tracking of “other” isn’t very complete; does anyone really track the quarters they put into a coin-op washer? I don’t track the cost of groceries, dining out, or recreation since I’d have those expenses anyway, no matter where I was or what I was doing.

I have this broken down by companion too. (Heck, Excel does all the math.) The important number is the total, though. This ain’t a cheap trip. (And if the numbers across or down are off by $1 or $2, it’s rounding. I didn’t include the pennies in the actual cost numbers here.)

Stat	Total	Solo	Janet	Alyse	Jason
Fuel	$18,541	$11,738	$1,482	$2,121	$3,199
Marinas	$12,744	$10,277	$999	$693	$745
Ground Trans	$911	$601	$104	$67	$139
Other	$100	$75	$0	$0	$25
Total Expenses	$32,296	$22,692	$2,586	$2,881	$4,137
Tot Exp per Day	$86	$82	$118	$131	$74
Exp excl Fuel per Day	$36	$40	$50	$35	$17
Exp per Mile	$4.97	$5.31	$8.05	$3.47	$3.84

Think this is a lot of dough? So do I! But as time has gone on, I’ve discovered a lot of ways to save money on the loop. You can read about them in “Nine Tips for Saving Money while Cruising the Great Loop.”

Also keep in mind that I’m cruising in a single engine boat with a 32 foot LOA. If you have two engines and/or a bigger boat, you’re going to be paying a lot more than me for fuel and marina stops.

Fuel and Marina Analysis

The biggest expenses are fuel and marinas and I let Excel calculate analyses for that. We’ll start with fuel.

Stat	Total	Solo	Janet	Alyse	Jason
Fuel Cost	$18,541	$11,738	$1,482	$2,121	$3,199
Gallons	4,126	2,743	260	374	749
Avg Cost Per Gallon	$4.49	$4.28	$5.70	5.68	$4.27
Fuel Cost Per Mile	$2.85	$2.75	$4.61	$2.55	$2.97
Fuel Cost % of Total Exp	57%	52%	57%	74%	77%

And now let’s look at marinas and mooring balls.

Stat	Total	Solo	Janet	Alyse	Jason
Total Marina Costs	$12,744	$10,277	$999	$693	$745
Avg per Loop Night	$34	$38	$50	$35	$17
Avg per Marina Night	$54	$55	$67	$43	$37

One of my favorite marinas is also one of the cheapest: only $26/night for seniors at Carolina Beach State Park and I’m usually the only boat in there. Here’s the sunset looking out the narrow channel that most boats larger than mine can’t navigate at low tide.

The Bottom Line

While I haven’t tried as hard as I could to keep my costs down, I’m trying harder now that I’m retired. And I’m seeing a downward trend that doesn’t really show here. I think my final cost report will break things down by month or at least year.

In general, I think it’s reasonable to budget at least $100/day for all loop-specific expenses — excluding maintenance and repairs on your boat, which I haven’t even touched upon here. If you add that and the cost of meals and recreation, you’ll easily surpass $250/day, especially if you’re looping as part of a couple. (You both have to eat, no?)

So even if you’re doing it in a year, all expenses incurred along the great loop could easily reach $100,000 for a couple who complete the loop in 365 days. That’s something to think about before casting off.