A reader asks whether it’s best to do the Loop all in one go or break it up into segments. Here’s the answer.
Occasionally, I’ll get emails (or YouTube video comments) from readers (or viewers) with specific questions about doing the Loop. In some cases, I’ve already answered their question in another post and I’ll just provide a link to that post. I honestly don’t have the time to spend writing up new responses when the answer already exists on my blog or on YouTube. But if the question has not been answered here, it becomes the fodder for new posts (or videos).
And that’s what I have today: a question from Brian:
I was just going to see if you did the trip year round or broke it up. I’m looking at doing it in a few years and was just curious on the things we should or should not do.
First of all, there is no right or wrong way to do the Loop. Everyone’s Loop is — and should be! — different.
But my quick response to Brian was:
I broke it up because I wasn’t retired yet and had to go home for the summer to work. Folks do it both ways. It really depends on how much you have going on at home and whether you want to be on a boat full time for a whole year.
In January, I started writing a series of blog posts about planning for a Great Loop trip. I got four posts into it and, with no real encouragement from readers, stopped there. Do you want me to finish it? To cover planning week by week and day by day? Including making last minute plan changes due to unforeseen circumstances?
Don’t be shy. Let me know in the comments to this post. If enough folks are interested, I’ll knock out the last three posts in the series this winter.
And this is actually addressed in the Planning series I started writing here in January 2024. Parts of the loop are seasonal so that really does set out limitations for timing. For example, the Erie Canal and most marinas on the Great Lakes are closed (or have severely limited amenities) in the winter. And many (but not mine) insurance policies do not cover being south of a certain latitude during hurricane season. Those two factors, when taken together, mean you’re probably going to spend about a year doing the loop. Or, at the very least, if you time it right and just motor on through without really taking time to enjoy the journey, nine to 10 months.
If you’ve read between the lines in this blog, you’ll know that I try hard to discourage folks from speeding through the Loop. It’s an amazing journey with so much to see and do along the way. Speeding through it minimizes the experience. If you’re not going to enjoy it, why do it?
But, as I alluded to in my response to Brian, how long it takes really depends on what you’ve got going on at home and how you can fit it into your cruising schedule. Want to spend the holidays with the kids and grandkids? Well, unless you get them on the boat with you, that means parking the boat somewhere and going home for a week or two or five. There’s nothing wrong with this at all.
I took three breaks from my Loop. The first was about a month after I started in Chicago. I went home from St Louis for 3 weeks to have Thanksgiving with friends and attend two art shows. (I’m a silversmith and make jewelry that I sell at art shows.) The second was a five month break when I went home for the summer of 2023 to work one last season before retirement. Because I took that summer break, I couldn’t do the north part of the Loop when I returned to the boat in early October. So I went south (again), doing what I call my “boomerang loop” with a side trip all the way down to Key West and another side trip up the St Johns River in Florida. I was back in the Chesapeake Bay area when I took the month of April 2024 off to see the eclipse in Texas and take care of some things at home. Then it was back to the boat to finish the Loop in August, 22 months after I’d started. I was on the boat for 16 of those 22 months.
I had the boat hauled out for the summer of 2022. Not only was it less costly than leaving it in a slip while I was gone, but I was able to keep the bottom clean and get some minor maintenance done while it was out of the water.
Some folks just get burned out being on a boat for long periods of time. It’s easy to miss the dishwasher and washing machine or being able to take a nice hot bath. I definitely get it. I’m home now and really enjoying the conveniences!
But if your primary goal after starting the Loop is to finish the Loop, you’ll probably want to skip or minimize the breaks.
All of this is valid. There is no right or wrong way to do the Loop.
What do you think? If you’re in the middle of your Loop or have finished it at least once, why not take a moment to share your thoughts on timing? Use the comments area below.
