And now for something a little different..Hire boat possibilities.

[Tiger_DFT]

Hi all,


My wife and I intend to commence a Great Loop adventure this year.

It has been suggested to me that I try to private hire a suitable vessel instead of my original idea of purchasing a vessel.

We live in Port Geographe, Busselton West Australia. I mention that because we will be away from May through to Aug 2020.

This link provides an overview.

https://www.portgeographemarina.com.au/

Anyone like to house/boat swap that has a suitable craft sitting unused?

Naturally we would be careful, pay costs, cover with Insurance and maintain to a high standard....just like we would hope anyone using our West Australian House/Car and trailer boat (which resides on at our jetty on a floater).

I know this is a bit "out there" but if you don't ask you will never know.

The timeframe is a little flexible, the hoped for departure point is FL or nearby. Definitely the lower East Coast of mainland USA.

This time of year in Busselton is our Winter.

https://en.climate-data.org/oceania/australia/western-australia/busselton-14627/

It's the perfect time to explore up North in the Kimberly region too...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberley_(Western_Australia)

Anyone interested? We also have a Beagle dog that can be included if you wish....he is very friendly!

Love to hear your thoughts.

Cheers
David

ps...We have been to the US and Canada many times and very much looking forward to a section of the Great Loop.


Much more info on us, our house and plans available to interested parties.

 

[Tiger_DFT]

Any possibilities out there?

Hi


Keen to hear from anyone with ideas on house/boat swapping. Or... just willing to hire their boat.


Thanks everyone
David.

 

[fdw]

Illinois River Locks

Be sure to check the schedule for the Illinois River locks. Somewhere I read certain locks would be closed for renovation during parts of 2020.

 

[BandB]

Be sure to check the schedule for the Illinois River locks. Somewhere I read certain locks would be closed for renovation during parts of 2020.

All seven Illinois River locks closed July 1-October 29.

 

[DavidM]

If you do this, you can probably use your insurance to cover losses to any boat that you rent/charter. Make absolutely sure of that because the boat owner's insurance will not cover any losses due to a charter, lease, rental, etc.


David

 

[Blissboat]

This is a good idea, and I hope you are able to connect with an interested boat owner. It seems a bit much to go through the agony (and ecstasy) of buying a boat solely to make a trip of several months duration in nearly entirely protected waters.

 

[Olebird]

Tiger,
Excellent idea - although many boat owners that I know are very protective of their "lady friend" - i.e. the boat. Might try some of the online Vacation Home Swapping sites. Good luck with the idea.

 

[Tiger_DFT]

Dear everyone, thanks for your thoughts and encouragement.



One way or another we WILL be looping...initially just part of it...but hope to complete the Loop over a 2 or 3 year time period. We have nothing like your USA "Great Loop" here in Australia.



We do have lot's of wonderful boating areas such as Queensland's Whitsundays, Great Barrier reef, Victoria and South Aust's Murray river etc. These are all a long LONG way from Port Geographe though!!


Thanks again.
David

 

[BandB]

Dear everyone, thanks for your thoughts and encouragement.



One way or another we WILL be looping...initially just part of it...but hope to complete the Loop over a 2 or 3 year time period. We have nothing like your USA "Great Loop" here in Australia.



We do have lot's of wonderful boating areas such as Queensland's Whitsundays, Great Barrier reef, Victoria and South Aust's Murray river etc. These are all a long LONG way from Port Geographe though!!


Thanks again.
David

In Australia you can just circle the island.

 

[PM]

I like the idea. Not a good match for me right now but I really like the idea. I guess I'm just not ready to turn my boat over to others.

pete

 

[RedRascal]

You could try talking to some charter companies to see if they have an owner that needs their boat re-positioned from Florida to a northern state for whatever reason. Or an owner that would allow you to do an extended charter. I checked into a one-way charter from Seattle, Washington to Alaska and found an owner that was going to spend his time on the east coast this summer and his boat was free for an extended charter during the summer. This same owner in past years would run his boat to Alaska early in the season and would charter it to someone that wanted to travel between Alaska and Seattle. It was a great way for the owner to go play in Alaska and have someone else bring his boat home later in the summer. I was looking at a 40 footer and it was going to cost around $600 a day to charter.

Another option is to look for crew options on the America's Great Loop website. If you join the website you can see crew offered and wanted in the classified section. This may be the least expensive option to get on the loop. As you say you don't know until you ask.

 

[Tiger_DFT]

A lap of Australia is a long way!!

In Australia you can just circle the island.

A lap of Australia is a big trip! I live in the South West corner....interesting thought though!!

 

[BandB]

A lap of Australia is a big trip! I live in the South West corner....interesting thought though!!

Yes, I'm guessing it would be 7200-8000 nm to circle Australia. With stops and ins and outs, probably more toward the high side. More than the shortest Great Loop path, but toss in a couple of side trips and more and we ended up over 9000 nm on the loop. You also can end up about the same on the Big U, trip from Alaska to Montreal. I'm surprised a Great Circle of Australia isn't a similar challenge done occasionally by boaters in the area.

 

[twistedtree]

The must have come up in the past, but I’m surprised there aren’t “loop boats for lease”. A one year lease would do it for most people, and address the issue of buying and then selling a boat. And who wouldn’t prefer to charter their boat out to one person for a whole year as opposed to a week at a time?

 

[JoeApicella]

David,
As mentioned by others I think you will find it very difficult to make this kind of swap, but as you said, it doesn't hurt to ask. As a Gold Looper myself I can attest to the great adventure that it is. If you don't already belong to AGLCA I would suggest you join. There are many of your countrymen who have bought a boat, done the Great Loop and are now selling the boat. If nothing else, they can give you a heads up on what its like from an Aussie perspective..
Best of luck,
Joe Apicella

 

[tn6437]

leasing a boat

Hi


Keen to hear from anyone with ideas on house/boat swapping. Or... just willing to hire their boat.


Thanks everyone
David.

I bought a boat specifically to do the loop starting later this year. plan to finish the loop around aug of 2021. previously I always owned gas powered cruisers, mostly sea ray. so trawler life, and speed is new.
I am entertaining the idea of leasing my boat out on an annual basis after I finish the loop myself. the idea came from all of the boats I had looked at in over 3 years of searching for mine. very many of the owners told stories of big expenses incurred, drastic depreciation and a general loss of value in their respective boats. some were due to shoddy surveys, lack of proper maintenance or just the skipper's inexperience at dealing with all the different systems and routine upkeep both mechanically and appearance . leaks not detected that led to rot etc. one boat in particular that I looked at the owner had paid over 150,000 for and I walked away from it after agreeing to a price of 25,0000 and doing a survey less than two years after he had bought it.
the reason I think someone would find leasing a boat attractive is that you know, going in , what your costs are going to be. I realize fuel and maintenance can vary but a prospective lessor has a very good idea of the total outlay of doing the loop. that definitely cannot be said if purchasing a boat for the loop.
I was fortunate in that I had many years of experience maintaining my own boats with similar systems, plus I had a wealth of knowledge gained by looking at so many different trawlers in my search. I walked away from 2 boats after the survey . so I guess you can say leasing eliminates all that hard work, time , energy and expense.

 

[dutch-barge]

Not to throw a wet rag on your loop idea...

we purchased a boat to do the loop, had it for a few years, also did some cursing in Europe and bought a boat there......now we will not do the loop....and only cruise in Europe, where there are many many more rivers and places to see than along the loop. still do some cruising in the US, but not the loop

 

[bogranjac1]

A lap of Australia is a big trip! I live in the South West corner....interesting thought though!!

Hi tiger_dft,
I assume you have already exhausted all the cruising grounds in Australia that were mentioned in previous post.
If not so why wouldn't you want to do Hervey Bay to Cairns for a couple of winters instead of USA looping ?
Your inside the reef all the way and could do it in any cheap boat that floats.

 

[JT and Estee]

Perhaps one of the sites mentioned in this article on boats.com will give you some helpful information; I don't have any experience with them but it seems to address your interests: https://www.boats.com/resources/boat-sharing-and-peer-to-peer-boat-rentals/

- Peer to peer boat rental outfits like Boatsetter, GetMyBoat, Click&Boat, and in Europe Samboat, have web sites and apps that work more or less like other sharing platforms, such as Zipcar and Airbnb.

-You can use many of these services world-wide, and schedule a boat to rent for your vacation or trip virtually anywhere in the world. Using them to rent gets you insurance, plus ratings and reviews for boats, their owners, and their renters.

-If you’re headed for unfamiliar waters, in many cases you can also hire a captain to go with your boat rental.

-Payment goes through the service and makes renting more convenient.

-If you own a boat and you’d like to rent it to others, these services provide a listing platform and also the ability to control who you rent to and when you rent the boat.

 

[BandB]

Not to throw a wet rag on your loop idea...

we purchased a boat to do the loop, had it for a few years, also did some cursing in Europe and bought a boat there......now we will not do the loop....and only cruise in Europe, where there are many many more rivers and places to see than along the loop. still do some cruising in the US, but not the loop

Wifey B: I did some cursing in Italy this morning when I hit by toe on a chair.

As to the statement of many many more rivers and places to see than along the loop, I might point out just a few rivers and there are many more:

St. Johns
Cape Fear
Savannah
Chesapeake
Delaware
Hudson
Erie
Oswego
St. Lawrence
Mobile
Illinois
Mississippi
Missouri
Kansas
Arkansas
Ohio
Tennessee
Tombigbee
Cumberland
Allegheny
Monongahela
Chattahoochee
Susquehanna

These are just a very few of those that connect to the Loop. There are over 250,000 rivers in the US.

Just because many loopers don't do these rivers doesn't mean they aren't there to be done.

 

[SteveK]

I am going to suggest you make direct offers to for sale by owner boats. You may hit the one that wants to visit Aus while taking time off from boating. I know once I have put a boat up for sale, who steps on it does not matter as much.

 

[SBR]

Hey there BandB you left out the Erie Canal!! We love to see loopers up here as well!

 

[BandB]

Hey there BandB you left out the Erie Canal!! We love to see loopers up here as well!

Wifey B: I listed Erie as encompassing the canal.

I didn't list the Trent/Severn as it's Canada but still accessible to loopers so should be considered. I just think many underestimate how much there is to see in the eastern North America area. We're in Europe right now, although not boating, and it's very different and nice but not more or better. Right now we're in the Fort Lauderdale of Italy.