Boat Search 101

[tom flatley]

Good evening. I just joined. I think I have my requirements and am now looking for advice. A Looper. W graith a dingy, single diesel, primarily for 2 but with occasional additional children and grandchildren, flying bridge ,AC, heater. Am a newbie. Current boat is a 19' sail. Any and all thoughts comments critiques would be greatly appreciate

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

 

[REAL MOUNTIE]

Welcome Tom. You have to define your needs and find the boat that fits your cruising plans. Kind regards, Normand

 

[markpierce]

I thought Tom defined his needs. Having no knowledge of "the loop," I'm offering little advice except to say get a boat at least mid-thirty feet in length.

 

[O C Diver]

Good evening. I just joined. I think I have my requirements and am now looking for advice. A Looper. W graith a dingy, single diesel, primarily for 2 but with occasional additional children and grandchildren, flying bridge ,AC, heater. Am a newbie. Current boat is a 19' sail. Any and all thoughts comments critiques would be greatly appreciate

Welcome to the forum! You really need to define the bold part. "Occasional children and grandchildren" sounds like 4 to 8 guests. Unless their camping on the saloon floor in sleeping bags, you could be doubling the size of the boat. 35 to 45' boat with 2 staterooms is a good size looper boat.

Ted

 

[sunchaser]

Good evening. I just joined. I think I have my requirements and am now looking for advice. A Looper. W graith a dingy, single diesel, primarily for 2 but with occasional additional children and grandchildren, flying bridge ,AC, heater. Am a newbie. Current boat is a 19' sail. Any and all thoughts comments critiques would be greatly appreciate

Budget? For a newbie to power boats your insurance company will likely weigh in on the size you can get covered.

Which Mittington?

Most important walk the docks for a few months, lots of them. Will your loop journeys be confined to inland fresh water only or will you do the Atlantic coast too?

BTW, the loop currents and distances favor a planing vessel IMHO.

 

[REAL MOUNTIE]

I agree with Markpierce that Tom did defined his preliminary needs and for the provided advice to consider to get a boat at least a mid 30 feet in lenght.

As for the boat size, for a Loop vessel in the 28' to 36' range (for couples) is about as good as it gets. After 36' it could get much more expensive and difficult to handle. Smaller is not only more economical, it is safer and easier to handle.

It is important to keep in mind, with 'cruising couples' your vessel should always be safe and easy to handle by one person - and that one person should be the weakest person of the two.

Trawlers are very popular vessels for cruising the Great Loop. The main reason for this is they provide the most living a-board space and comfort of any boat of comparable size. If you are cruising on a budget, a small 32 - 36 foot (full displacement hull) Trawler with a small single engine offers the very best in comfort, amenities and economy. A (full-displacement hull) single engine Trawler in this size range will burn very near 1 gallon an hour. Which in my book is great comfort and economy.

Live a-board size powerboats such as Cruisers and semi-displacement hull Trawlers (and any other vessels capable of planning) as recommended by Sunchaser could be appropriate for currents and distances to cruise at the same time this will be your very most expensive vessel to take around the Great Loop which is an OK option if it fits your need.

These vessels are not designed for fuel economy, nor were they designed for slow speed. They will usually be equipped with twin engines and - for an example - a day long cruise down the Erie Canal (at 10mph) in a twin-engine 36 foot Cruiser or semi-displacement Trawler would cost you $250 a day (or possibly more) in fuel. This option is viable if it fits your needs.

Tom, you also need to plan his Loop routes depending the needed vessel's super-structure (with mast, bimini, antennas down) must be able to clear a 19' 1" fixed RR bridge in order to avoid turning the GreatLoop into a Great U-turn.

For example: If Tom's needed vessel can clear 17 feet you can cruise right through downtown Chicago.

If the vessel can clear 15' 6", Tom will have totally unrestricted cruising on the Great Loop, both in the USA and Canada including the NYS Canal System and Canada's Heritage Canals, if this is Tom's plans of course.

At the same time Tom will have to find the appropriate vessel that meet his need and his travel route plans. Like shoes, there simply is not a "one size fits all" when it comes to cruising America's Great Loop, this voyage is more about comfort, lifestyle, philosophy & pocketbook.

For example for a couple it is suggested nothing smaller than 28 feet and nothing larger than 40 feet. As something in this range should give enough for comfort, but not too big to be unsafe. 48 feet would be too big to be safe. It also starts getting to be excessively expensive and will limit your Marina options.

Tom may I recommend these links:

Loop Segments - America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association

Home - America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association

https://activecaptain.com/

Terra-Aqua Map Editor

Your Great Loop boat requirements and restrictions

http://www.greatloopcruising.com/


I hope this will help, good luck and kindest regards, Normand

 

[Peter B]

Good evening. I just joined. I think I have my requirements and am now looking for advice. A Looper. W graith a dingy, single diesel, primarily for 2 but with occasional additional children and grandchildren, flying bridge ,AC, heater. Am a newbie. Current boat is a 19' sail. Any and all thoughts comments critiques would be greatly appreciate

I advocate just sitting back, reading lots of threads, and just vatchin das blinkenlights for quite a bit, and the answers to your questions will emerge. There's a heap of what you just asked on here. Difficult to summarise in a single post though.

 

[gaston]

I thought Tom defined his needs. Having no knowledge of "the loop," I'm offering little advice except to say get a boat at least mid-thirty feet in length.

And Fiberglass with a flybridge

 

[Art]

I agree with Markpierce that Tom did defined his preliminary needs and for the provided advice to consider to get a boat at least a mid 30 feet in lenght.

As for the boat size, for a Loop vessel in the 28' to 36' range (for couples) is about as good as it gets. After 36' it could get much more expensive and difficult to handle. Smaller is not only more economical, it is safer and easier to handle.

It is important to keep in mind, with 'cruising couples' your vessel should always be safe and easy to handle by one person - and that one person should be the weakest person of the two.

Trawlers are very popular vessels for cruising the Great Loop. The main reason for this is they provide the most living a-board space and comfort of any boat of comparable size. If you are cruising on a budget, a small 32 - 36 foot (full displacement hull) Trawler with a small single engine offers the very best in comfort, amenities and economy. A (full-displacement hull) single engine Trawler in this size range will burn very near 1 gallon an hour. Which in my book is great comfort and economy.

Live a-board size powerboats such as Cruisers and semi-displacement hull Trawlers (and any other vessels capable of planning) as recommended by Sunchaser could be appropriate for currents and distances to cruise at the same time this will be your very most expensive vessel to take around the Great Loop which is an OK option if it fits your need.

These vessels are not designed for fuel economy, nor were they designed for slow speed. They will usually be equipped with twin engines and - for an example - a day long cruise down the Erie Canal (at 10mph) in a twin-engine 36 foot Cruiser or semi-displacement Trawler would cost you $250 a day (or possibly more) in fuel. This option is viable if it fits your needs.

Tom, you also need to plan his Loop routes depending the needed vessel's super-structure (with mast, bimini, antennas down) must be able to clear a 19' 1" fixed RR bridge in order to avoid turning the GreatLoop into a Great U-turn.

For example: If Tom's needed vessel can clear 17 feet you can cruise right through downtown Chicago.

If the vessel can clear 15' 6", Tom will have totally unrestricted cruising on the Great Loop, both in the USA and Canada including the NYS Canal System and Canada's Heritage Canals, if this is Tom's plans of course.

At the same time Tom will have to find the appropriate vessel that meet his need and his travel route plans. Like shoes, there simply is not a "one size fits all" when it comes to cruising America's Great Loop, this voyage is more about comfort, lifestyle, philosophy & pocketbook.

For example for a couple it is suggested nothing smaller than 28 feet and nothing larger than 40 feet. As something in this range should give enough for comfort, but not too big to be unsafe. 48 feet would be too big to be safe. It also starts getting to be excessively expensive and will limit your Marina options.

Tom may I recommend these links:

Loop Segments - America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association

Home - America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association

https://activecaptain.com/

Terra-Aqua Map Editor

Your Great Loop boat requirements and restrictions

Cruising and RV touring adventure stories in the USA and Canada


I hope this will help, good luck and kindest regards, Normand

I just want to say...

Regarding items mentioned in email above, and in all due respect to "Normand":

At 10 mph [the most un economical... besides WOT] for our Tollycraft I can see a day long cruise on Erie Canal costing $250. that's because the boat is well above its hull speed but not yet on plane. Miles per gallon would be in the 0.05 range. But, if you slow down to well under hull speed (which calculates out to 7.58 knots) and do 5 to 6 mph on one engine of the twins you get near or at 3 miles per gallon. That cuts the $250 mentioned cost down to $42 dollar range... figuring 6 X efficiency. Also, if you want to get some where fast... 17 mph on full plane = 1 mpg. That still cuts the $250 mentioned cost in half to $125.

Outcome to what is said in sooo many different ways. It's up to the Captain as how different design/style/size boats are used under different conditions.

Additionally: Draft to our planning hull Tolly is only 2'10"; good for shallow waters. That said, being it's a twin screw... she has two unprotected props sticking out her hull bottom; captain must be very careful to not ground her.. Whereas... full keel, displacement hulls with skeg that goes under rudder provide at least some "soft" grounding protection... but, their draft is usually much deeper.

 

[BandB]

For example for a couple it is suggested nothing smaller than 28 feet and nothing larger than 40 feet. As something in this range should give enough for comfort, but not too big to be unsafe. 48 feet would be too big to be safe. It also starts getting to be excessively expensive and will limit your Marina

You sound so very authoritative, but I disagree with large portions of what you wrote and declared as absolute. Immediately after you talked about it being individual like shoes, then you put in this last paragraph.

I would not under any circumstances want to do the loop, spend a year, on a 28' boat. Some would, but of all the boats we saw while looping, we sure didn't see many that size.

Nothing larger than 40', I disagree with. I would say 60% of the boats we saw were larger than 40'. But here's where you get me by saying "48 feet would be too big to be safe." What? Just why is it? What is unsafe about a 48 ft boat?

Then the old wives tale about limiting marinas. At 50', 90% of the marinas will be available to you and 98% of the quality marinas. At 60' still a good 70% of all marinas and 85% of the quality marinas. We did the loop in a 65' boat that actually measures 69' and never had a problem finding a marina that could handle it. We did have perhaps three or four times those that said max size was 60' but fit us right in. The vast majority of the time transient docking is side tie and draft is a far greater limiting factor than length.

Please feel free to give your preferences but saying 48' is unsafe and saying 48' will limit your marinas is just not logical.

Now, one argument for size and for speed. Many loopers just hug the shore and look to take the shortest route as if just to say they did the loop. Those with very small boats have great trepidation regarding the Great Lakes and the Lakes are just as much a wonderful part of the loop as are the canals. However, they do involve longer distances and they do involve rougher conditions. All loops are not created equal. The boat needs to be matched to what you hope to see on the loop. If you intend to use the rail on the Trent Severn then you have a definitive size limitation. If you want to take the Erie all the way to Lake Erie and just skip Lake Ontario completely, then you have a size limitation as you expressed very well above.

There are trade-offs. We did not do the Trent Severn, although we drove to it from the Georgian Bay. Perhaps some other time. However, we did circle Lake Ontario including the Canadian side. We also saw both the US and Canadian sides of Lake Erie. Most loopers either skip Lake Ontario or, if they take the Trent Severn skip Lake Erie and half of Lake Huron. Others don't cross to the Georgian Bay. We also cruised some on Lake Superior which most leave out of their loop and the west side of Lake Michigan which most leave out. For us, the loop wasn't about saying we had completed it. In fact, we've still only made it to the TN River and may not finish for a couple of years. It was about seeing as much as we possibly could between the spring warming and the fall cooling.

There are a lot of ways to do it. I would personally never want to spend a year on a 28' boat, but some may choose that as their choice. I'd never want to spend a year on a sailboat sans sail but some enjoy that route. I've known someone to do the loop in a 75' Boat. Not my choice. I even knew someone to come from Chicago to NYC through the Oswego and Erie in an 85' Boat. We had six people aboard most of the time and many would find that as negative as we find doing it in a 28' boat.

Just like anywhere else, match the boat to yourself with the only true limitations being draft and air draft.

 

[REAL MOUNTIE]

Hello again Tom,

I agree with BandB shared information, as his intentions are to share his experience.

If my comments sounded very authoritative and gave you the perception as being an absolute declaration, please don't as it is not my intention. I wanted to take the time to write to help you.

The information I provided you was intended to be an account of shared personal experiences and in no way should be construed as giving you professional advice on navigation and techniques applicable to aspects of using and piloting the appropriate boat that fits your need for the Loop.

I also agree with Art, to the effect that it is up to the Captain as how different design/style/size boats are used under different conditions. One condition which is appropriate to inform you that there are in the Great Loop circuit narrow land cuts in populated areas along the ICW are usually no-wake zones.

These No-wake zones are in place to prevent erosion and also damage to docks and boats tied to them.

In Florida, signs warn boaters to go slow because of the presence of federally protected manatees. Marine police patrol and enforce many of these zones more specifically on week-ends and Holidays.

May I suggest a good book on the topic of fundamental boat mechanics and selection is by David Pascoe named Mid-sized Powerboats. full of observations and commentary from a person with a lifetime of experience working on boats the size you will need for this planned trip to do the Loop.

All the best and kind regards! Normand

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
M. RM. IMO, David Pascoe is very opinionated to the point of potentially eliminating some boats which might be perfectly acceptable for buyers. As always, it is best to consult as much reference material as possible without giving too much weight to any one source unless said source is a technical manual and NOT someone's opinion. Be aware, even some technical manuals are lacking.

 

[BandB]

Greetings,
M. RM. IMO, David Pascoe is very opinionated to the point of potentially eliminating some boats which might be perfectly acceptable for buyers. As always, it is best to consult as much reference material as possible without giving too much weight to any one source unless said source is a technical manual and NOT someone's opinion. Be aware, even some technical manuals are lacking.

100% agree. I would not recommend starting with Pascoe in terms of evaluating boats. Perhaps after building knowledge, one might read his comments.

 

[BandB]

If my comments sounded very authoritative and gave you the perception as being an absolute declaration, please don't as it is not my intention. I wanted to take the time to write to help you.

The information I provided you was intended to be an account of shared personal experiences and in no way should be construed as giving you professional advice on navigation and techniques applicable to aspects of using and piloting the appropriate boat that fits your need for the Loop.

Can you please explain what you meant by 48' being too large to be safe? I understand your other opinions, but not that comment.

 

[REAL MOUNTIE]

Hello again RT Firefly,

I hope you are well. I fully agree that David Pascoe, now retired, has and have expressed very strong ideas and opinions resulting the elimination of some vessels acceptable for the Great Loop.

I think that his life experience contributed for in making David to firmly or may be unduly adhering to his own opinion and preconceived notions. I

In focus boating groups, David did dominate.

He had the loudest opinion as he has performed over 5,000 marine surveys, both pleasure craft and commercial.

David began is training as a marine surveyor with his father's firm of Lovell, Pascoe & Botton at the age of sixteen.

Then he trained in pleasure crafts and commercial marine, as well as general insurance adjusting in the years 1965 through 1972.

He gained experience with yachts, cargo - including commodities, and bulk cargoes - as well as CGL and seaman's injury claims.

In 1971, David was appointed as a Correspondent to the American Institute of Marine Underwriters and was certified by the National Association of Marine Surveyors in 1973.

He was transferred in 1972 in Fort Lauderdale and developed his specialization in yachts, spending several years as an Official Measurer for the North American Yacht Racing Union.

After two years studying with the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, David crewed extensively on the ocean racing circuit, including the notable maxi-racers WINDWARD PASSAGE and SOUTHERN STAR.

David had major construction projects which were the supervision of the 106' Denison "ASTRA DEE," the 96' Broward "FELICITY" and 98' Custom yacht "BLACK SHEEP".

Also David has been involved with refits on numerous smaller boats and yachts and has led to extensive travels throughout the U.S. Bahamas, Caribbean, South America and to Japan and the Pacific Rim where he performed survey work for a major Japanese Company.

He has been a guest lecturer at Florida International University on the subject of marine surveying in 1989 and 1990.

He was the author of many magazine articles over the years.

He traveled to Japan in 1993 at the invitation of Nippon Ocean Racing Committee (NORC), where he gave an address titled "Marine Surveying in the U.S."

He was a former South Atlantic Regional Vice President of the National Association of Marine Surveyors.

I did use his book to help me make the purchase of REAL MOUNTIE making me understand how to select the vessel that fit my needs.

Nice to hear from you RTF, and wishing you all the best!

Regards, Normand

 

[REAL MOUNTIE]

Hello again BandB,

I hope you can understand that my post was intended to help Tom Flatley and I would expect to clarify that my opinion expressed to Tom.

I do thank you BandB to understand my other opinions and you do not have to agree with it as this is only a viewpoint and statement that is not conclusive. It dealt with subjective matters in which there is no conclusive finding as I do not know about Tom boating experience as he has a 19' sailboat... and he is a newbie...

What Tom need at this time:

"Any and all thoughts comments critiques would be greatly appreciated"

All I know is:

He just joined;
He thinks he has his requirements;
He is looking for advice for a Looper;
A dingy;
Single diesel;
Primarily for 2 person and occasional additional children and grandchildren;
Flying bridge;
AC and Heater.

As what I meant by 48' being too large to be safe for Tom and the First mate and guests?

Based on this limited information.

BandB, my first concern was safety and security, for a single screw diesel... unless Tom needs include a bow and stern thruster if he choose to buy a 48 feet for the loop. These would greatly assist him in current and winds during docking procedures.

It would not be advisable, for Tom, to pilot a boat around the loop with prior experience with the 48 feet vessel if he is planning to take on the adventure.

I do not know about Tom's technical skills of maneuvering a 48 feet boat in and out of tight situations.

So the point here is to make the Looping experience as enjoyable as possible for both.

That included in the Captain’s responsibility as far as I’m concerned.

Typically the first mate’s specific responsibilities will be line handling, anchoring, piloting (when Tom need to be relieved for some reason).

The first mate may be helping to pilot the boat or being the navigator. Both of those
responsibilities are critical to a successful and enjoyable journey.

I hope this explanation will help in better understanding,

Kind regards, Normand

 

[BandB]

Hello again BandB,

I hope you can understand that my post was intended to help Tom Flatley and I would expect to clarify that my opinion expressed to Tom.

I do thank you BandB to understand my other opinions and you do not have to agree with it as this is only a viewpoint and statement that is not conclusive. It dealt with subjective matters in which there is no conclusive finding as I do not know about Tom boating experience as he has a 19' sailboat... and he is a newbie...

What Tom need at this time:

"Any and all thoughts comments critiques would be greatly appreciated"

All I know is:

He just joined;
He thinks he has his requirements;
He is looking for advice for a Looper;
A dingy;
Single diesel;
Primarily for 2 person and occasional additional children and grandchildren;
Flying bridge;
AC and Heater.

As what I meant by 48' being too large to be safe for Tom and the First mate and guests?

Based on this limited information.

BandB, my first concern was safety and security, for a single screw diesel... unless Tom needs include a bow and stern thruster if he choose to buy a 48 feet for the loop. These would greatly assist him in current and winds during docking procedures.

It would not be advisable, for Tom, to pilot a boat around the loop with prior experience with the 48 feet vessel if he is planning to take on the adventure.

I do not know about Tom's technical skills of maneuvering a 48 feet boat in and out of tight situations.

So the point here is to make the Looping experience as enjoyable as possible for both.

That included in the Captain’s responsibility as far as I’m concerned.

Typically the first mate’s specific responsibilities will be line handling, anchoring, piloting (when Tom need to be relieved for some reason).

The first mate may be helping to pilot the boat or being the navigator. Both of those
responsibilities are critical to a successful and enjoyable journey.

I hope this explanation will help in better understanding,

Kind regards, Normand

It does help me understand your logic, but I don't agree that a 48' is inherently less safe than a 30'. Much depends on set up of the boat, single or twin, thrusters or not.

As to his experience or lack thereof, I would hope he's going to get some training and gain some experience prior to starting on a 6000 nm or more adventure. Depending on the route he chooses though and the boats being compared, a 48' might, in fact, be safer, not less safe. Certainly if I'm crossing Lake Ontario from Oswego to Toronto, I'd feel safer in a 48' trawler than a 30' express model.

Thanks for explaining as that helps Tom and others who read later and have never heard of Tom.

 

[CPseudonym]

What does any of this comprehensive hijack have to do with this threads intent? This is a sticky for providing newbies with "basic and generic" guidance, not a Q & A run of the mill bitch about anchor and thruster threads.

 

[BandB]

What does any of this comprehensive hijack have to do with this threads intent? This is a sticky for providing newbies with "basic and generic" guidance, not a Q & A run of the mill bitch about anchor and thruster threads.

Probably 80% of this thread should be in other threads, but newcomers tend to ask their questions here and then people answer.

 

[smitty477]

"It would not be advisable, for Tom, to pilot a boat around the loop with prior experience with the 48 feet vessel if he is planning to take on the adventure.

I do not know about Tom's technical skills of maneuvering a 48 feet boat in and out of tight situations."

Real Mountie,


Based upon my personal experiences owning single diesel 'trawlers; of 34 and 36 feet as well as owning twin engine diesel 'semi planning' hulls of 38, 45 ,45 and 47 feet I find the ability to maneuver much easier in tight situations with the twin engine boats. This also holds true for higher wind and current situations as well as for a larger vessel being more sea kindly. I found no large difference in fuel consumption at lower hulls speeds (6 to 7 mph) between the single diesels and the larger twins but the singles were much older designs which likely affected the fuel efficiency. Based upon my experiences with owning these boats I would also favor a boat that was able to plane if/as necessary to assist with currents, weather windows and the potential of illness or other time sensitive requirements - you can always go slower on these vessels and enjoy similar mpg as you choose. The quoted difference in interior space between a 'trawler' and 'other' types of boats was not something that I experienced either as the Pilothouse designs of the 45 and 47 boats offered much more space and a safer place to operate from under adverse conditions and for docking and locking.


Separately but related - Good luck with the sale of your 40' Pilgrim trawler. I am sure you will miss it after these past 7 years of use and cruising.

 

[REAL MOUNTIE]

"It would not be advisable, for Tom, to pilot a boat around the loop with prior experience with the 48 feet vessel if he is planning to take on the adventure.

I do not know about Tom's technical skills of maneuvering a 48 feet boat in and out of tight situations."

Real Mountie,


Based upon my personal experiences owning single diesel 'trawlers; of 34 and 36 feet as well as owning twin engine diesel 'semi planning' hulls of 38, 45 ,45 and 47 feet I find the ability to maneuver much easier in tight situations with the twin engine boats. This also holds true for higher wind and current situations as well as for a larger vessel being more sea kindly. I found no large difference in fuel consumption at lower hulls speeds (6 to 7 mph) between the single diesels and the larger twins but the singles were much older designs which likely affected the fuel efficiency. Based upon my experiences with owning these boats I would also favor a boat that was able to plane if/as necessary to assist with currents, weather windows and the potential of illness or other time sensitive requirements - you can always go slower on these vessels and enjoy similar mpg as you choose. The quoted difference in interior space between a 'trawler' and 'other' types of boats was not something that I experienced either as the Pilothouse designs of the 45 and 47 boats offered much more space and a safer place to operate from under adverse conditions and for docking and locking.


Separately but related - Good luck with the sale of your 40' Pilgrim trawler. I am sure you will miss it after these past 7 years of use and cruising.

Hello smitty477, thank you for your kind wishes and for sharing your personal experiences. I hope this Will help Tom. Kindest regards! Normand

 

[ouisconsin]

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I are looking at doing the loop in '18. We will be switching from sail to power. Our dream is an American or Nordic Tug but the prices might be too high for our comfort level.

So, we have done endless boat searches on Yachtworld.....we are looking for a trawler/tug style boat in the 34-36 foot range - we do not want a v-berth (had enough of that with our sailboat). We are uncertain about a flybridge and would like a full fridge (although hubby can make modifications for this after purchase).

We are Canadian so we have to keep that in mind as exchange for us right now is 30% + so in the 100,000 US range would be ok...

Have checked out all the usual suspects, Grand Banks, CHB, Marine Trader, Mainship (great but too much money).

Older doesn't scare us as we love the wood and hubby is a mechanic.

So....all boat model suggestions are welcome

Hi, My name is Kevin. I'm starting a search for a Trawler in the 30' to 34" range. How is your search going? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Art]

Hi, My name is Kevin. I'm starting a search for a Trawler in the 30' to 34" range. How is your search going? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

My suggestion:

30 to 40' Tollycraft. Real good boats... sedan or tri cabin. Search YachtWorld.

 

[McGillicuddy]

BandB,
I have a question that you are likely to have encountered having taken a larger boat on the loop. My boat is 52' x 16' with an airdraft of 26' not including antennae. To get the airdraft lower would mean cutting the radar arch to the height of the bridge deck handrail which would put it at about 17'. I am reluctant to do that so I wonder if you had devised a workaround on your larger boat.. Perhaps an alternate route?

 

[BandB]

BandB,
I have a question that you are likely to have encountered having taken a larger boat on the loop. My boat is 52' x 16' with an airdraft of 26' not including antennae. To get the airdraft lower would mean cutting the radar arch to the height of the bridge deck handrail which would put it at about 17'. I am reluctant to do that so I wonder if you had devised a workaround on your larger boat.. Perhaps an alternate route?

There is no route that you can go over 19'. At your height you'd have to go up the East Coast, around and then come down the St. Lawrence and you still would be stuck at Chicago. Even the canals are 20-22' limits at various bridges.

So, go to someone like Pipewelders and they've converted many arches over the years so they would hinge. There are a number of different ways to hinge it, keep it functional and make it easy to lift and drop.

 

[BruceK]

I know a GB52 where the owners had the arch (or maybe mast) hinged to fit under a particular bridge, it was hydraulically powered. Clipper 40s, which I think sell in USA as Mariners, have a hinged arch,possibly an option, not all have it.

 

[BandB]

I know a GB52 where the owners had the arch (or maybe mast) hinged to fit under a particular bridge, it was hydraulically powered. Clipper 40s, which I think sell in USA as Mariners, have a hinged arch,possibly an option, not all have it.

I've seen several GB with it, a Marlow, many Hatteras.

 

[McGillicuddy]

I'm not sure a folding arch would be practical for me. The rib would have to be towed and the fixed pipe frame for the Bimini would have to be removed and I don't have a practical place to store it.

 

[McGillicuddy]

This is a better pic of the Bimini frame.