About America's Great Loop
America's Great Loop is a journey of about 6,000 miles that passes through 17 states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada. There are a variety of options to complete the journey, and most people take about a year to do it.
The concept is to do the journey so that you are in different areas at the best time of year for that area. For instance, to be in Florida for the winter and to leave there before the heat of summer hits. During the summer you will be in the Great Lakes.
Since this is a Loop you can start anywhere. The map below is a rough guide to the seasons for travelling through each area.
Most of the people doing the Loop are retired couples. They are typically doing it in 35' to 40' boats. My journey will be a little different. Although I really want friends to join me; I know from the research that not many will be able to, so I have chosen a smaller boat, a Ranger 29 Tug, to do the Loop in so I can handle it by myself.
There are several constraints when doing the Loop. On is that there is a fixed bridge in Chicago that has a 19' clearance. The other is that your boat cannot "draw" more than 5'. This means the amount of clearance under the boat. The Ranger 29 only draws 2' 6" and the overhead clearance is 13' 9", so I should be well within limits.
The concept is to do the journey so that you are in different areas at the best time of year for that area. For instance, to be in Florida for the winter and to leave there before the heat of summer hits. During the summer you will be in the Great Lakes.
Since this is a Loop you can start anywhere. The map below is a rough guide to the seasons for travelling through each area.
Most of the people doing the Loop are retired couples. They are typically doing it in 35' to 40' boats. My journey will be a little different. Although I really want friends to join me; I know from the research that not many will be able to, so I have chosen a smaller boat, a Ranger 29 Tug, to do the Loop in so I can handle it by myself.
There are several constraints when doing the Loop. On is that there is a fixed bridge in Chicago that has a 19' clearance. The other is that your boat cannot "draw" more than 5'. This means the amount of clearance under the boat. The Ranger 29 only draws 2' 6" and the overhead clearance is 13' 9", so I should be well within limits.
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