Everything you need to know about the GREAT LOOTHE GREAT LOOP, what you need to know.

Everything you need to know about the GREAT LOOTHE GREAT LOOP, what you need to know.

Here is what you need to know to properly plan your project to do the famous tour called THE GREAT LOOP.

Here are the most important data about the characteristics of the route and the boat:

-The air draft of the boat or AIR DRAFT must not exceed 19 ft 6 in and ideally rather 19 ft to make this trip.
–  The length of the boat must not exceed 85 feet.
–  The draft (or draft) must be less than 6 ft, ideally between 4 and 5 ft.
–  The width of the boat (or beam) must not exceed 23 ft.
–  The boat must be able to travel more than 210 miles on a full tank of fuel.
–  The entire journey is almost 6000 miles.
–  It takes about 4 months to make the trip with a few breaks.
–  The height of the Erie Canal from NY to Oswego is 21 ft, to continue towards the Welland Canal which opens onto the Great Lake Erie, the height (air draft) then becomes 15 ft 6 in.
–  When navigating the Chicago metropolitan area as a visitor, some bridges do not allow a height of more than 17′, but this is optional.

So, he doesn’t necessarily make a trawler type boat to make this trip. Truly, several boats have the characteristics to accomplish this journey.

Several Meridian, Carver, Sea Ray, Cruisers Yachts, Beneteau, Jeanneau, Chaparral, Regal, Monterey and many other manufacturers can make this trip.

The important thing is that living on board must meet your criteria and expectations. Of course, you must respect the dimension criteria, but the boat must also meet your expectations for the before or after project. Acquiring a boat is an important decision, you need to plan well in order to limit regrets later.

Do not hesitate to consult a broker to help you, we at Ita Yachts Canada and its ProprioBateau division are at your disposal to discuss this project with you.

The most important thing to remember is the height of the boat out of the water, what we call the ‘air draft’, or the ‘bridge clearance’ or even the air draft.

You have route choices, but some optional routes lower the air draft, you really have to plan carefully.

It is necessary to see if it is possible to swap or lower certain equipment such as the navigation mast where the navigation light is for example, this can be done at very low cost, but it is more difficult or more expensive for example if it need to lower the RADAR.

You also have some route choices, such as going via Georgian Bay and the Rideau Canal rather than Great Lake Erie.

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In short, you have a lot of choice, so planning to do for your marina stops, for supplies and fuel (diesel or gas), in short hours of pleasure.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have topics of interest to suggest to us.

Diagram THE GREAT LOOP.