The Great Loop, Any HP Boats Do It?
 

Been watching some YouTube videos of people doing the loop in cruisers but has anyone run it in a go fast boat? Not going to be in my near future but was curious if I should make plans on going cruiser route or plan on doing go fast route.

on my bucket list to :D It would be cool to do it in a percormance boat. didn't Berkely Breathed do it in his Cougar or something like that? Not sure what I would prefer but a big part of me is saying big 'ol lumbering cruiser .. . . . .

I think an ideal boat would be a 30' twin step Cig Mystique w/ 496's. reliable power, great cruising speed, rough water capable, and a small enough size for the Erie canal. This is definitely on my bucket list. I would love to do the loop in a go fast!

It is on my list of things to do when I retire. The problem with a performance boat doing it is one section there is no place to get fuel for 400+ miles. So unless you have that kind of range, it is not feasible.

lots of no wake zones, rent a trawler

Diesel go fast cruiser.

Either a restored 40 Magnum, Formula 400SS, or Nor-Tech 43 Monte Carlo.

Yes it is on my bucket list too.

Just curios, what area on the loop is this the case?

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there's a 30 foot cat that I know that can be fitted with 400 gallons of fuel evenly weighted in the boat.
consists of twin 150 gallon built in + bow and stern fuel cells.

if you want to be out of the elements, the same cat can be fitted with a canopy
www.predatorpowerboats.com

where to sleep in a 30 foot cat?
the cabin can be built out to sleep in.

will not rock left or right as much as a deep-V

can be fitted with small outboards , say twin 150HP Merc 4 strokes
like this all new 150 http://www.mercurymarine.com/engines...urstrokes/150/

will not be super fast in the loop, but will be much faster than cruisers.

and when the loop trip is completed, sell the engines and replace with 300XS and you still have a 100+MPH cat

on my bucket list as well :)



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I have done 90 % + of it in various go fast boats over several years. Most of it was done in the 1990's. The two pieces I'm missing are the Hudson between Lake Ontario and Troy where there are 50+ locks which I refuse to do and from Chicago to where the Ohio River meets the Cumberland. I have all the charts and always planned ahead with the boat in a marina each night and me in a comfortable bed in a hotel room. LOL I have lots of archived pictures and have written about some of the legs in the past. Very interesting to do ….. but once is enough. LOL

Bob

Here are a few pics from the time I went from Cincinnati down the Ohio River and Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway to Mobile, AL in the Formula 419.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2858/1...cfa1a239_o.jpg
IMG_2882.JPG by bobthebuilder707, on Flickr

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3674/1...6c496f3c_o.jpg
File0010 by bobthebuilder707, on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5537/1...d97af091_o.jpg
File0002 by bobthebuilder707, on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7378/1...e8b7b97b_o.jpg
File0007 by bobthebuilder707, on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2827/1...c1e822ec_o.jpg
File0003 by bobthebuilder707, on Flickr

Bob, you are my hero. I love reading the stories about your travels. You put a lot of thought and details into your stories.