Great Circle Loop Voyage

I hope that was Al Hirt.
Time is so hard to call. You've got a fast boat, but enjoying and a few other factors such as the Carp gate below Chicago can slow you down. We haven't done it, but have been planning it and are heading up the end of May. I'd estimate you're talking a minimum of 2 weeks in transport mode or a mimimum of 30 days in tourist mode. We're planning 4 weeks from Ontario to Chicago, but we're also planning to take the Trent Severn and average around 10 kts..

The Great Circle Loop Cruise

It was Alois Maxwell Hirt. B.t.w. his first name Alois is one of the oldest bavarian first names. Al Hirt had German Roots. And the name Hirth is written in Germany most of the time with TH.

Rather having a bad excuse than no excuse at all.

We had planned a net travel time for the journey of about 8 weeks, with an additional buffer of one or two weeks more. The boat will be dropped off (gently deloaded ) a heavy cargo vessel in the area of Quebec and prepared for the trip by the permanent crewmembers.

Then we will join in and start this fantastic tour.

As I most likely will not be able to escape from business for 8 weeks in a row or more, we might have to leave the boat at certain places like Chicago and/or St. Louis and fly to Europe for some days at a time. But returning ASAP and continue the trip. The crew will always stay with the boat.

We will definately go in the tourist mode, with members of my family joining in on certain legs.

I have ordered the relevant guide books mentioned in your links, plus my R&D guys are checking for the best available electronic chart software for my laptop and the electronic chart modules for the boats navplotter for the CONUS, Gulf and FL / Caribbean. My travel departement has orders to prepare a complete folder with tourist info and relevant side information of this part of the Great Circle Loop.

But we still believe, it might be advisable to hire a Professional (skipper or pilot) for specific legs. The "Admiral" will not allow me to take any unnecessary risks.

I have no knowledge jet, which part of the trip is most time consuming, due to locks and commercial traffic priority, where are the speed limits, where can we make and should we make use of the high cruise speed of the boat. Refueling stations (for yachts), Nice harbours for the nights, etc.?????

When reaching the Gulf, the boat will, depending on weather, travel to FL and will spend the season in that area and the Caribbean. I say the boat, because the original owner of the boat (my son) will take it over again, my wife and I being passengers from time to time.

My wife and I will then change over to my sailboat which we will meet hopefully at St. Maarten. Beginning of the summer, the boat will be picked up by a cargo vessel and transported to the Med to its new permanent mooring. I hope, without any major repair. The sailboat always ferries on its own keel.

"The journey is the reward"

Post 24 is on target from first sentence to last. You've got the idea right. The entire loop can probably be done in 3 months, but most take more than a year in between their normal life. Some do it in 3,4 or 5 years. Our plan is to do it in 1 1/2 to 2 years.
Let me take you back to post #2 and suggest you subscribe to the American Great Loop Cruisers Association website. You'll enjoy your daily e-mail update and find the site to be a wealth of information. I've been following it since last summer in preparation. I also suggest you get the DVD set of the PBS special "On The Waterways" narrated by Jason Robards. It's a little dated at this point, but I think you'll enjoy. It's what first gave me the itch to do the Loop.

As we flyer say: WILCO (Will comply with). Why reinventing the wheel, when others have vast experience on that subject.

First thing I have learned in my pilot training in the US:

"Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance" (PPPPP)

Cheers

My son (he is the merchantile member of the family) came up with the following idea:

As we have scheduled cargo vessels with Newark as regular port of call, why not deloading at Newark instead of Quebec (much cheaper, $$$$), go up the Hudson River to Albany and via the Erie Canal towards the Lake Ontario or even continue on the canal to the Lake Erie. Having not all necessary information jet, is this route usable for our boat and / or does it take to much time?

That is an excellent idea. You will love the Hudson & the Erie Canal. However you will not clear the bridges on the west end of the Erie canal. Instead you go up the Oswego Canal into Lk Ontario. From there you can go through the Welland Canal into Lk Erie or even take the Trent Severn, That's longer and more scenic, and bypasses Lk Erie. I'll PM you some links.

Creat Circle Loop via Trent

I have got the first information today about the northern route via Lake Ontario and Trent Severn.

I must say, in comparison with this northern route, navigating the seven seas is a piece of cake. If on parts of this route my navplotter fails and somebody steels my map, we will never be found again. How much easier was the life of Columbus. He just sailed to the west and found America.

But what people say, one grows with its challenge, we will do it, if the boat will clear all bridges and shoals.

This still valid old latin dictum was printed overhead the main entrance of my merchant naval college:

"Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse, sed sine vita non navigamus"

"To sail is necessary, to live is not necessary, but without life, there is no sailing"

Pompeius Magnus, 106-48 BC, Roman commander-in-chief

This got me looking back at your specs. You'll have no trouble with bridges. In fact you could even make the western Erie (15'), but there's some bends I wouldn't want to bring 80' through. Minimum bridge height on the Trent is supposed to be 20' or 21' depending on where you read, although water levels are currently high. But if we make it (18'1" with the arch down) you will. You should be fine on the bottom as well, but hopefully you cross any shoals before us (4'11")

We have one of those ship lifting devices just south of Hamburg. It travels 125 feet and takes large inland cargo vessels. The Admiral has traveled through it on a boat. She found it the most stupid movement, a boat can make. But she was not afraid. Actually, she likes the version via the canals much more then high speed on the Great Lakes. Remember, the china will fall off the table.

Trend Severn

With the information available, I am sure we can and will handle the Trent Severn (If I dont get lost), but........!

There are two locks, I am a little bit concerned about. The Big Chute Marine Railway and Port Severn Lock.

Port Severn Lock is not difficult, it is just pretty short. The official data say, the internal length of the lock is 84 feet. The boats LOA incl. pullpit and stern platform is 82 feet. That is close. If the data are incorrect, we have to use the chainsaw to fit in.

But what really worries me, is the Big Chute Marine Railway. The data say, boats over 68 metric tons of GW should contact 48 h prior. As far as I understand, the reason is the storage of the boat on that railcar. For lighter boats they use belts, as I can see.

Any idea, how they store heavier boats on that car?

Re: the Pert Severn Lock 45 I'd contact Parks Canada and ask a pointed question, i.e. Is that 84' maximum vessel length or actual lock length. Don't think I'd put an 82' boat into an 84' lock. As for the Big Shute, what's the weight of your boat. That's 149,000 lbs. (double our 56') Also, let the Big Shute know about those IPS in case they need special handling. We're big for this route. You're very close to the max.

To big for the route????

The 84 feet is, as far as I can read the paperwork, the max. internal length of the lock. The boat would fit in like one in his shoes. That is f.c.. One solution could be a modification of the stern platform. The platform is mounted detachable to the hull. We still would have time enough to have a hinge constructed and build in between the hull and the platform. So, in smaller locks, we could tilt up the platform, in order to make the boat shorter. That would give us about 3,5 feet reduction in LOA.

Also, it is a deep V planning hull, he boat is designed to sit on the hard without any craddle or support (Makes it usable in tidal waters). Due to the 3 retractable, hydraulic protection skegs in front of the IPS drives, none of the 4 IPS or its props would sit on the ground. The keel is strong enough to take the weight of the boat. But this will only work, if the area, the boat sits on, is flat and strong enough to prevent the boat from sinking in (Mud is no problem).

The maximum Gross weight of the fully equipped boat with full tankage will be 165.000 lbs. This being towards the end of the Trent Severn Canal, the actual weight of the boat, due to almost empty tanks (and empty fridge), could be as low as 150.000 lbs. The only other noticeable reduction in weight would be, me jumping over board. So, it all depends on the constuction of this rail car.

Should we still make the Trend Severn??????

Great Loop Voyage

Good luck on you trip up the Trent. You might want to invesigate if anyone has a travelift big enough to lift your boat if you damage a prop. The rocks are hard up north. I have meant many boaters who started the Trent and turrned around and went up the Welland.
Have a safe trip.
Rodger

I tend to agree with Rodger. You come too close in several directions for my comfort zone. Also, you'll be taking a few, if not several, locks alone. If there's a mess of small boats transiting, you could spend a long time waiting to lock through. Quite frankly, except for the beauty, I'm not thrilled bringing the Hat through, but the bridge clearances will be our final determining factor. And although I haven't checked, I'm assuming there's no place along the Trent capable of hauling either of us. In fact I'd expect a long wait for even a tow to a place where they could.

Trent Severn

If the "Admiral" reads the posts 38 and 39, she will talk Latin to me:

"Etiam nunc regredi possumus, quod si particulum transierimus, alea iacta est"
Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman emperor

means: We can still turn around, but if we cross this small bridge, the dices are thrown.

Will say, this trip might be fantasticly scenic and adventurous, but if you guys advice me not to do it, we will not take the risk.

Cheers