One local broker estimated that a Loop uses up about 1/3 the life of an average trawler. In my opinion, it would be best to buy an older trawler in decent condition, do the Loop, then sell it at a reduced price to a do-it-yourself boater. Let the PO take the initial depreciation.

I attempted to find a reputable Marina in Galveston Bay area earlier this year and had a devil of time locating one that had good references, so we need to list our experiences for those that follow us and support the good Marinas that do good work, come in on time, and on estimate.

This is a pretty accurate estimate after three years of summer cruising and NOT staying in marinas. I got quite a few off-line comments from other cruisers that are full time on their boats, and ALL of them said I was being conservative. I remember a weekend outing with a neighbor lady who came on our sailboat right after we got it.

Shop around.....I had 5 or 6 estimates to do our 4 piling and did MUCH better. They like the sound of CASH also.

wildly unpredictable, a little research suggests building costs are roughly as follows (assumes yard labor rather than home-builder): Hull, decks, tanks: 40% - 45% Mechanical & Electrical: 15% - 20% Interior, outfitting: 35% - 45% Options (generator, electronics, etc): 10% - 20% Sales/Marketing: 10% - 20% Admittedly, this is a very coarse estimate

Attendance is estimated at over 250,000 for the three days. Art a la Carte is a showcase of handmade art and crafts. The categories are ceramics/pottery, painting, wearable art, glass, jewelry, fiber, photography, sculpture, toy craft, wood furniture, wood crafts and other. All work must be original and made by the artist.

I estimate 50 birds or better covering my entire back yard sifting through fallen leaves for little pickings. Mixed in were some Juncos - both males and females (~ 10 birds), a hermit thrush, and a few white crowned sparrows. Two red-winged blackbirds were ground feeding in the front yard (one adult male, one juvenile male).

Here is a run down of the highlights with conservative estimates for the warblers: 20 palm warblers 10 yellow rumped warblers 5 pine warblers 1 swamp sparrow 3 phoebes 2 towhees 10 white throated sparrows 1 green heron 3 tree swallows, 2 of which were on a nest box 2 wood ducks (in a swampy area off a trail) 8 hooded mergansers (f.)

I estimated a conservative 400 cory's and about 5 greaters were seen. It was truly spectactular! Reading the MA & NY lists confirm that this is an excellent year for shearwaters! I had my first southbound short-billed dowitcher on the third, and yesterday I observed a pectoral sandpiper come in over the water from the mainland.

We estimated 135,000 total. Other birds were as follows: Red-wing Blackbirds... 4,800; American Robins... 3,650; Cedar Waxwings... 1,100; Eastern Bluebirds... 46; Snow Buntings... 15; Caanada Goose... 68. Nick Bonomo positively identified the only 2 swallows that we saw today as CAVE SWALLOWs. This now makes 3 for the Point, so far.