John J, You probably just started a wild & crazy discussion there. But in the words of Skipper Bob, "get the smallest boat you can be comfortable in." For me, that's my American Tug 34/36 footer. I would not want anything larger, but that's just me. Think about other issues too, such as locking. I like the pilothouse trawler because it puts my door amidships and rather low, so I can easily grab onto pipes etc when locking. Fred Tug 44 ---------------------------------------- From: "John Joerger" <johnj531@hotmail.com> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2013 12:51 PM To: "Great Loop" <great-loop@lists.trawlering.com> Subject: Re: GL: looking for advice I am a newbie just starting to look for the right boat. My goal is to loop up the from Chesapeake Bay to the Hudson, Erie Canal, Great Lakes and Mississippi, take a break for hurricane season and then finish the following fall. I retire in 4 1/2 years so I have some time to learn from all you pro's as to which is the best boat for the trip. My initial thought is a Mainship 40 or 43 due to shallow draft and low air draft but I am willing to listen to the advice of those who have made the trip before. I am thinking two staterooms and two heads for privacy for the extra crew I will carry from time to time (especially through the canals and locks) but also want to understand the needed capacities for fuel, water and sewage. I am a Master Mariner but the smallest ship I have sailed was 600 ft long and powered by steam. Ears wide open........ John J _______________________________________________ http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/great-loop_lists.trawlering.com To modify your Great-Loop subscription options (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.) go to: http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/options/great-loop_lists.trawlering.com

Good thoughts from Fred. Don't forget to consider the boat that Skipper Bob picked out. The 36' Krogen manatee has excellent capacities if you're willing to go slow. It's VERY livable. We're in Mobile doing a multi loop trip and doing well. I am a master mariner also and offer this: Keep it simple...the deck and engineering crew is going to be smaller than you are accustomed to. Ken and Ellen Auk Sent from my iPad On Mar 11, 2013, at 12:24 PM, "fred@tug44.org" <fred@tug44.org> wrote: > John J, > > You probably just started a wild & crazy discussion there. But in the > words of Skipper Bob, "get the smallest boat you can be comfortable in." > > For me, that's my American Tug 34/36 footer. I would not want anything > larger, but that's just me. > > Think about other issues too, such as locking. I like the pilothouse > trawler because it puts my door amidships and rather low, so I can easily > grab onto pipes etc when locking. > > Fred > Tug 44 > > ---------------------------------------- > From: "John Joerger" <johnj531@hotmail.com> > Sent: Monday, March 11, 2013 12:51 PM > To: "Great Loop" <great-loop@lists.trawlering.com> > Subject: Re: GL: looking for advice > > I am a newbie just starting to look for the right boat. My goal is to loop > up the from Chesapeake Bay to the Hudson, Erie Canal, Great Lakes and > Mississippi, take a break for hurricane season and then finish the > following fall. I retire in 4 1/2 years so I have some time to learn from > all you pro's as to which is the best boat for the trip. My initial > thought is a Mainship 40 or 43 due to shallow draft and low air draft but I > am willing to listen to the advice of those who have made the trip before. > I am thinking two staterooms and two heads for privacy for the extra crew I > will carry from time to time (especially through the canals and locks) but > also want to understand the needed capacities for fuel, water and sewage. I > am a Master Mariner but the smallest ship I have sailed was 600 ft long and > powered by steam. > > Ears wide open........ > > John J > _______________________________________________ > http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/great-loop_lists.trawlering.com > > > To modify your Great-Loop subscription options (change email address, > unsubscribe, etc.) go to: > http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/options/great-loop_lists.trawlering.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/great-loop_lists.trawlering.com > > To modify your Great-Loop subscription options (change email address, > unsubscribe, etc.) go to: http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/options/great-loop_lists.trawlering.com