Jim,

As long as I know where the treats bag is, I think I am safe.

Fred

From: "Jim Healy" gilwellbear@gmail.com
Sent: Monday, March 11, 2013 6:56 AM
To: great-loop@lists.trawlering.com
Subject: ... Re: GL: Dock project

Building inspector...    Not...

"Great Northeastern Orange Mountain Lion..."  Very rare...  Vicious and
extremely dangerous...    Be careful, Fred!

Jim

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

Snip:"...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..."

Boat minimum maximums are well establish as to air draft and water draft as
well as beam and length (Skipper Bobs Guides).  Many, many boats meet these
criteria. Folks have successfully completed a loop throughout the ranges of
these design parameters so the choice are dependent upon your comfort
levels. Often overlooked are the boats ergonomics as it relates to your
agility, more about that later.

Mainships have had many different models that been built by different
builders so quality and features are varied. Some where very well designed
and built and some were not. So you have a lot of research to do unless you
are targeting a particular model.  Of course standard surveys apply to any
potential purchase.

Tank capacities again are dependent on your comfort level as long as you
have or can tote fuel sufficient for the Mississippi Run from Hoppies (just
south of St Louis) to the "land between the lakes".  All this is in the
guides from Skipper Bob's.

OK, now on to the ergonomics topic.  Some of us retiree loopers develop
physical impairment(s) as we age that demand a boat easy to work around and
as well as get on and off at the various different type and heights of docks
you will encounter.  Well your boat choice be easy to cruise with a bad
knee, hip, etc. or will you be restricted to docking only a certain types of
dock designs? This fact of aging often gets lost in the glitter of boat
"bling" so just consider this when defining a boat for your purpose.
Additionally, access to the myriad of boat systems should be considered.
One Mainship(and other boats) model jammed a generator in such a tight area
that the deck had to be cut to service it.  This is not true of all of them
just picking on this one as an example. The easier it is to access all the
systems the easier it is to do preventative maintenance and fix any failure.
As an old sage counseled me "...Sonny, ev'r thang on a boat B broke ...ya
just don't know it yet...".  Boat doctors work by the hour($) so the easier
the access, the less expensive the repair and (hopefully) the better the job
can be done.
Twins versus single engine, keel protected versus exposed shafts and struts
all are well flogged issues.  Again all combinations have successfully done
the loop so the choice is your comfort level with the issues and benefits of
each design choice.

Good Hunting,

Joe

M/V "Carolyn Ann" GH N-37
MTOA# 3813
AGLCA# 5485 (Platinum Looper)
http://carolynann-n37.blogspot.com/
Joseph.pica@gmail.com