I think that one big difference is that many of these folks are doing the Loop as a "Bucket List" event, buying a boat specifically for their trip and selling it upon completion. That's what Ron and Eva Stob did and many others follow suite. Those of us who are life-long boaters have a hard time putting our arms around this. I beg to differ. We were living in California when we did the Loop, but we do not advocate that people do what we did unless their situation is similar to ours. Most people who do the Loop ARE life-long boaters, already have their boat and keep it after completion of the Loop. That was not our case, BUT we fell in love with boating, moved to a good cruising area (Upper Tennessee River), bought a trailerable boat and continued cruising, trailering to areas and side trips we missed on our Loop or wanted to cruise again. We've cruised much more since our Loop Cruise than when we were doing it. Some life-long boaters may not have the best boat for the Loop. Some make do with what they have (small 23 foot boats, sailboats, houseboats -- we know people who have done the Loop in each of these) but these are not ideal, so some choose to buy a different boat for the Loop, then sell it afterwards and go back to using their former boat at their home base. AGLCA is not just for when you are cruising the Loop. While the primary focus of AGLCA is The Loop, which for us was just the beginning, it is a boating organization for past, present and future cruisers of any of the waterways of Eastern North America. Ron and Eva Stob, Authors and publishers "Honey, Let's Get a Boat...": A Cruising Adventure of America's Great Loop Great Loop Side Trips: 20 Cruising Adventures on Eastern North America's Waterways America's Great Loop Cruise Routes Map Raven Cove Publishing P. O. Box 168, Greenback, TN 37742-0168 _Website: www.greatloop.com_ (http://www.greatloop.com/) Office: 865-856-7888; Cell: 865-405-7608; Fax: 512-853-7888

I also agree with the following comments. I happen to be a life long "sailor" who decided to do the loop. My sailboat was great for cruising the Great Lakes and North Channel but not an ideal loop boat. So I sold it and then bought a twin diesel older Hatteras for my loop adventure, and it turned out to be the perfect long distance cruiser for me. Upon my loop completion I then sold the Hatt and am now looking for another sailboat for summer cruising again in the Great Lakes and the North Channel. Diesel fuel is too expensive for my budget and I am never in a hurry anyways. My point is, some boats are better than others for doing the loop. While many have done it on a sailboat, for me, a true motor vessel on rivers with strong currents just seemed to make more sense and I was glad I switched to the "dark side". Buying a quality built used powerboat with resale in mind meant that at the end of the loop I was able to sell it for about the same price that I purchased it. Now the hunt is on for the right sailboat ! And perhaps a cruise south on the eastern seaboard (to escape our Canadian winters), now that I have thoroughly enjoyed it northbound. John > From: REStob@aol.com > Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:30:46 -0400 > To: great-loop@lists.trawlering.com > Subject: GL: Previous threads, generally negative to AGLCA > > > I think that one big difference is that many of these folks are doing the > Loop as a "Bucket List" event, buying a boat specifically for their trip > and selling it upon completion. That's what Ron and Eva Stob did and many > others follow suite. Those of us who are life-long boaters have a hard time > putting our arms around this. > I beg to differ. We were living in California when we did the Loop, but we > do not advocate that people do what we did unless their situation is > similar to ours. Most people who do the Loop ARE life-long boaters, already have > their boat and keep it after completion of the Loop. That was not our case, > BUT we fell in love with boating, moved to a good cruising area (Upper > Tennessee River), bought a trailerable boat and continued cruising, trailering > to areas and side trips we missed on our Loop or wanted to cruise again. > We've cruised much more since our Loop Cruise than when we were doing it. > Some life-long boaters may not have the best boat for the Loop. Some make do > with what they have (small 23 foot boats, sailboats, houseboats -- we know > people who have done the Loop in each of these) but these are not ideal, > so some choose to buy a different boat for the Loop, then sell it afterwards > and go back to using their former boat at their home base. > > AGLCA is not just for when you are cruising the Loop. While the primary > focus of AGLCA is The Loop, which for us was just the beginning, it is a > boating organization for past, present and future cruisers of any of the > waterways of Eastern North America. > > Ron and Eva Stob, Authors and publishers > "Honey, Let's Get a Boat...": A Cruising Adventure of America's Great Loop > Great Loop Side Trips: 20 Cruising Adventures on Eastern North America's > Waterways > America's Great Loop Cruise Routes Map > Raven Cove Publishing > P. O. Box 168, Greenback, TN 37742-0168 > _Website: www.greatloop.com_ (http://www.greatloop.com/) > Office: 865-856-7888; Cell: 865-405-7608; Fax: 512-853-7888 > _______________________________________________ > 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