Cruising America's Great Loop is guaranteed to be easier, safer and 'can be' much more affordable than you think. It will also much more amazing than anyone can possibly imagine in advance. 

The entire Great Loop's safest and most popular routes are 99.98% 'Inland Waterways' consisting of inland rivers, lakes and manmade canals. If you add up all the miles on this voyage where you cannot see land, they total 78-miles or 178-miles (.02%) depending on the route you choose. For the most part, you will be cruising very close to land and seldom more than a stone's throw from it. Of course, in some areas on the Gulf or Atlantic ICWs, you may choose to 'go out', and on the Great Lakes you may choose to cross them rather than hug the shoreline. The shortest distance across the Gulf is the 78-mile crossing from Carrabelle, FL to Steinhatchee, FL can be completed between daybreak and the 4pm Happy Hour in Steinhatchee, even in a slow 7-mph boat.

To cruise the entire Great Loop, the absolute maximum overhead clearance that limits the height of your boat above the water is 19’ 7”. To cruise the Great Loop your vessel MUST be able to cruise under this currently charted 19’ 7” fixed bridge.

This means that your vessel’s super-structure; all that part of your boat left over after you take down your mast, antennas, Bimini top, radar arch, etc., must be able to cruise under this 19’ 7” fixed bridge. While there are other lower bridges, this is the lowest fixed bridge every Looper must go under. All routes lead here! There is no alternative waterway route around this bridge.

This bridge is just south of Chicago and located at Mile 300.5 on the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal. It is the only waterway link from the Great Lakes to the Illinois, Mississippi, and Inland rivers. If you can’t clear this bridge, your Great Loop becomes a Great U-turn.

  Additional Height Restrictions apply only after you enter the New York Canal System at Troy, NY and continue until you reach Mobile, AL.

1. You must clear 19’ 7” to complete the Great Loop.

2. The optional route to Canada is Lake Champlain with a height restriction of 17'. 

3. To cruise thru "Downtown" Chicago your height restriction is 17’.

4. To cruise the "FULL-LENGTH" of the Erie Canal, west of Three Rivers Junction, your height restriction is 15’ 6”.

* If you can clear that 19' 7" fixed bridge south of Chicago, you are good to go on all the safest and most popular routes around the Loop, with the exception of the west end of the Erie Canal beyond the Oswego Canal junction to Lake Ontario & Canada.   

We strongly suggest 4’ 6” or less.  Some report you can do this with a 6-foot draft. We wouldn’t even try. Having done it with a 4’ 6” draft and running aground in several locations, we highly recommend a draft of 4’ 6” or less. Less will be much better and less stressful when cruising shallow waters known for shoaling. With a 4’ draft or less, your chances of running aground will be slim on all routes in both Canada and U.S.A., including along the Isle of Palms area between Charleston and Georgetown, as well as the inside route along the New Jersey ICW.

There have been plenty of Loopers that have made this voyage with 5’ drafts, but a draft of 5’ or more is certainly not ideal. 

If cruising Canada, there is a 5’ maximum draft in Canada’s Heritage Canals including the Champlain Canal, Rideau Canal and Trent-Severn. The Trent Severn is your route to Georgian Bay, the North Channel, and the USA at the junction of Lakes Huron & Michigan. If your plans include cruising the Trent-Severn or any of Canada’s Heritage Canals, you should have a fully loaded draft of 5’ or less. Even at 5’ you run the risk (depending on rainfall & water levels) of having to sign a damage waiver or being refused entrance until the water depth increases. 

Any beam or width less than 23’ will give you complete access to all Great Loop main routes and most popular detours and side-trips. For cruising Canada’s Heritage Canals including the Trent-Severn Canal your vessel must have a beam of 23’ or less. 

For the best Marina access and dock slips, we suggest a beam of 16 feet or less. Most Marinas are unable to accommodate vessels exceeding a 16’ beam with an inside protected slip. To accommodate vessels with more than a 16’ beam, some marinas will charge double because your vessel will be taking up the space normally used to accommodate two vessels. In addition, vessels with wider beams such as most catamarans, will also often be placed ‘out on the T’ or at the end of the fuel dock because they are unable to fit in a slip.

Common Sense & Safety - The length of your boat is more of a matter of safety, common sense, and affordability than a physical restriction. Physical length restrictions include a maximum of 99-feet on the Trent-Severn Canal and Canada’s Heritage canals, and 300-feet in the US. 

The average Looper boat is very near 36-feet in length. Very few Looper’s boats exceed 40-feet, and far fewer reach 50-feet. Keep in mind, when it comes to expenses, even after your boat is fully paid for – ‘everything’ expense wise’ including fuel, maintenance, parts, canal fees, marina fees, is based on the length of your boat. The bigger your boat, the more expensive your voyage will be. 

In addition, for safety reasons a vessel should never exceed the size that the ‘weakest person’ on the boat can handle alone in all kinds of wind, weather, traffic, as well as docking and locking conditions. Capt. John suggests you boat should not be 1' larger than your comfort demands, or 1' smaller than your safety requires.

We suggest a fuel range of 275 miles - At the 2024 time of this publication, your farthest required fuel range will be is between Hoppies in Kimmswick, Missouri on the Upper Mississippi River and Paducah, KY, which is exactly 208-miles. However, the last 50-miles is against a might strong 3-mph current which can easily slow you down and burn a lot more fuel.  

NOTE: There are two potential locations, that if one or the other Marina is closed or fuel not accessible, your minimum fuel range will increase as follows: 

* One such Marina is Hoppies at Mile 158.5 on the Upper Mississippi River. If Hoppies is closed, as it was on our 2018 voyage, or their fuel is not accessible, your minimum fuel range from Alton Marina to Paducah will be 245-miles. Again, we suggest a 275-mile fuel range because the last 50-miles of this voyage is against an often-mighty 3mph current up the Ohio River. 

* The other potential closing is Bobby’s Fish Camp located at Mile 118.9 on the Tennessee-Tombigbee route. If Bobby’s is closed, your ‘no reserve’ fuel range from Demopolis to Dog River is 229-miles.   

* You will need a 553 Mile fuel range if cruising the Lower Mississippi River – We have to mention this just in case you are thinking of cruising the full length of the Mississippi River to New Orleans. Which we fervently recommend NOT DOING. There are two sections of the Lower Mississippi River that are completely void of safe shore access, and only two Marinas between Hoppies and the far side of New Orleans. One is located in Memphis at Mile 736, and the other in Greenville at Mile 538, after the Greenville Yacht Club, your next available fuel stop is at Seabrook Marina 7-miles on the southeast side of New Orleans at the entrance of Lake Pontchartrain from the Gulf ICW. There is no recreational boat fuel, facilities, or docking on the Mississippi side of New Orleans.

Our “140-cruising day” route should be used as a guideline. It is not the gospel. Your speed, detours, side-trips, and additional stops will affect your number of cruising days. Both my son and I and several of our Looping friends have made this voyage, and whether you take the U.S. only (Erie Canal) route, of the Canadian (Trent-Severn Canal) route, ironically, while the U.S. route is 265-miles longer, both routes will take about the same number cruising days. The difference is lakes Erie & Huron don't have locks or lift bridges, and therefore, you don't have any long wait times with Canal speed limits. 

Our 140 "cruising day" guide & route is the safest, easiest, and most scenic route around the Loop. It will take you right to a countless number of amazing destinations. Fifty of them were listed in Conde' Nast’s most beautiful, must see and do places in America. A hundred of them have been included in "Looper favorite" places to stop. Not counted in our 140 cruising days are our side trips. We highly recommend the side-trips to Nashville & Knoxville. Staying in each geographic area during its preferred weather and boating season is the 'safest' reason to take your time to stop, shop, stay, linger, eat out, see the sights, and be a tourist along the way. 

Do it your way on your choice of boat. That’s the only way you will be happy. Frugal of Flamboyant, every Looper should make this their own. Doing so will bless you with the most loved and talked about adventure of your lifetime! 

Of course, you can start your cruising days from anywhere on the Great Loop route nearest your home port or from any safe connecting navigable lake, river, canal, or waterway. 

Our recommended 140 cruising days are not set in concrete. You may take a few more or a few less actual cruising days, however, if you go faster, in most cases you will find yourself waiting for the slower boats at a Lock or Lift Bridge. In some cases, you may get to the next destination sooner, or skip a destination and go to the next. Going further, however, requires caution. In most locations, you may put yourself at risk of having to cruise after dark or being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no safe anchorage or marina at night. Those that want to speed around the Loop can do so, but no matter how fast you can go, your actual days will not be a whole lot less. 

In many locations Locks & Lift Bridges work on a fixed schedule and are closed at night. Nothing can be more stressful or dangerous than being trapped between two Locks or Lift Bridges overnight with no place to go, no marina and no safe place to anchor.

We highly encourage you to take your time. You will have plenty of time to stop, shop, stay and linger at your favorite destinations. For both safety & comfort, taking your time and making sure you remain in each geographic area during its preferred boating season in important. Only your speed, optional overnight stops, detours, and side-trips will affect your number of actual cruising days. We suggest taking at least another 140 days to see the sights and relax while not cruising, will make this voyage the most enjoyable. 

For sure, and we hope sooner than later, you will discover that your most indulgent luxury on this adventure, will be that you have all the time you need to take your time at all your favorite destinations.

  Most ‘Great Loop’ publications, be they books, blogs, or websites; give many of us the distinct impression that cruising America’s Great Loop requires a big expensive boat, a PHD in navigation & weather forecasting, a Master Marine Mechanics license, and a lifetime of boating experience as well as more money than most of us have or want to spend. 

I’m living proof and here to tell you - none of that is true.

I’m not here to boast of my accomplishments, or about the size or cost of my boat, or how ‘much’ money I spent cruising the Loop. In fact, if I were to brag, it would be about ‘how little’ it costs me, and how much fun I have all along the way. I’m certainly not a mechanic. If it can’t be fixed with a screwdriver, pair of pliers, duct tape or WD40 – I’m out of luck. I must call a mechanic. With ten Loops under my keel in fifty-years, I’ve made lots of mistakes. I’ve learned lots of lessons. Most importantly, I’ve learned the only important aspect of cruising the Loop is simply being a safe boater in a safe, suitable, and seaworthy vessel. 

I have my vessel checked up, tuned up, and worked on by a “Certified Marine Mechanic” before every voyage, and if I have any doubts about my vessel’s seaworthiness, I get a “Marine Survey”. Since doing this (starting after my 1stvoyage around), I’ve never had a mechanical, electrical, or other problem the entire time I’ve been cruising the Loop. Most Loopers that have these problems either did the work themselves or had the neighborhood or marina’s ‘treetop’ mechanic do the work. If there is any place or time you need to “get it right the first time” . . . This is it.

My goal for this book is to dispel some myths, tell you how safe and easy this voyage is, and make planning and cruising it safer, easier, more fun, and more affordable for everyone. 

Whether you are cruising in a fast boat or slow boat, the “Looper’s Companion Guide” takes you safely around the Loop. It also helps you with selecting, equipping, and outfitting your boat in a manner that fits your lifestyle and budget. From the most frugal and fuel-efficient to the flamboyant and accommodating vessels, you get all the information you need to determine the best boat, equipment, and amenities for your Great Loop voyage. 

From sail or power, one engine or two, gas or diesel, we give you the very best and safest route and route options. In addition to all the great destinations, you also get all the pros & cons on the most popular type and size vessels suitable for cruising the Loop, including essential gear and equipment. It is all provided to make your Great Loop voyage safe, stress-free, comfortable, affordable - and most of all - a boat load of fun! 

This route keeps you inside the U.S.A. It takes you through the Erie Canal to the Great Lakes and rejoins those Loopers cruising Canada’s Trent-Severn at Mackinac Island. To cruise the full length of the Erie Canal west of Three Rivers Junction which is the Oswego Canal route to Lake Ontario and Canada - your vessel must be able to clear a 15' 6" fixed bridge. The total distance on this route (hugging the southern shores of Lake Erie is 5,640-miles and your estimated cruising time will be 700-hours. If you cannot clear a 15' 6" fixed bridge, and you cannot or choose not to cruise the Canadian/Trent Severn route, your option is taking the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario and heading west along the shores of New York State to the Welland Canal. If you do not have a Passport or Nexis Card, you must stay on the American side and go through the Welland Canal on the west end of Lake Erie. We do not recommend cruising the Welland Canal, mainly because of the added cost and extended wait times. This Lock is almost exclusively used by huge tankers & commercial ships. Reservations are required to transit the Welland Canal, and transits are only available on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sundays. Transit Fee is $200, and you must have three handlers on your boat. Additional handlers are available on site for $150 per person per day.

The Canadian route departs the Erie Canal at Three Rivers junction, and takes the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario, Kingston, ON, Picton, On and on to Trent & the Trent-Severn Canal. It joins again with the all-USA route at Mackinac Island. The total distance on the Canadian/Trent Severn route is 5,466-miles and your estimated cruising time will also be very near 700-hours as a result of wait & transit time spent at the Locks. While the Trent Severn route is about 174-miles shorter, your actual cruising days on either of the main, safest, recommended routes will be about the same 140 'cruising' days. This does not include detours or side trips.