Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I guess too much free time isn't a bad problem to have! But with all of it, I'm starting to dream about expanding my boating horizons and planning for the future. Has anyone here ever took off from say, Miami and crossed the Gulf Stream into the Bahamas and maybe down into the Caribbean? Of course not necessarily in a pontoon(I'm a little crazy but not that crazy!) but in a smaller, live aboard type twin engine boat. I've read a lot about it but would like to talk to someone who's done it before. What's been your experience? I'm also thinking a great loop trip would be awesome! An older live aboard can be had for $100-150K and sounds like a great way to spend a couple months at a time...thinking full retirement time frame. Like in the next 10-15 years. Never too early to start planning!

Bob the builder over on OSO forums does it. He has a big diesel Nordic offshore style boat with Arneson surface drives. Search his threads, cool trips.

I do enjoy reading some of the travel logs on the Great Loop members' websites.

They're pretty gutsy people. If you don't have mechanical abilities, ingenuity and a bunch of common sense, don't do it.

They say a 36' diesel trawler is about the perfect rig to do such trips. Planing cruisers just don't get the fuel mileage of a trawler with a 105 hp Ford-Lehman single engine @ 10 mph.

We had a little old man up the lake that had done the Great Loop twice in a 42' trawler. His family finally had to get him off the water at almost 90 years old.

But the all time Great Loop speed record was done in a tritoon boat with a big motor. I don't know how the guy stood up to the voyage by himself.

Yes, that's a great story of the looper who did it with a Premier S Series PTX/Yamaha 250 in 8 weeks.
http://www.boatus.com/magazine/2011/october/hurry.asp
http://ranchhouseloop.blogspot.com/

http://swingsetonthehook.blogspot.com/

Here is a couple that are doing it as we speak. They used to boat on the Mississippi river in the Alton pool. They sold everything except the boat and live aboard.

tms0425 wrote:Yes, that's a great story of the looper who did it with a Premier S Series PTX/Yamaha 250 in 8 weeks.
http://www.boatus.com/magazine/2011/october/hurry.asp
http://ranchhouseloop.blogspot.com/

I'm in the middle of reading about this. This kind of stuff always interests me, at least to read anyways.

Perfect pontoon boat to do it in!

Bryden24shp wrote:Perfect pontoon boat to do it in!

I was thinking the same thing. Especially thought of your toon with the windshield.