Best Great Loop Boats—What Types Suit Your Cruising Style?

You say you want to become a “Looper,” and you want to make your voyage on one of the best Great Loop boats? You’re not alone. Travelling the Great Loop is the dream of many cruisers and is one of the best ways to see a huge and diverse portion of the United States by boat.

What is the Great Loop, and Why Do It?

Encircling the entire eastern portion of the United States, the Great Loop waterway stretches for about 6,000 miles. In truth it isn’t a single path as there are several different ways to complete it, including different routes from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and through parts of Canada. Most Loopers begin in Chicago (to take advantage of the currents running south down the Mississippi). The different legs of this journey takes you down the river, through the Gulf of Mexico, up the Atlantic coast, and eventually back to and through the Great Lakes. The journey can take several months or up to a year if you keep the throttles set for a leisurely pace. Many people do the Loop in segments, sometimes with entire seasons or even years between each leg as work and life allows.

So, why do the Great Loop in the first place? Everyone intrigued by the idea will have their own answer. A sense of adventure and exploration will certainly be part of the equation. Getting to see so much of the country and meet so many different and diverse people will likely be a part of the answer, too.

 © Tom Fish, geo.fish

What to Look for in a Great Loop Boat

Obviously, on a trip of this nature, you’ll be spending an extended period of time on your Great Loop boat. There will be long stretches of isolation between ports, and the basic liveaboard necessities must all be accounted for.

Size considerations

The larger a boat is the more living space, comfort, and amenities it generally has. However, for the Great Loop there is such a thing as being too big. Draft, both below the waterline and above for bridge clearance, is one consideration. Boats that draw more than four feet of water could run aground in multiple locations depending on water levels and on how good you are at navigating, and boats requiring five or more feet of water are generally considered unsuitable for the trip. Height matters, too, because boats towering more than 19’6” in the air won’t be able to pass under the Lemont Railroad Bridge over the Illinois River. This doesn’t make it impossible to complete the journey—plenty of sailboats have made it by unstepping the mast—but it certainly complicates things.

As a general rule of thumb, most Loopers feel the 35’ to 45’ size range is a sweet spot for the best Great Loop boats. However, there are plenty of larger boats that can make it through the shallow areas and under the bridges, and there are certainly smaller boats that complete the journey. In fact, there are those who have made the entire voyage on a pontoon boat, a PWC, and even paddling a kayak.

Comfort and livability

Comfort is certainly important on a journey of this nature, and many would say that having climate control is a must. Although many time their trip with the seasons, heading south in the fall to arrive in the Gulf by the time winter sets in, on a trip this extensive you need to be prepared for all sorts of surprises from the weather. More important are the basics needed for living aboard. A full galley for prepping meals, reasonable sleeping accommodations, and a reliable head with a shower are absolutely critical.

Maneuverability and handling

While just about any type of boat meeting the prerequisites can complete the Loop, remember that it includes navigating canal locks, docking in unfamiliar marinas, and travelling for long distances at a single stretch. Accessories like bow thrusters, joystick controls, and autopilot will give you a big leg up. An even more important consideration is range. The longest stretch between fuel pumps is around 210 miles, so if your boat can’t make that run on its own fuel supply, you’ll need to make alternative arrangements. Plus, during the off-season or after major weather events some marinas may be closed. The bottom line? The more range your boat has the better.

Best Boats for the Great Loop by Category

Best trawlers for the Great Loop

Trawlers are an ideal choice for many people, since they’re designed for long passages and lots of range. However, when considering them, air draft can be an issue since many have flybridges and/or masts. Consider the popular Beneteau Swift Trawler line; models up to the 48 can make the loop, though it may be necessary to lower masts and tops to get under a bridge or two. Larger models like the 54 or the Grand Trawler 62, however, are too tall for the task.

Also consider speed if making the Great Loop trip in a specific timeframe is important to you. Most trawlers built today will run on plane (though at the cost of efficiency) and can cruise at speeds that are quite fast by historical standards. But many of the used trawler boats on the market are designed to cruise at displacement speeds of just six or eight mph.

Beneteau Swift Trawler 41. Beneteau photo

Best motor yachts for the Great Loop

If comfort is your top priority, then the best Great Loop boat for you will likely be a motor yacht. These boats maximize interior living space, luxury, and amenities, with less emphasis put on exterior spaces or performance.

Many brands of motor yachts, like Absolute and Fairline, offer a mix of models including some with tall flybridges sporting elevated hard tops, so care must be taken to be sure the specific one you pick out isn’t too tall for getting under those bridges. They also offer many designs that fit the bill, however, so you’ll have plenty of choices. And considering the sky-high level of luxury most of these motor yachts provide, you’ll be one of the most pampered Loopers around.

Fairline 50 Targa. Fairline photo

Best power catamarans for the Great Loop

Power catamarans have a number of advantages over V-hull boats, like smoother running in rough seas, enhanced stability, and better efficiency. For some Loopers these characteristics will make a powercat the best choice, but there are a few other factors to be aware of. Since the two hulls are bridged by a deck rather than having one large belly of the boat for the cabin, the interior can seem chopped up into smaller segments. Staterooms may be long and narrow, and layouts sometimes feel awkward, particularly on smaller models. Also consider beam. Power catamarans are often much beamier than V-hulls the same length, which can make putting them in unfamiliar slips or negotiating locks a bit more difficult.

In some cases, while the extra beam is great from a comfort and space standpoint it will make a specific power catamarans unsuitable for the trip. Consider the popular Aquila power catamarans, for example. Their 42 Yacht and 44 Yacht would be excellent for travelling the Great Loop. But the 50 Yacht and 54 Yacht are both too wide to transit the Port Severn lock, which has a maximum width of 23’. Also note that any type of boat with a beam over 16’ is likely to be too wide for most marina slips. That means parking on a T-head, if available, where you’ll generally be subjected to more traffic and waves.

Aquila 42 Yacht. Aquila photo

Best budget-friendly boats for the Great Loop

“Budget friendly” is a relative term, especially when it comes to boats large enough to sleep aboard for extended periods of time. If it’s an important consideration, however, shopping the used boat market is much more likely to meet whatever budgetary constraints you may have. There are a large number of older boats, such as Mainship trawlers, Carver motor yachts, and Bayliner cruisers that can be purchased for under (sometimes well under) six figures yet still provide plenty of room and comfort.

Best trailerable boats for the Great Loop

If you want the ability to haul out and hit the highway during your great Loop adventure, a trailerable boat is the ticket. These will be well outside of the usual 35’ to 45’ size range, and as a result you’ll have to expect living conditions to be a bit more restrictive. If keeping things compact works for your needs, check out boats like the Cutwater pocket cruisers and smaller model Ranger Tugs.

Cutwater C-248. Cutwater photo.

FAQs about Great Loop Boats

What is the ideal size boat for the Great Loop?

Most Loopers try to stick in the 35’ to 45’ range, but aside from beam and air draft considerations there are no hard-and-fast rules about boat size.

How much does a Great Loop Boat cost?

On the low end, for a decades-old used boat, $30,000 to $40,000 would be about the least amount you’ll find a Loop-worthy boat for (without doing a lot of repairing and refitting). At the opposite end of the scale, the sky’s the limit; you could spend millions if you tried.

Do I need a special license to complete the Great Loop?

You don’t need any special license, but you do need to have taken a boater education course approved by the authorities regulating the state and province waterways you’ll be travelling through. For the most part this is the same requirement (completion of a course certified by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators) already in place for operating a powerboat in most states. Canadian boaters running the Loop need to have a Pleasure Craft Operator Card (or superseding documentation), which is also recognized in U.S. waters.

Final Tips for Choosing Your Great Loop Boat

Cruising the Great Loop is an adventure any boater is bound to enjoy, but choosing the best Great Loop boat for the voyage will make a good time even better. As you shop for the ideal boat consider all of the factors we’ve talked about and be sure to look at and sea trial lots of models before making any decisions. If possible, it’s a great idea to rent the same model boat you’re considering for the Loop and spend a few nights on it to get a sense of what it’s really like to live aboard.

Join Great Loop forums and communities

You’ll gain tons of insight into what sorts of boats work out best, where to go along the way, and specific Great Loop tips and tricks by checking out online forums and communities. There’s even an America’s Great Loop Cruiser’s Association that is dedicated to making the adventure an awesome one for everyone who sets out to complete the circuit. And before you cast off your lines be sure to get your gold Great Loop burgee.

Search for Great Loop boats on Rightboat.