As long as you aren't talking about a monster with a 75 ft mast, a sail boat works fine for looping. Most of the bridges along the intercoastal either open or have at least a 65 foot draft, so there is no need to run out in the ocean for most of the loop. At Chicago you will need to pull the mast and strap it on deck until you get to kentucky lake from their to Mobile all the bridges are 50' or better. If you are conserned about flooding reducing the clearance, wait until Mobile. At the Hudson, you will need to pull the mast again until you get out to the Great Lakes. We aren't sailing purists and only raise them when the wind is convienent, but we get a nice boost and have a backup drive system if the engine goes out. Shallow draft is more important as you are often traveling in 8-10 foot depths (a racing monohull with a 10 foot draft would not be a good idea). 4-5 feet draft shouldn't be a significant issue. With out 18 inch draft we comfortably go places that most power boats won't dare. Mike & Tammy Valhalla II (Gemini 3400 ) Currently: Little River SC

Have any of you Loopers used the CMAP MaxWide charts? They have one (W73) that covers the entire East Coast and the Bahamas, plus a good part of the Gulf of Mexico and Canada. Another, the CF2, also includes the Great Lakes. It looks to me like it covers about half of the Loop in one chart. I would like to hear from others who have used this map chip and some suggestions on where to buy it, even a used one. My chart plotter is a Standard Horizon CP1000C plotter. Thanks R.

On the Chicago to Mobile route I would not step the mast until Mobile. There are many anchorages on the Tenn-Tom that you would not be able to use due to foliage and you are not going to be sailing anyway. Ted Stehle, Editor Waterway Guide/Skipper Bob Publications www.waterwayguide.com www.skipperbob.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "M S" <valhalla360@yahoo.com> To: <great-loop@lists.samurai.com> Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 8:02 AM Subject: Re: GL: Boats for Looping > As long as you aren't talking about a monster with a 75 ft mast, a sail > boat > works fine for looping. > > Most of the bridges along the intercoastal either open or have at least a > 65 > foot draft, so there is no need to run out in the ocean for most of the > loop. > > At Chicago you will need to pull the mast and strap it on deck until you > get > to kentucky lake from their to Mobile all the bridges are 50' or better. > If > you are conserned about flooding reducing the clearance, wait until > Mobile. > > At the Hudson, you will need to pull the mast again until you get out to > the > Great Lakes. > > We aren't sailing purists and only raise them when the wind is convienent, > but > we get a nice boost and have a backup drive system if the engine goes out. > > Shallow draft is more important as you are often traveling in 8-10 foot > depths > (a racing monohull with a 10 foot draft would not be a good idea). 4-5 > feet > draft shouldn't be a significant issue. With out 18 inch draft we > comfortably > go places that most power boats won't dare. > > Mike & Tammy > Valhalla II (Gemini 3400 ) > Currently: Little River SC > _______________________________________________ > http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/great-loop > > To modify your Great-Loop subscription options (change email address, > unsubscribe, etc.) go to: > http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/options/great-loop