Great Loop Yacht and Boat Articles

Boating Info- Great Loop and More

Please find below yacht and boat articles submitted by boat owners, yacht consultants and others for Curtis Stokes and Associates. CSA hopes you find this material useful and remember CSA services when the time comes to buy or sell a yacht. Contact Us through our many offices throughout the USA.

Preparing your Boat for a Hurricane

by Barbara Burke
We’re now in Hurricane Season and hopefully we’re wiser from past experience, but it doesn’t hurt to review a few tips for securing your boat. Remove canvas, sails, and loose items, double up dock and fender lines and add chafe guards. Remember that your fenders may be lifted by the wind and become useless, so cross tie your boat to hold it away from the dock. Tie your dock lines so they can be adjusted from the dock, and consider using snubbers. If you are on a fixed dock, make sure your lines are long enough to allow for rising water.

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Countdown to Survey Day

by Barbara Burke
A major part of a boat sale is going through a satisfactory survey and sea trial. This can be a long, stressful day, especially for the seller, where he is asked to run the RPM’s up far beyond where he usually cruises, the surveyor is pounding on decks with a mallet to check for voids and delamination, and people are barraging him with questions. In fact, it’s frequently a good idea to hire a professional captain to run the boat so that the seller can be available to demonstrate equipment.

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Cruising Delaware Bay on the Great Loop

by Jim Healy
There is little to nothing to attract the cruising and destination interests of cruisers on the Delaware Bay. Cruisers must review the weather forecast carefully before transiting the Delaware Bay in either direction! This large, open, exposed body of water lies geographically Southeast to Northwest. Because of the combined tidal and river flow, ebb currents are 2+ kts, and flood currents are 1-1/2 kts. Ebbs also last longer than floods. Winds from the Southeast or Northwest create steep, short period, choppy sea states on the Delaware Bay ESPECIALLY when tidal flow is against the winds. There is no place to run for cover along the Delaware Bay. It’s a fine ride in settled weather…

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Refurbishing Leaking Windows

by Jim Healy
When we bought Sanctuary, we inherited several window leaks. Yes, they were known, but undisclosed, by the seller, not found or tell-tales not recognized and understood by the surveyor, and so, they became ours to discover. For us, a leak in the non-opening stern window in the aft cabin was at the absolute top of our “must fix” list. That particular leak, you see, was above the pillow on the Admiral’s side of the bed!

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Man Overboard!

by Barbara Burke
A few weeks ago I was sailing with a friend on the St. John’s on a beautiful, brisk day of small craft warnings. It’s the kind of wind we love to sail in and what his boat was made for. But that day we had three land-lubbers on board, that weren’t into the adrenaline rush! As I took the helm, I told one of the passengers that in the unlikely event the captain went overboard from his task on deck, his job was to point to him and not take his eyes off of him, no matter what. When I saw the color drain out of his face, it got me thinking – of all the years I’ve been sailing…

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Budgeting for Buying a Boat

by Barbara Burke
When chatting with a prospective purchaser for the first time, I often tell them that buying a boat is kind of like buying a puppy; it’s not just the price of the puppy that needs to be considered, it’s the cost of raising the dog. It’s the food, vet bills, leashes, obedience training… not to mention the cost of replacing things they chew up as they’re growing into well-behaved and loved family members. Similarly, in addition to the purchase price, there are certain expenses you need to be prepared for, when buying a boat.

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Boat Pre-Cruise Preparation

by Jim Healy
1. Prepare a Float Plan; communicate plan to an independent, non-crew safety contact.
2. Ensure that navigation charts are onboard and, optionally, cruising guides for entire range of the float plan.
3. Prepare Chart Plotter waypoints and eRoutes, if desired.

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Great Loop Cruising

by Jim Healy
The Great Loop cruise is many different things to different people. It is unquestionably a mix of opportunity and challenge. Social, travel and sightseeing opportunities abound, and are very satisfying and fulfilling. Challenges come in the form of piloting and navigation tasks, weather and facility delays…

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Anchor Rode – Calculating Capacity

by Jim Healy
In the United States, the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) publishes a table of rode sizing that is suitable for use in coastal and intracoastal waters. This table makes rode selection safe and fairly easy for the vast majority of boaters. It also provides a criteria against which to evaluate installed ground tackle systems…

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Great Loop Chart and Guide Recommendations

by Jim Healy

I am a strong advocate of cruisers having paper charts aboard. This article describes how we accomplished that for our Great Loop cruise. This article focuses on paper charts and print Cruising Guide resources, not on the many available electronic resources.

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George and Pat Hospodar, authors of “Reflection on America’s Great Loop”
Please see the articles below from George and Pat Hospodar for Great Loop cruising for some great first hand knowledge of the conditions you may find on your cruise.

• Choosing Your Great Loop Route – the Atlantic to the Great Lakes
• Just Another Day on the Great Loop
• A “Biting” Situation on the Great Loop
• Traveling the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway
• “Looping” Through the Great Lakes
• Passing Commercial Traffic- Great Loop Midwest Rivers
• Crossing the Big Bend of Florida while on the “Loop”

Disclaimer: Curtis Stokes and Associates does not necessarily agree or promote the content by the above authors. This content is to be used only with the reader’s discretion.