Long-distance cruising doesn’t have to mean bluewater passages to far-flung countries. For more than 6,000 adventurous souls with boats, the Great Loop—a 5,000- to 6,000-mile circumnavigation of the eastern half of the United States—has been a doable adventure filled with great scenery, fascinating history and lots of new friends along the way.

These adventurous souls are known as Loopers. They’re boat owners, many of whom belong to America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association, one of the best sources of information and advice about preparing for and executing a Great Loop cruise. The association’s website has a free route-planning guide for boaters who are just beginning their research, with information about everything from the kinds of boats and equipment to have, to places for refueling, to spots for provisioning or storing the boat along the way.

“A typical average daily passage is 50 miles per day, more or less, although some Loopers choose to slow down, adjust their mileage and stay longer in select destinations,” says Kim Russo, the association’s director. “Many plan their trip in legs, sometimes over several months or even a couple of years, often stopping to travel home for business or family events.”

Members have privileges, and crowd-sourcing information with experienced Great Loop cruisers is one of the most important. On the members’ forum, cruisers are great about recommending places along the Loop to consider or avoid. The association also has a network of harbor hosts, who are local contacts that boaters can tap while cruising in various locations. They can give pointers about attractions and services of all kinds.

In 2022, about 227 association members crossed their wakes—that is, completed their circumnavigations where they began—in boats from 41 to 59 feet long, with the most common being 41 feet. More than 200 of these boaters were Gold Loopers, which means first-timers, but there were also 15 Platinum Loopers who had finished two or more circuits.

What kinds of boats are appropriate for the journey? There are three important factors to consider, whether you are planning to use the boat you already have or are in the market for a newer vessel.

First and most important is bridge clearance, also called air draft. Clearance limits along the Great Loop are immutable. The fixed railroad bridge on the Illinois River at mile 300.6 is listed as 19 feet, 6 inches. The fixed bridge on the Erie Canal at the eastern end of Lake Erie is 15 feet. The Illinois River bridge is everybody’s nemesis, but the eastern Lake Erie clearance can be avoided—with routes through Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence Seaway, or through the canal at Oswego, New York.

“We transited the Erie Canal to the Oswego Canal, which has bridge clearances of 21 feet, and then entered into Lake Ontario,” Russo says of her own Great Loop journey. “We explored a small portion of the Thousand Islands, then transited the Trent-Severn Waterway from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay and continued along the North Channel along the Canadian coast of Lake Huron.”

Then there’s hull draft to consider. The association recommends boats with no more than 5 feet of draft. The Trent-Severn Canal requires a draft of 5 feet or less. It is said to be maintained at 6 feet, but anyone whose draft is deeper than 5 feet must sign a waiver about water that may get thin in spots. Some Loopers with boats drawing 5 feet have also struggled in the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, particularly at low tide.

A third consideration is range. The last available fuel stop on the Mississippi River is Hoppies Marina south of St. Louis, before tackling the leg to Paducah, Kentucky, on the Ohio River—200 miles total. The addition of a new transient dock on the Paducah waterfront has shortened what was previously a longer pull to the Cumberland River entrance to access Kentucky Lake. Boats with less range need to carry spare fuel in plastic jerry cans or rubber bladders.

With all of the above in mind, here are a few boats that satisfy all the requirements for a Great Loop cruise, along with features that make for practical, comfortable and enjoyable cruising.

Back Cove 39O

For boaters who want to complete legs of the Great Loop with time to spare at their destination, the Back Cove 39O may be just the ticket. Power options include triple 400-hp motors; twin 600-hp Mercury V-12 Verados are now offered too. With 1,200 hp, the 39O sets a top-end pace of 45.9 knots at 6238 rpm. Back Cove’s performance data shows a sweet spot of 3500 to 4000 rpm, burning 35 to 40 gph for a range of 316 to 320 nautical miles. Water draft is 3 feet even to the bottom of the prop blade arc, while air draft to the top of the radar mast is 12 feet, 7 inches. Side-by-side chairs at the helm have 360-degree views, and the dash is large enough for twin MFDs—particularly useful when tracking tug and barge traffic on inland river systems of the Great Loop. The owner’s stateroom is forward, and there’s an amidships guest stateroom to port beneath the U-shaped dinette. Wide, walkable side decks make line handling easy when transiting a lock or tying up at the marina.

Ranger Tugs R-31 CB

The R-31 Command Bridge from Ranger Tugs is a Loop-ready ride full of great ideas, including trailerability and a flybridge with components that fold down for bridge clearances. This makes it a great option for Loopers who want to store the boat for a season along the way or choose where to begin the journey. There are two staterooms, one full head and one day head. Twin sets of electronics make selecting and switching helms seamless, while standard bow and stern thrusters simplify handling around the docks. Hull draft is 2 feet, 6 inches, and air draft is 18 feet, 2 inches or 10 feet, 3 inches (bridge and mast up and down, respectively). Equipped with a 320-hp Volvo-Penta D6 engine, the R-31 CB can top out at 20 knots or cruise efficiently at 6 to 8 knots for a range of about 540 nautical miles.

Krogen 44 AE

The Krogen 44 AE has a 23-foot, 3-inch approximate bridge clearance, but its mast-down clearance is 13 feet, 3 inches, making it appropriate for the Loop’s air-draft limits. Propelled by a single 160-hp John Deere 4045AFM85, it can top out at roughly 9 knots. At 7 knots, it burns about 1.9 gph to achieve a 3,000-nautical-mile range. The draft at the designed water line is 4 feet, 6 inches. Like all Krogens, the 44 AE is built and equipped to withstand the rigors of bluewater cruising, making it equally comfortable in protected waters. The hull is solid glass laminate below the waterline for safety and long life, and Corecell closed-cell PVC laminate sandwich is used in the hull sides and superstructure.

Nordic Tugs 40

With a draft of 4 feet, 4 inches and an approximate range of 1,000 nautical miles from a 380-hp Cummins QSB or a 370-hp Volvo-Penta D6, the Nordic Tugs 40 is perfectly sized and powered for the Loop. It has a low profile, a boat deck atop the main cabin that’s accessible from the aft deck, and a pair of pilothouse doors for easy access to the foredeck—meaning that line handling in locks or around the docks is simplified. The lower helm is raised and offers excellent sightlines. It also provides a comfortable all-weather spot to drive from when the skies turn unpleasant. The NT40 sleeps six and can tackle protected and open waters equally well. 

This article was originally published in the November 2023 issue.