Great Loop Statistics, Numbers, Answers

Hello all-
The first question most of our sailing friends ask "How much did you spend on fuel?" We have the answer to that and a few other questions.

Here are some statistics of interest:
Miles traveled 6,060
Engine hours 910.8
Locks transited 114
Time to "Loop" 245 days

Major Expenses on "Great Loop" Cruise, MV Winnie W. (rounded off)

Dockage...... $5100
Fuel............. $3800
Groceries.... $3300
Dining out... $3347
Charts......... $1200
Hank*......... $960
Insurance... $900

*Expenses accrued to Hank include inoculations & certifications needed for international travel, food, and monthly heartworm and flea & tick prevention.

Further Explanation of Expenses-
Fuel: we spent far less on fuel than most cruising powerboats; we attribute this to going slow! A 2nd factor is that our boat has good cruising range and this allowed us to buy fuel only at the less-expensive places. We arrived at our home dock with about the same amount of fuel as we left with.

Dockage: we anchored out about half the time... we could easily have saved money on dockage by anchoring out more. Part was due to cold weather at the end of the trip and avoiding ice-covered dinghy rides with Hank!

Charts: Doug bought a lot of brand-new chart kits & books, as well as a few traditional large paper charts (the kind that cover a whole table when rolled out, and you hold the corners in place by jabbing a pirate dagger thru the corners). We did not use any of the large traditional charts for actual navigation, so that was not cost-effective. The Corps of Engineers chart books for the inland rivers (Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee, Cumberland, Tombigbee) have not been revised or updated since 1992, so it would have been more cost-effective to buy 2nd-hand ones from cruisers who finished the Loop last year. However we were very satisfied using paper charts and old-fashioned navigation methods instead of computerized chart plotters. We often heard from fellow Loopers that their chart plotter showed them someplace on the nearby land!

Insurance: we actually spent less on insurance than if we'd stayed home; the premium for the Great Lakes and inland rivers is about half what we pay for coverage in our home waters. Florida & the Gulf is more expensive, but we didn't spend a lot of time there.

Groceries: We stowed a lot of canned & frozen food on board when we left; and we arrived home with about 1/2 as much. Little of it was "original," we replenished several times along the way.

We dined out quite a lot, which adds to the expense but for us adds more to our enjoyment. It's a nice way to socialize with friends we've met along the way, and with fellow cruisers.

One of the bits of conventional wisdom that is no longer true- the Canadian/U.S. exchange rate has changed enough that groceries in Canada are slightly more expensive than in the States.

Gizmos & gadgets.... if we didn't have a chartplotter, what electronic toys *did* we have? An autopilot was the primary "toy;" ours steered the boat at least 90% of the time. It is very easy to use, very reliable, and keeps very steady course.

Would we do it again? YES! The main point of discussion is whether to do the Loop again, or to make a trip south and back and then north and back, or vice versa!

We apologize for the lack of photos today.

Best wishes- Doug and Kathie