Great Loop Jon Boat

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Noah Shaver

Member
Not sure if anyone else has been following along with Robert, but last night he completed the Great Loop in 19 days, 13 Hours, and 1 Minute, breaking not only the Solo record, but the Crew record as well.

Mr. Youens tackled this 6,000 mile journey in a 1648 Weldbilt Jon Boat with a 60HP Tohatsu 4 stroke rightly named "The Ageless Wanderer."

The previous record was set by a 3 man crew in a 28 foot cabin cruiser. Their record was just broken by a 71 year old man solo in a Jon Boat.

Truly an inspiring journey. If you haven't looked Robert up, please do. To tackle the Atlantic Ocean, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, The Mississippi River, and countless other large bodies of water in a small jon boat is quite a feat.


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Noah Shaver said:
Not sure if anyone else has been following along with Robert, but last night he completed the Great Loop in 19 days, 13 Hours, and 1 Minute, breaking not only the Solo record, but the Crew record as well.

Mr. Youens tackled this 6,000 mile journey in a 1648 Weldbilt Jon Boat with a 60HP Tohatsu 4 stroke rightly named "The Ageless Wanderer."

The previous record was set by a 3 man crew in a 28 foot cabin cruiser. Their record was just broken by a 71 year old man solo in a Jon Boat.

Truly an inspiring journey. If you haven't looked Robert up, please do. To tackle the Atlantic Ocean, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, The Mississippi River, and countless other large bodies of water in a small jon boat is quite a feat.


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Interesting dude with quite a history. I enjoyed the adventure. I had hoped he would have taken the route across Illinois to the Mississippi River where I live rather than the Illinois River. I would have loved to have traveled with him a bit but then he wouldn't have beat the record. Too many short pools to lock through.
 
Ed L. said:
Interesting dude with quite a history. I enjoyed the adventure. I had hoped he would have taken the route across Illinois to the Mississippi River where I live rather than the Illinois River. I would have loved to have traveled with him a bit but then he wouldn't have beat the record. Too many short pools to lock through.
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He said he ended up going through something like 65 Locks
 
I followed it closely, and watched the live stream as he crossed is wake. John Bourbon and I have been talking about this ourselves. Not for a record, but for an adventure. He in his Snowgoose, me in my Scaup. It was so cool to see folks step up and help in a moments notice, cheer him along and bring him food and drink.
 
Dave Diefenderfer said:
I followed it closely, and watched the live stream as he crossed is wake. John Bourbon and I have been talking about this ourselves. Not for a record, but for an adventure. He in his Snowgoose, me in my Scaup. It was so cool to see folks step up and help in a moments notice, cheer him along and bring him food and drink.
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Keep us posted if you do. From our various locales, we can bring resupply provisions and do a ridealong in our duckboats as you pass by. I'll be glad to provide escort from the SC/NC line to Morehead.
 
Awesome trip! When I was younger I always wanted to retrace Eric Sevareid's canoe trip to Hudson Bay. His journey was the subject of his book, "Canoeing With The Cree." RM
 
RM Anderson said:
Awesome trip! When I was younger I always wanted to retrace Eric Sevareid's canoe trip to Hudson Bay. His journey was the subject of his book, "Canoeing With The Cree." RM
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All~
Thanks for the heads ups....
Noah~ I was completely oblivious. As I am within an hour of where the Erie Canal joins the Hudson River, it would have been fun to offer support!
RM~

Thanks for the lead to Eric Sevareid's book. I read about the journey in his biography many years ago - but just ordered Canoeing with the Cree in the Kindle version (on which I must now read most things...).

Canoeing with the Cree.jpeg

I once took the train up to Moosonee - and paddled up to James Bay circa 1980. Always dreamed of the much longer adventure.

I imagine most of us have read Nathaniel Bishop's Four Months in a Sneakbox - and some recent homage journeys (see Small Boats Magazine) as well.

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I just completed my own Great Loop yesterday. From here in dairy country to my Mom's on Long Island (my boyhood home) and back. Leaving at 2:00 AM after horrendous rains was enough adventure for this 72-year-old. No trailer or even roof rack on this voyage - just delivering a bunch of parts for another South Bay Duckboat - and visiting my 96-year-old Mom for a few days. Stats: 7:00 AM Tuesday to 7:00 AM Friday - about 500 miles.
On trailer with Forester.JPG

BTW: Just as I was about to hit SEND a family of Barred Owls began to wonder - loudly and clearly - Who cooks for you? - right outside my dining room window.

All the best,

SJS
 
Steve Sanford said:
All~
Thanks for the heads ups....
Noah~ I was completely oblivious. As I am within an hour of where the Erie Canal joins the Hudson River, it would have been fun to offer support!
RM~

Thanks for the lead to Eric Sevareid's book. I read about the journey in his biography many years ago - but just ordered Canoeing with the Cree in the Kindle version (on which I must now read most things...).

View attachment 67467

I once took the train up to Moosonee - and paddled up to James Bay circa 1980. Always dreamed of the much longer adventure.

I imagine most of us have read Nathaniel Bishop's Four Months in a Sneakbox - and some recent homage journeys (see Small Boats Magazine) as well.

View attachment 67468
I just completed my own Great Loop yesterday. From here in dairy country to my Mom's on Long Island (my boyhood home) and back. Leaving at 2:00 AM after horrendous rains was enough adventure for this 72-year-old. No trailer or even roof rack on this voyage - just delivering a bunch of parts for another South Bay Duckboat - and visiting my 96-year-old Mom for a few days. Stats: 7:00 AM Tuesday to 7:00 AM Friday - about 500 miles.
View attachment 67469

BTW: Just as I was about to hit SEND a family of Barred Owls began to wonder - loudly and clearly - Who cooks for you? - right outside my dining room window.

All the best,

SJS
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A quick thanks for recommending Four Months in a Sneakbox - great little read!
 
RM Anderson said:
Just ordered my copy of Four Months in a Sneakbox at ThritfBooks!
RM
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I think you'll enjoy it. I'm a bit of a history geek, and particularly enjoy period pieces where you get a glimpse of not just history but individual viewpoints and biases that give clues as to the context in which events occurred. In this day and age when we tend to paint everything (looking backwards) in black and white, good and bad, we're rarely taught context or prevailing thought/understanding. In addition to telling an entertaining story, the author shares many viewpoints that I found interesting and that cast some different light on history most of us know.
 
HenryHawthorne said:
I think you'll enjoy it. I'm a bit of a history geek, and particularly enjoy period pieces where you get a glimpse of not just history but individual viewpoints and biases that give clues as to the context in which events occurred. In this day and age when we tend to paint everything (looking backwards) in black and white, good and bad, we're rarely taught context or prevailing thought/understanding. In addition to telling an entertaining story, the author shares many viewpoints that I found interesting and that cast some different light on history most of us know.
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Henry,

Agreed, it a a travelogue of its time period. I had to lookup what he was going on about Blennerhassett Island.

Rick
 
Richard Lathrop said:
Henry,

Agreed, it a a travelogue of its time period. I had to lookup what he was going on about Blennerhassett Island.

Rick
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Yes - there were plenty of "local" historical tidbits about which I knew nothing, Blennerhassett being one and I had to look that up, too. Fascinating (to me).

I particularly chuckled everytime he described areas we'd consider more Eastern or at most Midwest as Western. Times and understandings do, indeed, change.
 
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