Honey, Let's Get a Boat... A Cruising Adventure of America's Great Loop

There are lots of technical boating books out there and they are easy to find. This book chronicles one couple's own adventure on the "Great Loop" in their first cruiser, a 40' (wow) trawler. I loved the writing style--great humor and sometimes romantic descriptions of the goings on (Mr.'s descriptions of Mrs., their married kids' near "marital conflagration" on deck, the story of the chocolates, cruising with the senior ladies. The descriptions of the travel are very well written. The experiences aboard will be appreciated by addicted boaters and non-boaters alike. This is an adventure story. When I finally retire and head for the Great Loop in my cruiser, I will think often and fondly of the Stob's and this delightful book.

I have a nautical library of over 450 books dealing with all aspects of boating. This is one of my favorites. If you want technical, try Chapman's, If you want to capture the "why" we go boating, get this book.

I have been a sailor all my life, well, except for the Navy, which was powerboating, so to speak. Anyway, I had not heard of the "Great Loop" until I read this book. Now my wife and I will be buying a power catamaran in January of 2004 and starting our own great loop trip. Thank you Ron and Eva Stob. How many books have you read that spur you to spend a small fortune, risk becoming a boat bum, just so you can enjoy the experiences of the author? A precious few I suspect.

It's nice to see so many other people have read and enjoyed this book and I hope you'll be the next one because that way, I'll see you out on the loop along with us.

"Honey, Let's Get A Boat" is fun, it's practical, and it's humorous: what more could you want? A great read!

Aside from its smug and pretentious writing style, this book is filled with factual inaccuracies and overloaded with trivia that wasn't helpful to me at all. The author could have written about what it's like to live on a boat or what it's like to cruise on the East Coast or even why he chose to cruise the Great Loop. Instead I got treated to page after page of half-baked history (copied from tourist brouchures) and tales of personal slights (real and imagined) from marina owners, fellow boaters, and any local unlucky enough to meet up with 'Grumpy' when things weren't going his way. Don't buy this book. There are others that are better written and more positive.

I recommend A Year in Paradise: How We Lived Our Dream by Stephen Watterson

I enjoyed reading this book, though I don't think it was especially well written. It is the author's experiences and attention to detail that make "Honey, Let's Get a Boat..." worth reading. What I didn't like was his overuse of the simile...it just seemed flowery and excessive. Also, the book could use a bit of editing/proofreading. I do think that Mr. Stob's writing improves as the book progresses, it is almost as though he learned to write as he wrote. Undeniably an important resource for anyone planning a long cruise on the "Great Loop."

I lived every leg of the journey with them! Laughed at their naiveness at the beginning, applauded their tenacity, marvelled at their bravery and the way they managed to locate so many points of interest along the way. A good help for when my husband and I live out my dream to do this loop in our 44ft boat.