A solo run at Robert Youens' jon boat record, in another jon boat. David Barber left the Florida panhandle around July 10, 2026 aboard Bandit, aiming at the 19d 13h 1m solo record with a stated goal of 14 days. He didn't run the record down, but on August 4, 2026 he crossed his own wake back at St. Marks, FL to close the Great Loop solo — 4,884 miles in 25 days, 8 hours, 39 minutes.
"Wow, what an epic adventure. I crossed my wake at 1526 eastern time (I think, close enough) — 4,884 miles in 25 days, 8 hours, 39 min." — David Barber, "Bandit"
Live map on this site · Garmin tracker · Facebook — "Bandit, Great Loop 2026" · GoFundMe (fuel fund)
| Hull | SeaArk jon boat |
| Power | Yamaha F150. It came as the factory 150/105 jet package — 150 hp at the powerhead, 105 at the jet pump — and Barber converted it back to a conventional prop lower unit and added a jackplate, so it's effectively 150 hp at the prop. |
| Observed speed | ~30 mph top; roughly 20 mph between locks on the Erie Canal |
He brought the boat back to Florida from Alaska, where he had been stationed in the Air Force.
Barber ran the Loop counter-clockwise — east and north up the Atlantic first. Waypoints logged by boaters following his tracker: Oregon Inlet, North Carolina · Coinjock · Portsmouth, Virginia · out the mouth of the Chesapeake and up the coast · Chincoteague, Virginia · Cape May, New Jersey · past Manhattan and into the Hudson · held overnight at a lock in storms · onto the Erie Canal · through the Great Lakes and down the inland rivers · and back across the Gulf to close the loop at St. Marks on August 4.
Unlike Youens' round-the-clock, two-man format, Barber ran single-handed and mostly by day — observers logged late starts, midday stops and overnight tie-ups. That's a very different kind of run: no co-driver, no sleeping compartment, no relief at the helm — and he still brought it all the way home in 25 days, 8 hours, 39 minutes.
A GoFundMe organized by Kim Collins of Crawfordville, Florida — created June 29, 2026 — has raised about $5,200 of a $6,000 goal across 86 donations. The stated purpose is fuel, and specifically route efficiency: enough margin to refuel at the most convenient stop rather than detouring miles off the Loop hunting cheaper marinas.
"David Barber and his boat Bandit are on a mission to break the Great Loop Solo Record… David believes he and Bandit can complete the loop in just 14 days this July, but the rising cost of marine gas makes the challenge even greater."— the GoFundMe campaign
Barber's attempt has received no mainstream or trade press coverage at all — nothing from local Tallahassee outlets, the boating trade, the AGLCA or Waterway Guide. There are no published interviews and no direct quotes from him anywhere. His age and occupation aren't public. Even his exact departure point is unsettled: St. Marks and Apalachicola have both been reported by people following along. Almost everything above comes from his own tracker, his GoFundMe, and boaters watching in real time on The Hull Truth.
If you know him or have better information, send it in and this page gets updated.