Rubber Band Trawler

The reason boats are popular is there are so many kinds with so many uses. There's sail boats, fishing boats, ski boats, dinner party barges and formal dinner boats, passage-making boats, dock queens, sightseeing boats, shop boats, "Just because I can afford it" boats, live aboard boats, weekend getaway boats, project boats, cruise ships, jewelry boats, dive boats, sand bar boats, hunting boats, flats boats, air boats, etc. Here's how I evolved with my adventure boating joy.

I've always been a traveler. First on foot, then bicycles, then motor cycles, sports cars, to full sized vehicles. I delivered several cars from Chicago to the West coast by answering Drive Away ads in the newspaper. Later, from Chicago, I'd run my sports car to NY City and back on a 3 day weekend. My wife and I saw 49 states on our honeymoon driving a Ford Bronco scouting for a place to settle - we decided on Oregon after several months on the road.

The Bronco at our home in Ashland Oregon

Not long after we settled in Oregon in a house we bought for $7,000, we each rode a 175 Honda from Oregon to South Carolina and back - over 7,000 miles.

Suzy on her cross country motorcycle - we wore leathers on the road.

When we returned home after visiting friends in Charleston SC who took us out on their sailboat, we bought a 12' sailboat to learn how to sail. We named our new boat Thora, after my mom.  With  this little 12 footer we sailed on many Oregon and California lakes, then the Pacific and then the Atlantic launching off the beach.

Thora I - a 12' Mayflower. She taught us how to sail.

We then moved up to 21' trailersailer to be able to spend overnights on the water. After a very short time with the 21, we couldn't resist the call of the water and wanted to go full time. We answered an ad in Sail Magazine for crew and ended up crewing on a 38' ketch bound for the Caribbean out of Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario. We were sold on boating adventure.

Erina - a 38' Seafarer. Our first crewing job.

We jumped ship after we motored the ketch to Beaufort NC. We hadn't done any sailing with this novice couple who were heading to the Caribbean, and didn't feel comfortable with them. We both got jobs in Beaufort, I as maintenance and crew on a 41' sailboat, Suzy as marine store clerk. We moved onto the sailboat as full time crew.

Suzy and I (bottom) crewing on Pudgie 1

During this spell we talked to every boater we could and because Beaufort is the stopping off place for boats waiting for the hurricane season to be over to head for the Caribbean we had many opportunities to gain knowledge. We went to boat shows and researched every aspect of boating. In the meantime our Oregon house sold and we decided we'd buy a brand new Bristol 27' sailboat because it was ocean crossing capable and either of us could single hand it if necessary.

We took delivery of the Bristol at the factory in RI and commissioned Thora II ourselves. Our first adventure was sailing her to our home port of Beaufort NC from Bristol RI. We ended up living aboard her for 3 years. The first 'winter' we sailed to the Keys. The second to the Bahamas.

Thora II in the Bahamas

The third winter we sailed to the Caribbean. We worked in Beaufort during the hurricane season (June thru November) to save up for the next season of cruising. Boating completely satisfied our joy of traveling adventure.

We had a trailer built for Thora II when we moved ashore.

After the three years living aboard Thora II, we moved ashore to start a family. We sold the sailboat and eventually bought a 35' trawler to continue our adventures.

Sunshine - our rubber band trawler.

At this point we had a daughter, mortgage and other associated financial responsibilities. We really couldn't afford the trawler but after reading posts on Trawler forums we had to have her. To make the trawlering dream possible, we put her into charter service. The income from chartering was enough to cover the payments, slip fee, insurance and maintenance of the trawler -- there was no out of pocket.

The trawler, Sunshine, was great --- at first. We used her regularly during the season when she wasn't out on charter and during the off season we had her all to ourselves. But toward the end of the first year we tired of the 200+ miles it took to get to the slip, and we'd seen almost all of the waters one could get to on a 2 or 3 day weekend. We'd need at least a week aboard to see new cruising grounds, but loading and unloading the gear for those trips became monumental, not to mention the 3+ hours drive there and back. Sunshine had become a rubber band trawler - out and back, out and back, over and over.

We put her up for sale and she sold quickly - we negotiated a week cruise in the sale, which we did take advantage of for a run to Charleston SC from Washington NC, but the adventure was no longer there.

It was then we bought a 15'11" cuddy cabin outboard on a trailer we called QT = Cutie.

QT was the smallest cuddy cabin boat made.

The adventure returned for the local waters, then for lakes/rivers from Manhattan to Lake Michigan to Key Largo.  Granted, it was a little challenging for the three of us on overnights, but the adventure overcame the inconvenience. It wasn't until my wife's MS prohibited her from being in the heat, and the necessity to bring wheelchair that QT became too small.

We then upgraded to an 18' cuddy we called Nicky. I equipped Nicky with a generator and air conditioner to keep Suzy cool - our adventures continued.

Nicky - with her red generator for the air conditioner.

More on the air conditioner here.

We used Nicky as a camper as well as a boat on coast to coast adventures including multiple trips to Lake Powell from SC and even for a 13,000 mile round trip to Alaska although the waters above the continental US proved to be a little big for our boat.

We splashed at Prince Rupert, Hyder, Skagway and Homer.

Between QT and Nicky we launched at over 100 different ramps across the US, finding adventure at each. Here's a few tracks of where we've been:

These were the closest ocean waters to our home in Spartanburg, SC

The Mississippi was not the most enjoyable cruise - busy and industrial.

We stopped at every harbor between Washington Island and Calumet City.

I did this trip to Bimini solo in the 18 footer.

We stayed overnight at Avalon Harbor, Catalina.

The water traffic at SF was overwhelming.

We love FL cruising, including the Okeechobee Waterway across to Stuart then down to the Keys!

How could you pass up a chance to see the London Bridge?

But as my wife's MS progressed, we needed something with more space and more comforts. Enter Big Duck - a 28' houseboat with all the comforts of the trawler but none of the responsibility or hassle.

Big Duck - 1972 Land n Sea houseboat on the way to Lake Powell from SC.

No more loading for the 200 miles to the slip, the adventure began in the backyard when we hooked Big Duck up to the van. No taxes because of her age. Very little maintenance and upkeep after we got her water ready. Big Duck proved to be the absolute dream adventure provider.
Knowing what we know now, Big Duck could well have been the right boat from the very beginning.

Big Duck at Lake Powell

No, we'd never consider heading to the Caribbean with Big Duck, but the Bahamas YES, she would have been perfect there. It would only take 2 hours for Big Duck to get from Lauderdale to Bimini at her 30mph capability. And the convenience she'd offer with the aft deck freezer, storage and a/c comfort, she would have been outstanding. As for the Caribbean - we did sail there, but as crew on a boat who had been single handed from England. The captain was looking for crew to the St Thomas. We were completely ready to sail Thora II but we couldn't refuse his generous offer. Think about this - we had known this single handed sailor for a little more than month and we were going to spend 2 weeks with him alone offshore. I don't even remember his name.

Anyway, bottom line for us...the trawler was more of a jewelry boat than an adventure vehicle. Don't get me wrong, there is not an ultimate noble reason to own a boat - any and all reasons are just as valid as any others. The challenge is to know which reason one is attempting to address.