http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/us/22snow.html?em
I did a mockup in my mind of my Atkin Lady of the Lake inspired design, measuring from my bathroom and down the hallway, mentally noting where each room would fit. The head was a bit smaller than my coat closet. The living area larger than my bathroom. The exterior dimension of the living space is 22' long by 8' wide, modest by total liveaboard standards, but I think pretty good for reasonably extended stays.
And that brings me to one of the questions I am still working through... how exactly do I want to use my boat, and what compromises am I will to make?
I know I'd like to spend time on my favorite local rivers. They are unremarkable in many ways, in that they aren't the stuff of Life magazine photo essays, they don't lead to exotic locales or towns that time forgot, and the navigable distances are pretty modest, but I really enjoy my time there. They have their own beauty, made all the more special to me in that they are really relatively unknown pockets of nature tucked in amongst freeways, farms, and cities. The rivers are small and filled with snags, so a shallow hull is a must. The sternwheel of my "Lady" would be ideal.
Then there is Puget Sound, a boating destination for people around the world. And the San Juans, as well as the Inside Passage between Vancouver Island and the Canadian mainland. People from around the world spend thousands chartering boats, exploring the beauty that is my backyard. This is scenery that IS worthy of that photo essay, hundreds of miles of coast line filled with small bays and inlets, perfect for what we call gunkholing in these parts. But there is a problem or two that make these places less attractive to me, and they mostly center around a couple of concerns from my cruising partner, my wife. She gets horribly seasick, even in a mild blow. A finally, she is somewhat, oh, rish adverse, I guess you would say. These waters can be unforgiving of human error or mechanical break down. Take a look at this blog in the Summer, and you'll see just how much trouble can befall a boater in these waters! There are times I share my wife's concern. Still, I've never boated there. Would the rewards surpass the challenges?
There is South Puget Sound, filled with hundreds of miles of shoreline marked by all sizes of coves and inlets, and while the beauty is less rugged than up north, I hear the waters have their own beauty, and are much safer and less crowded. While "Lady" wouldn't be an ideal boat here, it could be quite good. These are shallower waters with tidal variations leaving entire bays high and dry. With the flat bottom of Lady, we'd just wait it out, virtually unaware as we slept. And while a higher freeboard would be best, careful design coupled with prudent boating, could make the risks acceptable.
And then there is trailering. I'd love to visit some of the great rivers of America with my boat, but this, I believe, can create the biggest sacrifice. To be easily trailered a boat should be 8.5 feet wide. Yes, in Washington state at least you can go to 11, I believe, before you need to start talking about pilot cars and the like. You would need a trip permit, but that's ok. Still, that is one serious load. I don't want to trailer every day, or even every month. Really, I'l like to trailer a couple of times a year, and once there, I'd stay for months. I could trailer over to the Snake River, for example, take a trip for a couple of weeks, then stay at a marina down the river, and leave the boat there for a month. Then, I'd come back and continue down the river to, stop, and come back again. A few months later I could trailer to Banks Lake behind the Grand Coulee, and do the same thing. Still, it's the trailering, especially with a boat this big, that seems a problem. 28 feet long, plus another ten for the sternwheel, and 11 feet wide, or just under.
And I want to boat to be something that interests me, even realllly interests me.
And with those last two items, that's where I get stuck.
Lady may still be best.
Bryan
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