My wife and I love spending time on the water. We don't fish, and we don't
ski. We relax & explore, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the
water. There's no place I'd rather be than on the ICW, but we also do lakes
and rivers. Because the boat is trailerable (18 ½), we can drive to a ramp
anywhere that tickles our fancy (often sleeping aboard ashore on the way).
We've done the entire ICW in hops, circumnavigated Manhattan, been from
Peoria to Chicago, seen some of the Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers,
done some of the Gulf ICW, the Keys, cruised Green Bay - Washington Island,
even been to the Bahamas. We've been known to stay aboard for 3 or 4 days
without coming ashore, spending nights on the hook. Sometimes we'll tie up
at a marina or take a meal ashore, sometimes we'll spend a night in a motel.

The boat has a 10 gallon water tank for fresh water showers, a porta potty,
small propane stove and an air conditioner that cools the cuddy on those hot
stuffy nights (and keeps us safe from the bugs). The a/c is also regularly
used for spot cooling 2 crew members under way (especially at displacement
speeds).

I document most of my 'cruises', often sharing those log entries with
friends and acquaintances. Many folks who read these accounts say, "I'd love
to do that, but I don't have a boat."

With retirement in mind, I'm thinking about purchasing a second boat and
setting it up the same as mine.to offer as a buddy boat for a couple of
people to accompany us on some of our 'adventures'. Interested folks could
be people who want to learn about boating, or seasoned veterans just wanting
to spend some time aboard outside their home waters. I'm thinking about a
home base near Beaufort in North Carolina, but depending on interests and
weather, could end up just about anywhere, and probably will. If interested
boaters had a trailer ready truck to pull the buddy boat/trailer, we could
splash wherever they wanted to begin the cruise.

What do you think? Would you, or someone you know, be interested renting a
small "buddy cuddy" for some casual cruising?

Nick in Spartanburg, SC