Category: boat

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SUP! Stand Up Paddleboarding.

I tried Stand Up Paddleboarding.

Before we moved to Florida, I had a whole list of things I was going to do. One of them was Stand Up Paddleboarding. I had seen people doing SUP on manatee tours, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

I’m pretty lazy though, and I never really got around to it.

Until today.

We moved onto our boat about three months ago, and it was still pretty chilly. But the last few weeks have been glorious. It’s sometimes nice and calm in the morning, but then it gets choppy in the afternoon. This morning though was just perfect. It was warm, the water was still, and you could actually see the bottom today. Our little cove is normally cloudy with silt.

We’ve made friends with the guys who have a little boat rental stand at the end of the marina. We were all in the hot tub the other night, and one of them was trying to convince me I can get in the water and clean my own boat bottom. I’m not totally convinced yet, but I’ll get there eventually.

This morning, I looked out, and thought, perfect day to try paddleboarding. As I walked up the pier, they boat rental guy was fishing. I asked if he caught anything, and he said no. Then he asked me if I had tried Stand Up Paddleboarding yet. It was like I had put my thought out into the world, and someone answered it.

So 10 minutes later, he’s showing me how to get on the board and paddle. I got right on, and I guess all those gymnastics lessons as a kid paid off, ’cause my balance was good, and I didn’t fall. I paddled all over our marina, and even managed to crouch down on my knees and stand back up again a couple times to go under the docks. They even gave me a bottle of water which I sat on the board and it never fell off. Granted, it was super calm, and I only got the waves from one boat, but I was pretty impressed with myself!

If you’re in Stuart or Jupiter, and want to try Paddleboarding, Kayaking or Jetskiing, go to Beach Water Sports. Super cool peeps.

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We got a boat!

Life on the Water

As some of you know, Matt and I have spent the last couple of years in an RV. (A caravan for the Aussie’s) We’ve had them for years. We had a Class C when Matt was travelling full time. We sold that, and then when I took a post on the Texas border with the guard, I got myself a cute airstream. When Matt joined me, we got a toy hauler, which we then traded in for a 5th wheel. We then moved to Florida, and spent a year in the RV. Then one day, I looked at Matt, and asked how he would feel about living on a boat.

I figured I’d have to talk about boats for a couple years before he warmed to it, but all he said was “sounds expensive, show me it’s doable” so I showed him numbers, and it turned out a boat slip in Florida was pretty comparable to an RV slip. So we started looking.

After a few months, we found our girl. So we went from this to this.

The 5th wheel and my veggie garden.
The 5th wheel and my veggie garden.
No gard
No garden, but lots of fish!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve been aboard about 3 months now, and it’s awesome! There’s this constant gentle rocking, that can put you to sleep in you’re not careful. There’s always a beautiful view. We get new neighbors all the time. There’s dolphins swimming around the marina every couple of days. It truly is the best move we’ve made.

I made a little video tour so you can all see the inside. Hope you enjoy it.

She’s a 2007 Meridian 411, with twin cummings diesel engines. She’s 41 ft long, (46 LOA) 14’2″ ft wide, and has a 3’9″ draft. Two staterooms, one full bath, one wet bath.

We haven’t had the name put on the back yet, but it’s “No Kids”. That’s not only why we can afford her, but it’s also the rule….

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