Trawler Fest

When you live at a marina you see everything related to events, from setup to crowds to cleanup. Harborview Marina hosted Trawler Fest this past weekend and the I and K docks were filled with boats for the show.

 

We were out of town most of the weekend but I had a little time to talk to vendors.

And I had to scope out boats. This catamaran was definitely my favorite. I didn't get a chance to board her but I heard she had four staterooms! I've never even lived in a house with four bedrooms.

Doug and I attended Trawler Fest in 2010 when we were first starting research for a live-aboard boat. Back then, we wanted the following amenities in our boat:

*2 1/2 staterooms: one for us, one for guests, and one for storage. Go ahead and laugh, but if we are still working while living on a boat, we can't just live in shorts and t-shirts, we need room for work clothes. We were successful here. Our Carver has a Master Stateroom, Guest Stateroom, and Kids Stateroom (which we use for storage and the cat's litter box).

*2 separate living areas: an example is a salon and a helm station with extra seating. We love each other but we also need to be able to get away from each other. Success here, too. We love our salon and helm sitting areas.

*A decent galley. One of the boats we looked at has a full side-by-side refrigerator! No side-by-side refrigerator but a huge galley (at least for a boat our size).

*A patio: we want an outdoor living space that is close to the water level. We had to compromise on this one. We couldn't find a boat with a "patio" and a suitable inside layout but we do have an aft deck that we like to call our Florida room.

*Ways to go green: how fuel efficient is the boat? is there a potential for solar panels to run the electric? We haven't looked into this very much yet. We believe there is the possibility for solar panels on the hardtop in the future.

*Something we can actually afford!!! Phew - so glad this one was true.

 

So, while we didn't end up in Trawler we were on the right track back in 2010.

This week, MTOA is here and we are looking forward to the Powerboat Show and our annual clam bake.