Family

Family Boating – The Next Generation Takes the Helm

Boating Provided Great Memories for Our Family – When our three sons were barely teenagers, Jim and I bought our first boat together. The configurations and possibilities seemed endless when we started our search for a used boat for our family. I had one requirement, it had to have a v-berth for overnighters. It didn’t take long to settle on a used, red (of course), 21-ft. Four Winns Sundowner. We did a lot with that boat on Grand Traverse Bay; the boys loved to ski and swim behind the boat. We even did a few overnighters with them at local festivals. Jim…

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Trailering

Trailering Kismet North for Summer Cruising in Northern Michigan

On the Road Again! – We were dubious about trailering Kismet back home; it was already mid-April. The temperature should be okay, right? We kept a close eye on the weather as there were serious low digits on the horizon for our hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. Ideally, we'd like to not have to winterize the boat when leaving Florida. Not looking too good as our departure day inched closer. We even stayed a couple more days, hoping not to do this chore. However, as serious blizzard conditions headed for Traverse City, our outlook seemed glum. We couldn't wait much longer as we…

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Fort Myers, Florida

Kismet is Wintering in Florida – Palm Trees, Dolphins and Beach Walks for the Crew!

Our long-range plan last year was to spend the winter in Florida this year. After hauling the new Kismet across the country last fall, we put her away in a storage building in Sidney, Ohio for a three-month winter's nap. We like to be home with our family for the holidays and always leave northern Michigan after the new year. It would be tough, due to ice and snow conditions, to leave Traverse City with a 10.500-lb boat behind our truck. Ohio is a little safer bet. Even if it is in the throws of a storm, we'd be out…

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Cross-Country

Delving Into the Oversize Load Permit Process – DIY to Save Money!

We Decided to Secure the Oversize Load Permits Ourselves – There are many things in life I enjoy, two of those things are saving money and learning. In this spirit, I forged ahead with the Oversize Load permit process one has to go through when traveling on highways with an oversized load. I looked forward to learning how it works, as well as saving money by doing it myself.  If you are trailering a load, that is wider than 8 1/2 feet, you have to get an oversize/wide load permit from every state and each Canadian Provence you’ll be traveling…

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Winterizing Kismet for Storage in Portland, OR

Time to Think About Winterizing Kismet! All good things must come to an end… well temporarily anyways as we think about winterizing Kismet. As the colder, wetter months arrived in Portland, we started to turn our thoughts to flying home for the holidays. Jim found a secure storage lot for our boat near Salpare Marina. As the time approached, we prepared a few to-do lists – a list of things to pack to take home, a list of errands to do before we left, and the most important list of all, Winterizing Kismet, just in case. Although the temps are fairly…

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Staging Storing in Portland, Oregon

Staging Storing Whenever we plan a major trip, usually once a year if we can manage, it usually involves what we like to call "Staging Storing." We often need to stage our boat somewhere near our intended future cruising area well before we actually start cruising. Whether it be storage or docking somewhere nearby to avoid weather restrictions, to avoid higher costs, or we think we'd like to take in some interesting activity short of our final destination – making plans to stage and store the boat is an important element of trip planning. Our cruising plans for the next year will be focused…

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