Nov 11, 2020 Lake Hartwell, SC at the dirt house
You've all heard that old saying that the 2 happiest days of a boaters life are they day they buy the boat and the day they sell it. Just not true for us. We were excited and delighted the day we bought our boat but it is with a heavy heart we give her up to the new owners. "As You Wish" served us exceptionally well for our Great Loop adventure. We'll miss her but are delighted with the buyers - Mark and Barbara - who plan on using her for another Great Loop trip. They seem truly excited to be the next owners.
A constant discussion point for Loopers is the question "What's the best boat for doing the Loop?". The answer invariably is - "There is no perfect Looper boat - there is only the perfect Looper boat for you." Honestly, we got everything we expected and hoped for in our boat. Being a newer boat we expected it to be mechanically sound and the Cummins QSB 5.9L motor never let us down while moving us along at a steady 6.5-7 knots and sipping fuel. An added benefit of the single engine was sufficient room to work around it in the engine bay. The interior layout gave us a spacious master stateroom with our required island bed and a head with a decent sized separate shower. The galley had the essentials and sufficed for plenty of home cooked meals served at the dinette. The salon was comfortable and bright with lots of natural sunlight coming in the large windows. We had big plans for the second stateroom and head up front. We anticipated numerous friends and family jumping on board occasionally to share in our adventure. That never happened so the space became an extra big storage area. The covered sundeck provided plenty of outdoor space for evening docktails, reading, relaxing, socializing, etc. The wide side decks with strong high railings provided the space and security we needed while traversing 100+ locks. And the teak free exterior minimized upkeep. While we almost always ran the boat from the flybridge for the better visibility, having the lower helm was delightful while doing the overnight crossing on the open Gulf of Mexico. So, overall, it fit our requirements and performed as well or better than we could have hoped.
So, what's up next for us? One thing we know is we're not done boating. We truly enjoyed the adventure and comradery of looping. We want to continue cruising. Likely loop again, stop in more places, take more side trips, spend more time exploring certain places and go at a more leisurely pace. We just want a different style boat for this multi-year trip of continued travels. Not surprisingly - something a little bigger. We're doing a lot of internet searching and we're starting to get a better idea of a few boats that interest us. Now we just need the right one, in the right location, in the right condition, at the right price to come available. Don't worry. When we finally find that next boat - you'll be the first to know!!
