The PrincessM

So, we walk into the boat dealer a few years back, determined to be cool, negotiate hard, get a great deal. Muriel is just a few steps ahead of me, when suddenly she screams, “They have my boat!” just as the salesman sidles up. Still, I remain determined I am going to negotiate hard. We tour the boat. We chat about possible options. We walk around a little. Things look good. Right up to the point where some other folks, just browsing, happen to step aboard the boat and Muriel (again in full voice) says, “Sweetheart, get those people off of my boat!”
What can I say, it’s a done deal.

Our boat is a 2006 Sea Ray 240 Sundancer. Dark Blue hull, Mercuiser 350 w/Bravo 3 outdrive.
We LOVE our boat. We have a large grill that attaches via rod holder clamp just aft of the wetbar sink.

We swim, cook, drink a little, dance a little….
We spend weekends on her, usually at Detroit Lake during the summer, Portland in Fall.
At this point in our lives we are not long time, long distance cruisers. We just enjoy our little (fast) condo on the water each summer weekend for just as long as we can before the weather turns too cold. But, really, isn't that how most people use their boats? We honestly think so. So, why are all the magazines, online and otherwise, devoted to the long distance cruiser? Are we all just trying to live vicariously? Well, maybe we just need to live.

http://www.searay.com/Page.aspx/pageId/10231/pmid/140245/240-Sundancer.aspx

We freely admit to being fair weather boaters. Cold or rain will surely see us heading home early. But, during the nice weather we really love nothing better than our French press coffee with marionberry muffins in the early morning at a totally desserted section of lake. Or an evening cocktail while a steak sizzles on the grill and we watch the other boats all heading back in to the dock and we increasingly have the lake to ourselves. Nice.

Check out this link to explore Detroit Lake, it has a ton of useful links.

http://detroitlakeoregon.org/

For those of you who may not be familiar with the Northwest, it is simply huge. There are plenty of opportunities for boating and there are a number of large, clean lakes as well as the proximity of the Willamette River, the Columbia River and of course the San Juans.