“maybe a good place to read a book.” They wanted the smallest
boat they could live on, not one that simulated a house. So their
traveling home has these specifications: 22’ long; 7’ 8” beam;
1,950 pounds; 7-inch draft unloaded; 40 gallons fuel capacity;
170 miles safe range; 20 gallons water; Porta-Potty; anchor windlass for the oversized Bruce anchor, 20 feet of chain, and 200 feet
of line. There’s camper canvas and it can carry an 8-foot inflatable
on the roof. It has portable solar panels; two 12-volt batteries
with charger; portable inverter; 15-amp power; radar; two chart
plotters; VHF radio; 6’ 3” V-berth; a dinette that converts to a
6’ 2” berth; and a diesel-fueled combination stove/heater. They
also have a single-burner propane stove they use for, among other
things, hand-dripped coffee. There’s a good first-aid kit, and a
well-stocked ditch bag is kept at the ready. They use a satellite
GPS messenger to send their coordinates to their family every day.
ower comes from their second pair of Honda 40-hp
outboards. “We wore the first set out putting more
hours on them than most commercial users do,” says
Bill. They log those hours now by traveling about eight
months a year and keeping the boat in the water about
80 percent of that time. Their range and mileage depend on several factors. The boat’s top speed is about 25 knots. Their most
efficient speed is just on plane, about 12 knots, but their cruising
average is seven knots. When they want to slide along shore to
look for animals at twilight or early in the morning, they run quietly on one engine at around four knots.
“For all our cruising, we’ve averaged about 3. 7 nmpg or about
2. 12 gph. But on a river,” he smiles, “you can turn off your engine
and drift. Then your mileage is infinite.”
Bill is not a gizmo guy but has quickly adapted to the advan-
tages of the iPhone that his son gave him. Now they use several
apps to check tides, watch the weather radar, and even help navi-
gate. They avidly use local libraries to update their webpage, do
trip planning and research, and also check out books. They read
a lot, and at night they use headlamps to conserve their boat bat-
tery. They have accumulated library cards from all over and have
P
learned they can check out a book in one locale, return it in another, or mail it back. Going to libraries, grocery stores, Laundromats,
and post offices gives them their exercise. Those places are usually
located “up the hill” so that creates a bit more of a workout. El
says grocery stores also help her locate good hairdressers. When
she sees a good haircut, she asks where it was done.
“Our plan does not lock us into time or space,” Bill says.
Although they do considerable long-range planning, and seasonal
weather plays a big part of that, their daily plans are frequently
affected by how they feel or what they see, their moods, or sim-
ply spontaneity or serendipity. “We literally have tossed a coin to
determine whether to go left or right, as it really didn’t matter,” Bill
says, recalling once being in the Champlain Canal and being told
by folks on a nearby boat they really should visit Quebec City. So
they simply turned the opposite way at the St. Lawrence River from
what they had planned. They don’t keep a schedule, travel more
by the sun than the clock, and frequently don’t decide where to
spend each night until late in the afternoon. “We know in advance
of the places we can duck into if we need to, but other than that,
we put a lot of faith in our intuition.”
Their roles are interchangeable and both can perform any
of the boat duties, but El handles all the marine radio calls. The
Cajun pilots on towboats especially like talking to a woman. Their
children and grandchildren meet up with them occasionally as
they travel, and when they do, they camp on shore. This year, for
instance, they have met at Lake Powell in Arizona, then again at
Lake Kabetogama in Voyageurs National Park on the Minnesota-
Canada border.
There’s no question the Fieros’ cruising style is unique, yet
highly effective, and boaters hoping to break away from Someday
Isle might consider their methods and philosophies. “We’re boaters who love to cruise new water and see the world from a different perspective,” Bill says. “We don’t want to preach about how
to travel and we don’t want to judge how other people do.” Their
goal, he says, is to have experiences and use the boat for exploring.
Or as El says, “I don’t want to get to the end, the last day, and have
to say, I wish I had.”
For more information on the BoatU.S. Trailering Club including membership benefits such as roadside assistance, visit www.BoatUS.com/Trailerclub/
Bill and El step ashore
during a trip through the
Bighorn Canyon National
Recreation Area in 2010.
To read more about the Fieros’ thoughtful perspectives, and
their itinerary, visit them on www.cruisingamerica-halcyon-days.com. To learn more about C-Dorys and the folks who
love them, visit www.c-brats.com.
