Lake Michigan Overnight

sjross17 · **Joined:** Wed Sep 11, 2013 1:08 pm **Posts:** 24

Last year we purchased our first boat. I am itching to overnight this upcoming summer - but I know my wife is a little apprehensive. Is there a nice marina that has a hotel nearby the docks just in case she's not comfortable sleeping on the boat? I was looking into Muskegon Michigan as that's only about a 2 hour drive from my house. I know a few of you have taken trips up the lake Michigan coast and that looked like a blast!! Would love to follow in your footsteps - any suggestions would be awesome.

ric · **Posted:** Mon Jan 20, 2014 12:46 pm

sjross17 wrote:

Last year we purchased our first boat. I am itching to overnight this upcoming summer - but I know my wife is a little apprehensive. Is there a nice marina that has a hotel nearby the docks just in case she's not comfortable sleeping on the boat? I was looking into Muskegon Michigan as that's only about a 2 hour drive from my house. I know a few of you have taken trips up the lake Michigan coast and that looked like a blast!! Would love to follow in your footsteps - any suggestions would be awesome.

I sleep in my cuddy ALL the time, and every girl I've spent the night with me loves it. Here's the key to make it comfortable:

Treat the cuddy as your second home. Make it comfortable. Add touches of flavor. The cuddy is NOT a storage compartment for various smelly nautical equipment unless they store away under the seats. If the seat cushions are old and nasty, have them recovered. Keep it stocked with food, drinks (alcoholic and non), silverware, plates, napkins, etc. Hang a picture or two on the wall. Have a nice assortment of throw pillows and at least 2-3 big regular comfortable sleeping pillows. A nice BIG blanket. Maybe two if it gets cold in your area at night and you don't have AC/heat. Sleeping in a cuddy can feel claustrophobic so I typically keep a few LED candles to light things up dimly. Also if you plan on going out often, install a TV. We're not in the 1800's and it can get REALLY boring just laying in a cuddy. It's quite romantic to be out on the water with some dim LED candles going watching something on Netflix.

This is inside my cuddy. Didn't take much work. Very clean, comfortable, and inviting.

This was the cuddy when I purchased the boat:

NiagaraChillin · **Posted:** Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:27 pm

Can't really comment on the hotels next to marina's question, but I'm sure the Michigan guys will be along shortly. I can second rics comments though. Make it comfortable, homey and fun. Not to get all up in your bidness, but does your wife like camping? Thats how me and the Admiral look at it, camping on the water. Maybe get everything set up in the driveway, have the wife come aboard and just hangout in the cuddy for awhile, so she can see how it will be.

ric · **Posted:** Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:47 pm

NiagaraChillin wrote:

Can't really comment on the hotels next to marina's question, but I'm sure the Michigan guys will be along shortly. I can second rics comments though. Make it comfortable, homey and fun. Not to get all up in your bidness, but does your wife like camping? Thats how me and the Admiral look at it, camping on the water. Maybe get everything set up in the driveway, have the wife come aboard and just hangout in the cuddy for awhile, so she can see how it will be.

Yup that works. Make sure you have a fly screen for the porthole for ventilation and to keep the bugs out. You might want to look into installing a marine grade cabin fan in the cuddy for the time being. If you have the camper canvas, keep the cabin door open to make things feel bigger. I installed a thick sun blocking curtain that I can close the doorway off with. I also use a piece of cardboard cut to fit the hatch so you're not blinded by the sun at 6am.

It doesn't have to feel like camping. I've done a lot of camping in my life and sleeping on my boat is more like an overnight at a really small hotel on a floating island

The Magma grill is my cooktop I keep a small fry pan for making eggs/bacon/toast in the morning. 12v travel water heater for truck drivers makes the coffee. I buy Asian 3 in 1 instant coffee packets. They're on par with coffee house made coffee, I have no idea why they're not popular here in USA.

http://www.amazon.com/Nescafe-Regular-I ... afe+3+in+1

This is on my list of "must haves" for 2014. Very overkill but worth the money I think.
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... t1uexAo6Uk

The key is to keep things comfortable. If a woman starts getting pissed off because something is missing she will forever hate it. Let her pick the blankets, pillows, etc. Go grocery shopping with her. If the foam in the cushions is too hard, replace them with softer. If the material is scratchy, replace it with nicer material (I used couch grade microfiber). If she's miserable you'll be miserable. It has to feel like a vacation, not a sentence. The devil is in the details.

deafwish · **Posted:** Mon Jan 20, 2014 3:34 pm

Here's a new profile picture for you, Ric!

ric · **Posted:** Mon Jan 20, 2014 4:17 pm

You know, that wasn't a bad TV show. With a different title and some better marketing it would have done better cause the whole playing for the other team title was pretty bad. It's not easy being a guy and getting solid fashion advice/tips to not look like a schmuck. I wear a lot of brooks bros, RL, etc now but growing up in my early 20's it was pretty bad. PS, Kenneth Cole is having a 30% off sale right now if you want some good dress shoes that won't break the wallet. I ordered some key notes in black and I think with shipping it was only $80. A freaking steal. Today is the last day of the Brooks Brothers sale too. Got two polos for $100. Normally it's that much for one.

Anyways, back to the cuddy discussion. The cuddy life is my life, and being divorced/single it's imperative that if I'm going to be an avid boater the girls I talk to enjoy something that's a big part of my life. It was cold yesterday on the water and the girls were inside in the heat, priceless. I need to get the build out finished so it's covered with a corain countertop and two ducts are run. One in the cabin, one to my feet outside. The sale of this giant trailer I acquired will pay for that.

Surface Interval · **Posted:** Mon Jan 20, 2014 5:34 pm

sjross17, I would start by asking how much of a "camping girl" your wife is. Even if she does not care at all for camping, the fact that the two of you have a boat is a start. Structure your trips for the level of "roughing it" the two of you are looking for. We have done overnight trips on a bow rider with a camper top and have seen others tent camping. We have also gone to a marina or gotten a hotel. We have also mixed it up with a night on the beach and a night in a hotel. After a day or two on the water that hotel shower and a meal out feels mighty good.

I recommend getting your wife "elevated to Admiral status" as soon as practical if she isn't already. Get her involved in all aspects of your boating that she cares for at all. Have her help drive the boat, help plan trips, etc. My wife will drive the boat anywhere we want to go, launch and load the boat, handle the anchor, etc. She does prep meals, mostly because I am so bad at that, but I do most of the grilling. The goal is to keep everyone involved and make it interesting and fun. No one is there strictly to wait on another person. Some people enjoy an evening around a campfire. Others may prefer a movie. We have watched several movies on the boat on a laptop computer.....and enjoyed several campfires. There is definitely something to be said for a great meal such as a steak and baked potato dinner on the beach. Talk things over and keep her involved, make it fun for both of you. Maybe its a boat trip to another town for a nice dinner or shopping or a show or something else that is special. The goal is for everyone to have a good time. She might even brag to her friends about her great time boating to another town for shopping and a fancy dinner.

NiagaraChillin · **Posted:** Mon Jan 20, 2014 6:37 pm

Surface Interval wrote:

I recommend getting your wife "elevated to Admiral status" as soon as practical if she isn't already. Get her involved in all aspects of your boating that she cares for at all. Have her help drive the boat, help plan trips, etc.

+1 to that. My Admiral is a master at launch and recovery, preparing to dock, tossing lines, etc. As soon as I unhook the winch, I don't even have to look back because I know she can "walk" the boat to the end of the dock and tie er up while I'm parking the truck/trailer. I'm working on the "getting her to drive the boat" thingy, she ain't quite there yet, but will be I'm sure.

It's definitely more enjoyable when you work as a team.

schoolsOut · **Posted:** Mon Jan 20, 2014 7:25 pm

My wife and I bought our first boat two seasons ago. I grew up on boats and my wife spent some time on my family's boat when we were back in college, but she did not have any significant experience operating a boat. We had been away from boating for several years because my parents had to get out of it after my mother was diagnosed with MS. When we got our boat it was like starting over for both of us. I had my wife take the boating safety course right away. The first time out, I had her driving the boat. She was very timid, but I had her do some more "aggressive" maneuvers such as quick acceleration, aggressive turns at cruising speed, etc. I wanted her to understand how a boat reacts under these circumstances. It is important to me for her to be able to load/unload from trailer, dock to drop me off to get the truck, pull skier/wake boarder/tuber, etc. She has become a master. She might be better at loading/unloading/docking than me (she gets more practice

). Last summer we spent a week at a lake house in VA with friends. She was the designated wake board puller. I believe the key is to get her involved right away so she feels comfortable operating the boat. Helps to get her skiing, tubing, wake boarding as well. I'm not sure who is more excited for spring me or my wife!

Winter Sux · **Posted:** Mon Jan 20, 2014 8:23 pm

Some people are spooked about sleeping and floating. Maybe that's what the OP was getting at.

Just get her drunk. She'll be fine. :mrgreen:

ric · **Posted:** Mon Jan 20, 2014 8:25 pm

Winter Sux wrote:

Some people are spooked about sleeping and floating. Maybe that's what the OP was getting at.

Just get her drunk. She'll be fine. :mrgreen:

Hence the mini bar in the cabin

Currently stocked with Gray Goose, Sailor Jerry, Fireball, Hendricks.

Winter Sux · **Posted:** Mon Jan 20, 2014 8:37 pm

My mini bar is a Norcold. :lol:

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

All in moderation with the drinks....the rocking with the water and spinning from liquor will make for an unpleasant experience and she will hate you and the boat cuz it will be all your fault:-)

Bliss36 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 21, 2014 9:03 am

sjross17 wrote:

I was looking into Muskegon Michigan as that's only about a 2 hour drive from my house.

Muskegon looks to be a fine choice! There's lots to do for a boater, and they have one of the coolest boat in bar/Restaurant I've seen in a place called Dockers Fishhouse.http://www.dockersfishhouse.com/ If the big lake is in bad shape you can play on Muskegon Lake or hang out in the arms of the channel.The Park near the channel has a beautiful sand beach that I saw a handful of boats pulled up to. There is a nice hotel/Restaurant right next to a marina called Shoreline Inn http://www.shorelineinn.com/seasonal-slip-membership-at-terrace-point-marina According to Active Captain the attached marina called Terrace Point Marina holds a 4/5 star rating.

Most Michigan harbor towns have lodging within quick driving distance of the marina's, with an abundance of Bed and Breakfast lodging in most towns if a hotel is too far away. We also really like Whitehall Michigan just north of there, but there are less amenities...it's very peaceful there but doesn't have many hotels that I saw.
Would your wife like something like this? http://whiteswaninn.com/
Here's another possibility with a nearby marina called Ellenwood Landing with a few transient slips http://theweathervaneinn.net/ Marina http://www.ellenwoodlandingmarina.com/marinaSlipSale.htm

sjross17 · **Joined:** Wed Sep 11, 2013 1:08 pm **Posts:** 24

Wow. Thanks for all the great advice. I agree with all of you. I have been spending my winter on amazon - looking to buy a bunch of stuff for the cabin. My wish list has recently added the propane coffee maker, storage bins for the snacks, a bottle holder for the booze and I am planning on re-upholstering the cabin. I also have one of those mattress toppers that I am going to cut & sew into the shape of my cuddy to make it a bit more comfortable.

All in all - my wife will camp - but she certainly prefers a nice hotel bed and a hot shower in the morning. I agree she just needs a few good experiences on the hook or in a marina, but I want to take it slow so she doesn't get scared away.

She loves the boat, but so far she doesn't love it as much as I do. We had a baby last February, so needless to say last year was a bit of a hassle. I have been the captain while she looks after my baby girl : ) My job was a lot easier!!

I have two batteries on my boat....how long can I safely watch TV on a television like you have Ric without worrying about turning the key the next morning??

Here is a pic of my cabin...still have a long way to go. Can't wait to get her out of storage!!!!!!

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www.iFourWinns.com

Lake Michigan Overnight

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