In 2009, No Losses, a 32-foot Carver 3207 Aft Cabin cruiser, became our “Practice Boat” to let us know if we could actually pull off our long-term plan, which is to eventually sell everything we own, buy a liveaboard boat, and cruise the waterways of the eastern USA. Over the years, we lived on her for two vacation weeks at a time during our journeys from Buffalo on the historic New York State Canal System, each year going a bit further. Starting with Fairport, then venturing to Seneca Falls, Geneva, Cayuga, Ithaca, and Baldwinsville.
We eventually traversed the entire canal end-to-end each way before heading down to Florida. But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself.
Her name is actually No Losses III. She’s the third boat we’ve owned. The first was a 20-foot Four Winns cuddy cabin. The name came from a drunk guy on the dock one day, who pointed at the manufacturer’s logo and said, “Heh. Four Winns, No Losses.”
No Losses II was a fixer-upper Larson 26-footer that we owned just long enough to sell for a bit of a profit that we used as the down payment on the Carver.
In the summer of 2010, Cappy Rick, Admiral Mia, and Fender the Dog lived aboard No Losses for a total of 8 days as we navigated the historic waters of the Erie Canal. It started a love of liveaboard boating that continues to this day (in 2024 and beyond), and there are now thousands of miles under the hulls of No Losses, Carefree — the Carver 3607 we owned for three years — and Ginny J, the 45-foot PH/MY (Pilothouse Motor Yacht) we currently own and call home.
This isn’t a guide book. We didn’t list the literally thousands of sights and attractions that are found along the routes we’ve traveled. Instead, we wanted to try to convey what it’s like to leave everything behind and live Life at 7 Miles per Hour.
Besides, it isn’t about where the boat happens to be. The boat is the destination. Where she takes you is the adventure!