Purchasing the American Tug

In January, 2011, we purchased a 2005 American Tug 34, which was built in La Conner, WA, and is designed as a couple's offshore cruiser.  In the Spring, we brought her back from Lake Erie to our home on Spring Lake, MI. Here she is the day we picked her up for the trip home. That summer we took a number of trips on Lake MI getting familiar with the boat and learning the boating life style.

Here is picture of our boat leaving a marina in Northport, MI, on Grand Traverse Bay very early in the morning during a trip last August.  We submitted it to the manufacturer, Tomco Marine Group, Inc. and it was selected to be Miss February in their 2012 boating calendar.

Our current dream is to complete a circumnavigation of the east coast, going down the Mississippi, across the Gulf, up the Intracoastal Waterway, and back through the Eire Canal into the Great Lakes.  This will take several months, cover over 6,000 miles and include 115 locks.  We will visit family and friends, explore many areas rich with unique culture and history, and enjoy meeting new friends.  The trip will start in September, 2012.

Preparations for such a trip are quite extensive, and we are busy planning all the aspects of leaving our home and living and traveling on a boat.  Great Laker was in heated storage this winter and the Captain (Larry) spent a great deal of time on board learning all the systems in detail, and making upgrades and adding provisioning needed for her to be a comfortable and reliable place to live.  The Admiral (Anne) is coordinating with those we will visit or those who will join us at various points, and will be ensuring that we can effectively manage our lives while on the water away from home.  We are very excited for this to begin.