Houseboating Adventures - Issue 19 - (Page 30) The perfect florida houseboat under thirty feet? We began our interview with Kirby Redenbaugh in our last issue about his remarkable Adventure Craft houseboat. We promised you the entire interview, and here it is. www.fl-adventurecraft.com HBA: Kirby, tell me when you first got into boating and houseboating. KR: We, my wife Amy and I have been boating since we met in 1987. Two years or so ago we were looking for a boat that we could spend long weekends and holidays in the 10,000 islands or maybe the Port of the Isles and then the Seafood Festival in Everglades City. Fishing is fantastic in all of these places and you can find a quiet cove, to set anchor, and have a sea-trout or redfish for dinner then watch a movie and get up to fishing at sunrise with your coffee. What a great weekend. If you don’t happen to like the scenery you can just pull the anchor and cruise to your next spot in paradise. HBA: What was your first houseboat? KR: Our first houseboat we owned was an Adventure Craft. We looked at all the houseboats we could find in the smaller trailerable, weekender type class. In Southwest Florida there really is only two types of boating. Either you want a boat that is equipped to go out in the Gulf or you want a smaller backwater, inner costal type boat that you could take out in the Gulf a mile or two, but also could get into the shallow backwaters and national parks. We found the Adventure Craft as the perfect fit for this area. The Adventure Craft is 28.5 feet long. Short enough for public )6B@" A05("%C&5AB9&@ ramps and long enough for two queen beds. It is made of fiberglass and stainless steel and has a flybridge for a great view to navigate the shallows. It has eight large screened windows for our great winters and a 13,500 btu A/C unit for sleeping in the summer nights. The Adventure Craft comes with the 135 Honda Four stroke engine and a Honda EU3000 Generator, these two Honda items are quiet and efficient. When in the backwaters they fit perfectly, they are very quiet and there is no smoke. It’s like gliding in a nature preserve, the birds don’t fly away, the raccoons and iguanas just turn and look. We have seen Key Deer swimming the channel. One of our favorite sights is right before you go out Gordon Pass, we stop to watch the Bald Eagles. HBA: What motivated you to get in the marine/boating business? KR: While looking for the perfect houseboat. We found that the Adventure Craft Dealership for South Florida was available. With lots of research and questions answered, we decided that we really believed in the Adventure Craft and the way it is manufactured. We liked the thought and design put in towards easy cleaning and maintenance of the trailer and houseboat. We felt that others would see the perfect fit and versatility to the South Florida environment. http://www.fl-adventurecraft.com
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