We have never used our boat and not spent the night on it.

I know, fountains are the smallest but we still use it to sleep and the sink for brushing our teeth before we pass out.

Don't need a micro wave, refrig, or any of that.

A real head would be nice, I don't care what any body says, humans create waste and there will be times if you boat a lot you need to get rid of it, I don't mind peeing in water but I don't want to be swimming away from my Sh*t! or anybody's for that matter.

If I didn't need a cabin and still wanted a performance boat, I would own a cat, faster and ride better with the same power.

For those that live on the water or have the cash for two boats, that is the setup.

We have a slip and are at the lake every weekend starting mid May till Nov 1st. The boat is our home away from home. With that said, we did this with the 32 for 6 yrs. Last summer wanted a little more comfort and bought a cruiser, but wouldn't hesitate 1 second about tossing the Fountain back in the slip. We use and need a cabin. Size does not matter.

I have a cabin. It has 3 staterooms (with a king in the master), 3 heads with showers, galley, 3 fridges, walk in engine rooms, sun porch, salon and a pilot house. Takes 6 A/C units to keep it comfortable. It is parked 2 slips down from the Donzi. I am glad to have a cabin in the little Donzi too. The cabin in the lil Donzi is nice on those cold trips down the lake and for the summer rain storms. I would probably overnight in it but it would be kind of crowded with the dogs.

We are running the whole gauntlet. Started with a cc with no cabin. Slept under the bimini but no privacy kept us close to the marina. Our little Apache has space to hide out and use a porta potti. Have a pontoon with an enclosure that worked good but it still lacked in the comfort area. Now I have a houseboat with the Apache as a tender and its working out nice! BTW these boats are solid and in good shape but have a few years on them. Shop for what you need to make that weekend perfect.

Gotta have the cabin. We sleep 5 in it on the weekends. Heat, Ac, flat panel, etc. Nothin better than waking up in the morning already boating.

We need it...sleep in it every weekend were boating.

Wow, I guess I didn't realize how many folks in the mid-west sleep on their boats! I know a lot of boaters in New England, but very few that routinely sleep on their boats, if ever at all. The only people I see sleeping on their boats are folks that dont live along the coast or are from out of town.


I live right next to a large marina, bar/restaurant, and boat ramp so it's not like I need to go to the boat to get away or to enjoy the atmosphere. I'd also rather sleep in my own comfy bed rather than sleep in the damp, cramped, hot, and sticky boat. I don't think I would ever use this boat as a second home or even a hotel room.

As stated, I don't have kids to worry about and we are blessed with having a lot of local destinations and party spots within easy day trip range.

We pick and choose our boating days and are frequently fairly close to home, so shelter from the weather isn't much of concern.

I guess at the end of the day the only really desire I have for a cabin is having a place for the ladies to do their duties. And even at that, more often than not we are often with others that have a head on their boat or we're at a location that has public facilities. But then again, there's always someone that has to go at the most inconvenient time!

I guess I'm coming to the conclusion that a cabin certainly isn't a 'must' for me, but at least having an enclosed pot-o-potty would be a nice plus. On the flip side, with no head, there's no smell or cleaning duties/issues either.


Decisions, decisions...

this is the best post so far.

p.s. I run a 2 man raceboat, no 'cabin'. There have been times when it would have been cool. For instance a trip to a bar where you can party all night and just flop into the cabin and pass out instead of dealing with BS of getting home and coming back the next day for the boat, etc. JUst wake up, kick her out, drink some water, eat some greasy food, have a dump and go back to the cottage!

For us even the closet lake is 1.5 to 2 hours towing. So yea, we sleep on the boat.

As for hot, and sticky,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, that's why they make AC units.

If we had stayed in FL, I doubt I would have ever slept on the boat again.

No, THIS is the best post so far.