I just found the limit of it, 4 degrees. It's set for 66 and it's working full time to keep the boat at 65. The staterooms are colder. It was 47 degrees when I got up this morning.

Believe it or not, though, you get used to it. The walk up to the shower this morning was a bit brisk. LOL!

Would I do it again? Absolutely. I was thinking about it last night, sitting at the saloon table on the laptop, watching a cormorant diving for his dinner followed by a half dozen bufflehead ducks. I watch the sun rise over Cummings Park and LI Sound every morning and get rocked to sleep each night.

Heresy, I know, but there's much to be said about the trawler life as compared to a sailboat. I have a lot of room, and huge windows to watch the sunrise and wildlife. I have three zone A/C, a washer-dryer, and other things usually found only on big sailboats. I think I'll miss sailing when we head south, but I'll be enjoying all the creature comforts. We're also thinking about doing "the Great Loop" of up the Hudson, through the canals to the Great Lakes and then down the Mississippi to the Gulf to Florida. From there, we may take a right and head down through the islands.

As to when, I have a lot of work to do on the boat first. I need to get rid of the Boston Whaler on the upper deck and replace it with a RIB, and to do that I need to fix the electric crane. I'd like to get the generators running, a new coat of paint on the hull, and a few other things. Then its retirement time.

So yeah, its a bit chilly on board this morning, but life is a series of choices we make that creates who we are, and for me, life is really good right now.