With one exception our trip has been just fine. The wife and I went west from Lake Cayuga on the canal staying in Clyde and Newark going and coming, turning around after one night in Fairport. The trip has been very nice and I must say everybody we met was very friendly, both towns people as well as boaters, and were very helpful when need be. As for who these folks rent to I suppose they screen out those with no or very little boating experience, I would not suggest such a trip to a novice. Our orientation, about thirty minutes out of a two hour conversation, was about the functions of the craft, AC-DC power, where the switches were, how to turn this or that on or off, but nothing on seamanship. They did warn me about the time it took to slow or stop the vessel as it weighs about 4000 pounds and it only has a 50 for power. I suppose anybody can tie a knot in a rope but there was nothing said about mooring, rules of the road, etc. It doesn’t take much but I expect they expect anyone to hire this boat to have some experience.
The down side to our trip has been the odor of gas fumes in the boat. My wife, whose nose is much more sensitive than mine, picked up on it as we were in the first day, I noticed it a day or so later. While we are traveling with everything open it is no problem but as we sit her moored to a dock and the wind dies down as dusk descends it becomes a problem. It was so bad this morning we decided to contact the owners, they sent a mechanic out right off but no compromises in any system were found. Now the question is, and you Nimble Nomad owners can chime in, is this the first time anyone has heard of this problem, is this an inherent characteristic of this particular brand boat or does it come with boats built like this one with a below deck encapsulated gas tank. Outboards have a blower in the bilge but since this one is an outboard it is not required. Maybe needed but not required. Opinions on this problem are welcome.