Barge Camping
[contains nude image]In areas which don't have a lot of high dry campsites along the water (like central Florida), barge camping can be attractive. Basically, once you find an area on the water you like, you drop anchor and set up your tent right on the deck.
What I am referring to as barge camping is camping on a platform riding on pontoons. The barge is pushed or pulled by a motorboat, or paddled or poled down a river, or sailed. I will not attempt to give detailed plans here, but a basic description of my barge (the Sea Slug) follows:
Three 4 X 8 foot deck sections are laid crossways onto two 12 foot long pontoons, giving an 8 X 12 foot floor area. My pontoons are made from four 6 foot by 1 foot by 1.5 foot styrofoam blocks. Two of the blocks have a 45 degree taper cut into them to form the front of each pontoon. I use a flat nosed jonboat to push the barge, or pull it from a long rope if the water is too rough to push. This barge has only a couple of inches of draft, and can go places most boats can't.
The Sea Slug and me
To camp naturist style on a barge, make sure you are somewhat secluded since you're pretty much out in the open before your tent is up or after it's down. Even in secluded places, I have had people go out of their way to check out "that floating tent", but no one got upset when they saw me nude. Some were amused, some envious, some apologized for intruding, but no one got angry.
Besides choosing secluded spots, try to keep up on the weather reports, and camp in a spot which will be sheltered from the expected winds. My first night on the 'Slug was so rough I had to get up arount 1 AM to move to a wind sheltered spot.
A light of some sort is a good idea if you have other boaters in the area. A chemical "light stick" makes a great light and will last most if not all night.
