Coast To Coast—From Hartwell To Tahoe

Coast To Coast—From Hartwell To Tahoe

With Lake Hartwell as his nearest acquatic playground, Scott James of Greer, S.C., does not lack for access to wide-open water surrounded by unspoiled country. And that’s most often where you’ll find the 59-year-old businessman and his wife, Monica, running their 2020- model-year DCB Performance Marine M33R catamaran.

Until a trip to Lake Tahoe in August, Coast To Coast hadn’t touched California waters since it was produced four years ago. All photos courtesy/copyright Scott James.

But the 33-footer is called Coast To Coast for good reason, and not just because it was built at DCB’s former facility in El Cajon, Calif., and mostly lives on the East Coast.

“That name reflective of a few things—our lifestyle, as we travel a lot from coast to coast, and an East Coast guy buying a West Coast boat,” James said shortly after taking delivery of the cat. “And Coast to Coast actually is one of my favorite Scorpions song.”

For good reason, Emerald Bay is among Lake Tahoe’s most-photographed locations.

Good to his word, James and his wife hauled the catamaran to Lake Tahoe, which has shoreline in California and Nevada, earlier this month. James had been to the area several times to ski during winter and had even run a few rental boats on the pristine waterway in the summer. But he had never run a boat of his own, much less a DCB cat, on the lake.

Scenes from a Lake Tahoe DCB catamaran adventure.

So he and his wife rented a waterfront home on the lake, hooked the boat to their truck and headed west.

Meaning some 2,650 miles and three, 12-hours days of hauling west. From Emerald Bay in the south portion of the waterway to Sand Harbor in the north, they explored the lake on their 33-footer. Their son, Nick, and his wife, Mariana flew across the joined them for part of their stay.

The couple spent plenty of time at low-speed on the water thanks to the surrounding scenery.

“I’d been on Lake Tahoe in rental boats, but bringing the M33R was a game-changer,” said James. “We loved it. We have already booked our trip for next summer.

“We’re staying 12 days,” he added.

Said James, “The M33R was a game-changer.”

Extending their 2025 stay should make the 5,210-mile roundtrip haul even more worthwhile. Yet for Scott and Monica James, the journey was as remarkable as the destination.

“It was great to see the country and enjoy a real slice of Americana with the people you meet along the way—at gas stations and the places you eat at the end of day across the street from the hotel parking. As all performance-boaters know, the boat is a real conversation-starter.”

The 5,210 road-trip was part of the adventure for the South Carolina-based couple.

In a few weeks, the Coast To Coast catamaran will start conversations on its way to Georgia for the Pirates of Lanier Poker Run. James said he is already looking forward to it.

Of course, Lake Lanier isn’t coastal. But the cat still comes by its name honestly.

Spellbound by Lake Tahoe, Scott and Monica James will return with their 33-footer next summer.

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