From Bella Gatto to Bella Vato: February 28, 2025

After living aboard our 36 foot Trawler Cat Bella Gatto for six years and traveling ~20k miles, it was time to to transition to a new season in life. This involved selling our beloved floating home and moving back to a dirt house. We settled in the mountains of Western North Carolina and soon thereafter started getting the travel bug again. I guess it's in our bones. 

We started looking at camper vans because we wanted to be nimble travelers just as we were in our boat. Once we saw the layout of the Winnebago Travato 59K, we narrowed our search to this particular model. After looking at a few that were either too expensive or a bit too tired we finally found Bella Vato, a well cared for 2020 59K. On February 28, 2025, we took delivery. She will take us where Bella Gatto could not and we will be exploring the West and the Pacific Northwest along with Canada and Mexico. Let the adventures begin!

Our first night aboard at Francis Marion National Forest in McClellanville, NC.


Looking out over the ICW we traversed many times on Bella Gatto. In fact we anchored in Five Fathoms Creek, a favorite, right in the direction of this rising sun.

What we love about this floor plan is that the twin beds can be joined to make a king! During the day while they are separated they act as 2 couches with a nice walk through all the way to the head making the space feel so roomy. There is also a stowaway dinette table that can be deployed.

The front seats swivel around making for comfy seating with tray tables on each side for dining or workspace.

Bella is now 11 and a half and thankfully still spry and adventurous. We are starting to see some signs of slowing but the same can be said for us.
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