My kids and my nieces grew up on the boat... Desolation Sound... Puget Sound... we used to spend the entire month of August on the boat. We had the dingy - two kayaks - and an 18' Grady White that I dragged... we looked like a friggin' bunch of sea gypsies when we'd anchor up! Kids would go ashore and hike and play on the beach... or we'd go skanking around in the little boats... crabbing and shrimping... swimming and water skiing... Your only worry was what we were going to have for our next meal. Great times! I miss it terribly but I don't think it would be the same without the kids.
Entering Desolation Sound (Canada EH!) The water there is "brackish" and because it's snow melt - it heats up as it flows down the rocky mountain sides and the general top four or five feet of water is 70ish degrees and "fresh" -- it sits on top of the MUCH colder salt water... makes it fun when you jump off the boat and break thru that nice warm water and into the colder stuff!!