Yuma winter visitor is living on Cloud 9

Feb. 6--Most homes don't have names and even fewer have anchors. That's why people always grin when they discover that for Clyde Snyder, home sweet home is a fisherman's floating fantasy -- his beloved boat, Cloud 9. And surprisingly, Snyder swears the Noah jokes aren't getting old. "People always laugh Now we know where to go when the rains come to Yuma!' '' he said, chuckling. "Oh, it's all been positive. People always seem to get a kick out of it." Snyder, a winter visitor on his virgin voyage to Yuma, hails from the boater's paradise of Port Townsend, Wash., but holing up inside his hull isn't anything new. Snyder has been living in Cloud 9 full time for the past four years. The only difference is that when he decided to come here, there was no room for him at the proverbial watery inn at Martinez Lake. So Snyder's going dry dock it for a while. Now, instead of gentle, rocking waves, Cloud 9 rests solid and still high upon its trailer parked in a dusty space at Gila Mountain RV Park in the Foothills. It's been home since Snyder arrived here in November, back when the park was less crowded and the big boat's presence really stuck out like a sore rudder. "People always wave and say things like Nice boat!' and such," he said. He explained that after shelling out quite a bit of cash for the boat and a huge Dodge Ram truck, he figured that buying a camper would just be a waste. Besides, he'd already spent weeks living in the boat during long expeditions and found the setup to be cozy. "I just thought I'd see how life went and what happened. And it's worked out pretty well." The Bayliner 2859 is 26 feet long and is designed to sleep six -- but just for a day or two. "But with one guy actually living in here full time, there's not much room left!" Snyder said, chuckling. "Before I go out onto the water I have to pull a lot of stuff out." But Cloud 9 isn't without its creature comforts. The craft has a computer, a sink with water, a microwave, an electric range, a television and a queen- sized bed. There's a toilet, too, but Snyder uses other means because that feature requires plugging into a certain system to be drained. Since the built-in stairs are so high from the dry ground Snyder climbs aboard his vessel by climbing a blue ladder propped up against the boat's back. Snyder said he'd always heard great things about Yuma, but had a more pressing need to choosing this city as his winter pad. "I came here for these!" he said, clicking his bright-white dentures together. He bought the new set of choppers down in Los Algodones, Baja Calif. Snyder, who spent most of his life in Utah, worked as a electrician for years in Salt Lake City. His retirement to Washington was inspired by his fond memories of living in the area while serving in the Army. "I retired while I was young -- 53," he said, pointing to his back. "I was tired for a lot of years, then I got really tired." His memories of Washington, however, may have accidently left out just how cold it gets up there. Snyder decided to hit the road again and rove around during the colder months."Last summer I said I'm not going to spend another cold, gloomy winter.' '' Surprisingly, though, having his very own boat was never one of those things that Snyder pined for during all those working years. That particular love affair blossomed when a friend invited Snyder aboard his vessel. "I caught a 17-pound King salmon! That's just a small one, but that got me hooked," he said, saying that his boat truly lives up to its name, which it already had when he bought it. "You really are on cloud nine. You just feel great. Boating is so relaxing -- unless there's a storm." Since getting his boat he's been on quite the trips, too. He's made a 45-mile trip to Vancouver Island several times, taking him about two hours each time. "You get over there and there's some really good fishing," Snyder said. He also uses Cloud 9 during search-and-rescue missions. He volunteers as a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. But his longest and most impressive trip was from Prince Rupert, Canada all the way up to Ketchikan, Alaska. "Oh, that was beautiful. The scenery was just amazing." But he's also been impressed with what he's seen in Yuma. Snyder's already fallen in love with the desert sunsets and says he can't wait to explore the area more. He's especially looking forward to going to Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Snyder says Yuma has everything a guy could ask for, well, except for just one thing. "Yeah, I'm looking for a first mate," he said, a bit bashfully, then adding to the joke: "All they really have to do is learn how to tie some knots." Snyder admitted that being the captain of an empty ship can be downright lonely at times. "Oh yes, it's lonely all the time. But these are just the cards that I've had dealt to me right now." Snyder said he could show a lady a good time, too. "We could go out -- dinner, dining and dancing." In fact Snyder's a real fan of western dancing, which represents the perfect opportunity for interested gals to meet this nice guy. He teaches dance lessons at the park every Thursday at 1 p.m. "They can come down and audition!"