Naples Florida Weekly
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For Eric Klopf, the live-aboard lifestyle still has its allure




Eric Klopf at the Naples Ships Store, which he owns with his wife Wanda.

Eric Klopf at the Naples Ships Store, which he owns with his wife Wanda.


Countless people imagine what it would be like to leave behind their everyday routine to live aboard a boat, but Eric Klopf only need remember. Raised in Ohio, he visited Naples with his family as a child and knew that one day he would like to live here.

He married his high school sweetheart, Wanda, in 1981. She shared her husband’s sense of adventure and in 1986, the once- Midwestern couple and their firstborn, 6-month-old Erica, traveled to Naples, bought an old boat, found a slip and called it home for the next five years.

With an unmistakable fondness in his voice, Mr. Klopf recalls the pleasurable lifestyle they enjoyed in a live-aboard slip at the Naples City Dock at Crayton Cove. “It was great back then. There was a whole community that lived there,” he says. Once known as “The Back Bay Docks,” the area spawned a fishing industry and served as a community center. The docks were even rumored to have catered to a few prominent bootleggers.

The Klopfs owned one of about 20 live-aboard boats in the “neighborhood.” Theirs was a wooden 46-foot, bull-nosed Chris Craft Constellation. Once the family adjusted to living in a smaller space, life afloat was quite comfortable. Air-conditioning kept the interior cool during warmer months, and the Klopfs could shower on the boat or ashore using dock facilities. Bath time for young Erica often involved a cooler on the deck.

When it came to the boater’s version of spring-cleaning — the annual haul out — the Klopfs took it in stride. Varnishing, sanding, painting and finding alternative living accommodations while their boat was out of the water became a routine part of their live-aboard life.

Although a slip hasn’t been home for the Klopfs for many years, it served as a foundation for the life they built together in Naples around the water and the historic dock. The opened a business together, the Naples Ships Store, in 1986 and continue to enjoy the enterprise today, interacting with a mix of people from the local boating community as well as with visitors. “It’s still a good, growing business,” Mr. Klopf says.

The couple’s hobbies revolve around the water: fishing, boating, scuba diving, traveling to the Florida Keys and collecting marine artifacts. The latter is reflected in their store, where the Klopfs offer everything from supplies to service to collectibles; perusing the place is like going on nautical treasure hunt.

“We’re always on the lookout for stuff,” says Mr. Klopf. He’s encountered many unusual pieces through the years, including authentic figureheads from various ships. Some of his favorite places to look include salvage yards.

Although he notes Naples isn’t as “small town” as it used to be, he thinks the changes are positive. “Naples is a good area to raise a family. It’s a clean, fun, place to live.” He should know. The Klopfs raised both of their daughters in Naples. Erica now lives in Fort Myers, and Hannah is a freshman at Naples High School.

Even though their former live-aboard community no longer exists, the Klopfs still see some of their old neighbors around town from time to time; the bond remains from having shared a unique lifestyle comprehended by those few persons fortunate enough to have lived it.

Presently, the Klopfs are boatless. Between the demands of running a busy waterfront store and raising a high-school freshman, their time is limited. But eventually Mr. Klopf envisions living onboard a boat again with his wife. He wants to do more cruising, and hopes someday to take his search for maritime treasures underwater on a salvage dive.

One of his favorite things about the live-aboard lifestyle, he says, was the ability to disconnect the dock and shore lines and “off you’d go.”

His next home? “A trawler, maybe,” he says — someplace where he can no doubt reconnect and embark on a sequel expedition, reliving the life most folks only dream of. 

3 responses to “For Eric Klopf, the live-aboard lifestyle still has its allure”

  1. Marlene says:

    Beautiful Article Wanda.. We will miss your store and you so much. RIP Erick❤️ Marlene

  2. Erica Klopf says:

    I am so grateful to have grown up knowing this unique and full-hearted lifestyle. I am blown away by the strength and love of my mother, Wanda Klopf. ❤️

  3. Greg Klopf says:

    just happen to run across your name. There’s very few Klopf’s around. I’m from the Illinois Klopf’s. My great grandfather name was Joseph he
    came to US in 1882. He had several brothers and sisters, he was born in Bavaria 1853 and died in Illinois 1940. FYI

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