Afloat and Ashore is a nautical fiction novel by James Fenimore Cooper. Set in 1796-1804, the novel follows the maritime adventures of Miles Wallingford Jr. , the son of wealthy New York landowners who chooses to go to sea after the death of his parents. The novel is partially autobiographical, in part by Cooper’s own experiences as a sailor, and is his first full-length novel to fully employ a first-person narrative.