Houseboats on LOTO?
11-09-2010, 09:08 AM
#21
Registered
I owned a 42' Gibson with twin crusaders for a few years, so I have a bit of experience with it. Most of our traveling was to and from Party Cove, and since we are only about a mile and a half away, it was doable. We also used it for the Shootout when it was in front of Shooters. It was fun to have, as we could load up a bunch of people and get the grills going on the top deck. I am glad that we got to experience one, but I would not do it again, at least on LOTO.
Sitting up on the flybridge (where I did 99% of the driving), the waves, especially from the side, would really throw you around. the higer you get, the further you are from the axis. It was also slow. You could not get anywhere fast at all. the Gibsons hull allowed it to cruise at 20 mph, but when you combined it with waves, it did not work out that way. It was pretty much a putt putt boat. Also, many of the bars do not allow houseboats to tie up. I would suppose that much of theis is from the rental fleet, because a big heavy houseboat could do some real damage to the dock.
I got rid of mine through the big snow/ice storm in december of "07 (I believe that was when it was). The covered slip came down on it, and it was totaled.
For LOTO, we enjoy our 32 V (Envision) much more than the houseboat because we can get around so much faster. We also own a condo, so we did not need a livaboard. If you want something big, go the cruiser route as it will handle the waves MUCH better.
Good Luck, and remember that it is all about getting on the lake, not what you get on the lake with!
Sitting up on the flybridge (where I did 99% of the driving), the waves, especially from the side, would really throw you around. the higer you get, the further you are from the axis. It was also slow. You could not get anywhere fast at all. the Gibsons hull allowed it to cruise at 20 mph, but when you combined it with waves, it did not work out that way. It was pretty much a putt putt boat. Also, many of the bars do not allow houseboats to tie up. I would suppose that much of theis is from the rental fleet, because a big heavy houseboat could do some real damage to the dock.
I got rid of mine through the big snow/ice storm in december of "07 (I believe that was when it was). The covered slip came down on it, and it was totaled.
For LOTO, we enjoy our 32 V (Envision) much more than the houseboat because we can get around so much faster. We also own a condo, so we did not need a livaboard. If you want something big, go the cruiser route as it will handle the waves MUCH better.
Good Luck, and remember that it is all about getting on the lake, not what you get on the lake with!
