Houseboat owners?
 

My wife and I were talking about buying a houseboat so when we took our American Offshore to the lake we would have a comfortable place to hang out.Especially since we have a new baby ,our first.So how many owners of performance boats have a houseboat? do you enjoy them? Are they hard to keep up maintence ect...?

Id look for some lake real estate first.....but houseboats are very cool

We have a large cruizer and its nice to hang out in some A/C in the summer. And you dont have to mow the yard!!

and pay property taxes....:evilb:

My wife and I have talked about doing the same thing. Friends have property at the river and it seems they spend WAY too much time during the season maintaining their places. Me personally I'd rather pay slip fees and deal with routine crap at the begining and end of the season.

Wow, many factors to consider. First where you boat are house boats the norm?? Like many KY lakes? Do you have enough funds to try for a condo or piece of property. Problem i see with the House boat is you are still paying for a place to park it also resell value will be tough. I would suggest looking at all choices before making this decision.

WILL

My parents sold their house and moved onto the house boat. They love it. Slip fee is $150 a month wich includes water sewer electric and cable! Maintainance is comparable to a sail boat. Periodic haul outs for bottom cleaning and inspections. The only down side is insurance, no one wants to insure a house boat in louisiana after all the recent hurricanes.

We had the same dilemma but decided on a cruiser

I'd maybe look for a mid-size cruiser. There are amazing deals out there on some out there now used.

We have the 26 deckboat/cat for zipping around and 35 carver to stay on and cruise. It has everything a houseboat does(ac,heat,shower/bath,kitchen,sat tv) but is more nimble, and better cruising. We love it.

Plus your neighbors are other boaters which in our book is a HUGE plus. We have great friends from the marina and dock life.

I boat on Lake Cumberland in the Summers. Our veiw changes whenever we want. Highly recommend the Houseboat. We have 4 bedroom w/ 2 baths.Attachment 371000

i think house boats are way cool, but i like to go to different lakes, so rv was the way to go. Plus no storage fees, and can easily do maintnances at home. The best thing to do is probably rent one and see if you like. My 2 cents. Jaime:rolleyes:

Houseboat is the way to go. We are on Lake Cumberland as well. Some cruisers cost as much as houseboats do but the houseboat has much more living space. If the houseboat is bought reasonable and lept clean you will not lose any money, in fact you will likely make money. The brokers on lake cumberland are still doing well even in todays market houseboats are still selling.

Try renting one and see how it works out, with kids you need all the room you can get!

Thumbs up on the Houseboat. We never left ours, so I had to sell because the home chores were falling behind! :drink:

Allot of my customers spend March-September at the lake. Sumerset & Sharpe are the most common and upkeep is somewhat minimal compared to property. Dock life is great and you can keep all your toys next to you. I wouldn't recommend a cruiser unless there's only going to be two of you.

Let me know. I take care of all the Sharpe's delivered in Arkansas and also maintain the Sumerset's for the Arkansas rep.

Allot of excellent deals right now....

Donnie

I've been a die hard performance boater for a long time. Just bought our first houseboat 2 years ago. The houseboat is the way to go. we have much more fun with the houseboat vs. the fountain. Houses on the hill are fine, but I like being on the water 24/7 when i'm there.

LP

We have 2! A Sumerset 16x70 that is for sale & a 18x90 Lakeview.
They are the only way to go for lake living. My folks are on the Lakeview every weekend from March thru December.
Our view changes when we are out & when you wake up in a cove the next morning it is just so cool!
Don't get in a hurry! 8 mph is about all the faster they will run. I've towed my 29 Baja behind the Sumerset & it makes no difference in seed or economy for the boat. It is just slow.
I would like to have diesel power, but gas motors seem to be the standard. v-6's are just fine. v-8's use more fuel & don't travel any faster.
Thrusters are good, but the Sumerset doesn't have them & the Lakeview does. I've used them & prefer to not. They are just a crutch in my opinion.
PM me if you would like more info.

We just purchased a Gibson.It is small so not alot to take care of.In fact it was 68 deg here in ky.My wife and our 3 month old spent the day on it today.Summer cant get here fast enough.

Congrads on the purchase. I have a 37 foot cruiser. The houseboat, cruiser, lake house thing all depends on where you hang out. Cumberland, Center Hill and a number of other lakes have restrictions that keep you from really being on the water. I like house boats for those. The cruiser is good on Tn river lakes because you can do some destination boating when it is cold out. I think that lake houses are good where you can have a dock.

I prefer the lakehouse, although I've never tried the houseboat thing. The houseboat is probobly a better choice for you river folks. Maintenance really isn't a big deal. Probobly spend more time maintaining the boats then I do the house......considering usage. The property taxes we pay are less than the slip fees on our 30ft slip, but then again the house is in an unincorporated part of OK. I know they aren't that cheap on the TX side. I like the added space you get with the lakehouse to work on the boat and other things. They are also much better for entertaining. It is not unusual for us to feed 30+ people during summer holidays. Also nice to have a couple of real bathrooms you can actually use.

[QUOTE=TexomaPowerboater;2766763]I prefer the lakehouse, although I've never tried the houseboat thing.

Hmm, isn't that like saying I prefer Coke but I have never tried Pepsi?

I have owned a couple of lake houses and a cruiser. They are kind of like apples and oranges. Like I said, in some situations lake houses win hands down. But not all situations.

Nope, its like saying I prefer a big house by the water to party in instead of a little house that floats along at 5-10mph.

We've had 30+ on our 16x70 before. Not even close to being crowded.
The houseboat is THE way to go. Want to go party all day. No problem, party on the way to the party spot, party at the spot, when everyone else still has to drive home, go downstairs & go to sleep. Wake up the next morning & wait on the party to show back up.
We have had homes on the lake before & the HB is the best time we have had at the lake.