Houseboat question for the experts......

[JupiterSunsation]

Those 60+ ft long house boats kept on lakes up north/ Havasu....How come you don't seem any in S. FL cruising the ICW. I know they have zero ocean going capabilities but you would think it would be somewhat ideal for the inland boating/ keys. Is the salt water and aluminum hull an issue or are they just that bad of a seafaring boat?

How tough are they to handle in tight areas?

[jayboat]

I would guess all of the above, plus high dock fees, insurance and susceptibility to hurricanes in Florida. Just a guess.

[wantingmore]

There's an 85 footer here that you can rent. Awesome boat. If I'd have seen how fast our house was gonna depreciate (about 250K so far), I'd have bought one of those and really "lived on the water".

[Sea-Dated]

They are usually under powered, very shallow draft, tough to manuever, and if there is any wind at all, they act like giant sails. I would not want one on anything rougher than a lake. LOTO and Grand are pushing it for these things......

[CFD5]

Alum hull: you can put bottom paint on but most of the hand rails, outside stairs, foward/rear deck supports are alum. Thats a ton of paint.
Mostly flat bottom boats: We took one through the ICW for the Miami Boat show a couple years ago and it was not fun. 80' flat bottom boat makes some funny noises when it stretches from one wave to the next. Held together fine but made me nervous. Most of the interior is jsut like a house, furniture, pics, etc.. not bolted down and can move around.
You can get pretty much any power you want, we've put anything from 4 bangers to 502's to diesels and a couple could actually damn near plane off. They can be easy to manuver with bow and stern thrusters but the wind still pushes it around pretty good.
Maybe someone will tell the story about pulling a 100'er in 76 falls Lake cumberland Memorial day weekend. Noon on Sat and getting a front row spot!

[ToddLahey]

Maybe someone will tell the story about pulling a 100'er in 76 falls Lake cumberland Memorial day weekend. Noon on Sat and getting a front row spot!

I witnessed this and it was a site to see for sure!
There were a couple docked at Marina Jacks in Sarasota a few years ago though.

[Chris]

I remember the new houseboat owner that took his out onto Lake Erie a few years ago. And it wasn't even that rough a day. I think he made it about a half-mile before the life jackets got wet. Big one too- about 60 feet. I'll see if I still have the video of it.

[JupiterSunsation]

I remember the new houseboat owner that took his out onto Lake Erie a few years ago. And it wasn't even that rough a day. I think he made it about a half-mile before the life jackets got wet. Big one too- about 60 feet. I'll see if I still have the video of it.

Well the owner's manual said it was for lake use only........