Houseboat?

[Whip]

Could be too much Travis McGee...

 

Anyone ever live on a house boat?

 

If so Where?

 

Lake?

 

Ocean?

 

 

What was it like?

 

 

[szurszewski]

Boat, yes. A few. Puget Sound and less protected parts of the Pacific along the north parts of the west coast.

 

Actual houseboat - no. Neither the kind that are really houses floating on barges/logs (not mobile unless towed) nor the kind, like in your picture, which are more like flat bottom boats with small mobile homes stuck on top (sort of limitedly mobile under their own power).

 

What are you thinking about? Sounds fun - is it too early to plan a visit?

 

 

Best part of living on the water: you're on the water, and I love the way that feels, sounds and smells. If you don't like those things it is very unpleasant. 

 

Worst part: no extra space. Also things tend to be perpetually damp unless you are living in someplace really arid (like Lave Havasu or whatever). Don't drop your keys getting on/off the boat/house - ask my mom, it's a hassle!

 

 

 

 

[taylor1]

I have a friend here on the Island that grew up  and has been on the water his whole life. Retired from the NPS after 35 years from CapeLookout National Seashore. 

Anyway, he decided to sell his home and live permanently on his house boat. Told me he had plenty of family to stay with if he needed a break. After a little over a year , he has now built a new small home and uses that as his base.
He does spent most of his time in the summer on it shuffling between the barrier islands , but told me this winter he will either tie or anchor up. Don't know if its the cold nor'easters or the cramped quarters with his wife  LOL

 

[Bill_Walker]

Houseboats, like RVs, tend to be poorly insulated, which makes them a lousy place to stay in a cold winter (assuming you're someplace you don't have to haul it out for the winter).

 

You know the two happiest days in a boat owner's life, right?  The day he buys it, and the day he sells it.  Also, a boat is a hole in the water, surrounded by fiberglass, into which you pour money.

 

That being said, as Rat said to Mole in "The Wind in the Willows":

 

"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

[Bud]

 

You know the two happiest days in a BMW motorcycle owner's life, right?  The day he buys it, and the day he sells it

[Endobob]

2 hours ago, Bud said:

 

You know the two happiest days in a BMW motorcycle owner's life, right?  The day he buys it, and the day he sells it

 

2 hours ago, Bud said:

 

You know the two happiest days in a BMW motorcycle owner's life, right?  The day he buys it, and the day he sells it

You then have had many happy days!😂

[eddd]

https://www.wuwm.com/post/milwaukee-boat-house-has-been-symbol-nonconformity-100-years

 

 

[Bud]

11 hours ago, Endobobdds said:

 

You then have had many happy days!😂

 

And many sad days as well.

[Bill_Walker]

Maybe one of these?  You won't have to deal with all that floaty stuff.

 

[Whip]

I remember seeing those with StanF

[Whip]

So, no one here has ever lived on or owned a house boat???

 

I have questions?

 

How do ya empty the black water tank?

 

Is there fresh water hook ups at the slips?

 

....electricity?

 

Where would I have to park my bike(s)?

 

How much maintenance is involved?

 

I think I may rent one for a week.

 

 

 

 

[Bill_Walker]

Most marinas, in my experience, have water and electricity available at each slip, at least for "permanent" slips (as opposed to guest slips).  I think for pump-out of the holding tank, you generally have to go to a pump-out dock (I've seen them), but I think I recall seeing that some places have mobile pump-out services.  You'd have to park in a publicly accessible parking lot, most likely.  Most marinas of my acquaintance (mostly in California) have a wide-open parking lot, but have locked gates protecting access to the docks.  Maintenance will vary depending on type (or presence) of propulsion system and other equipment, and whether you're in fresh or salt water.  As a BMW owner, you're already used to dealing with boat-like service and parts costs, but I think they do tend to scale up with the size of the boat.

[greiffster]

2 hours ago, Whip said:

So, no one here has ever lived on or owned a house boat???

No, but I've spent some time in a marina.

 

I have questions?

 

How do ya empty the black water tank?

Like Bill said, pump out near/at the permanent slips.  Also, mobile service available.  Really not much of an issue.  Even the overnight slips/dock has the service for transients.

 

Is there fresh water hook ups at the slips?

Yup, everywhere I've seen

 

....electricity?

Absolutely.  30, 50 amp service depending on size.  Many with cable as well.

 

Where would I have to park my bike(s)?

That's really dependent upon the marina.  BUT, marinas are some of the most accommodating people on the planet.  (at least in my part of the world)

 

How much maintenance is involved?

lol.  not touching this one.

 

I think I may rent one for a week.

 

 

 

[szurszewski]

There are houseboat specific marinas - at those they either have black/waste water runs to the slips OR there will be a mobile pumpout vessel/barge that comes around; typically you'll pay them per visit.

 

You never answered my clarifying question - are we talking about an actual boat with a motor or some sort of house structure on a float/barge/etc. Maintenance will depend on that - if it's just a floating house, normal house stuff plus occasionally (like over the course of a decade or more) you'll need float work or replacement. If it's an actual boat, all the stuff you do to maintain a house, plus all the stuff you do to maintain a not that reliable car, plus imagine your foundation is trying to leak...all the time.

 

Most marinas I've lived in/stayed in are as described above - open parking lots with no gates, but gates to get to your boat. One we were at for a long time did have limited storage lockers that were not large enough for a car but made a fine garage for a bike (maybe two if they were narrow). 

[roadscholar]

Saw this awhile back, think I'd like it for the waterways around here..

 

 

[Whip]

53 minutes ago, szurszewski said:

There are houseboat specific marinas - at those they either have black/waste water runs to the slips OR there will be a mobile pumpout vessel/barge that comes around; typically you'll pay them per visit.

 

You never answered my clarifying question - are we talking about an actual boat with a motor or some sort of house structure on a float/barge/etc. Maintenance will depend on that - if it's just a floating house, normal house stuff plus occasionally (like over the course of a decade or more) you'll need float work or replacement. If it's an actual boat, all the stuff you do to maintain a house, plus all the stuff you do to maintain a not that reliable car, plus imagine your foundation is trying to leak...all the time.

 

Most marinas I've lived in/stayed in are as described above - open parking lots with no gates, but gates to get to your boat. One we were at for a long time did have limited storage lockers that were not large enough for a car but made a fine garage for a bike (maybe two if they were narrow). 

  

 

Sorry. I don’t know?

 

I am thinking a barge type houseboat and maybe a runabout for fishing and fun.

 

 

 

 

[Whip]

 Bill, I am thinking something much bigger.

 

 

40-50 foot.

 

 

[roadscholar]

I probably shoulda known that, maybe something along these lines? : )

 

 

[Marty Hill]

Perfect!

 

[John Ranalletta]

Does the garage have a m/c lift?

[BrianM]

On 7/22/2019 at 5:27 AM, eddd said:

https://www.wuwm.com/post/milwaukee-boat-house-has-been-symbol-nonconformity-100-years

 

 

 

Drove by that house many times on the way to school (UWM).

 

Bought my first boat (18 ft bow rider), people told me how expensive boats were. I told them I raced for 29 years (road raced the last 18). My TZ250 cost more than $6 per mile to ride. Single lap of Road America was $24, rode more than 2000 laps there. Include entry fees and travel on top of that. Oh yeah, don't crash - $$$$.

 

Boat - yearly maintenance/winterizing $380. Rest is gas and launch fees. 

 

Boating is cheap. 

 

 

[szurszewski]

Where’s this thing gonna be floating?

[RandyShields]

I would have thought Deep Purple was before your time!

[Bill_Walker]

BTW, many books have been written on living aboard boats.  They're more often aimed at sailboats than houseboats, but most of the same principles apply.  Search "living aboard" on Amazon.

 

Heck, I just realized I've got one, even though I've never lived aboard: "The Intricate Art of Living Afloat", by Clare Allcard.

[BrianT]

 

"SKIPEEERRRRRR!"

 

My father lived on a 30 foot sailboat for 10 years in an ocean marina.  As someone else said, he described the boat as a "hole in the water you just keep throwing money into."  Something always needed to be maintained or repaired.  Might be different on house boats on a lake or interior waterway.  His only other complaints were #1 no place for your stuff such as closets, so he had to cut things down to the bare essentials, sort of like living off a motorcycle and #2 having to use the dockside facilities for shower and toilet so he wouldn't fill up his blackwater tank.  Eventually the boat had engine problems he couldn't repair.  If it was a car he would've junked it.  But boats being fiberglass are basically hazmat and you have to pay to scrap them.  He had a hard time giving it away and after 2 years of trying, finally found someone to just take it for free as a repair project.

 

His boat slip had shore power, like an RV hookup would.  There was a water hose spigot he could fill his water tank with, but you wouldn't want to drink that.  Marina had a private parking lot he could park his car and motorcycle.

 

To me it seemed very RV like in that in short doses or trips its fine to live aboard and lets you stay in different places like an RV does.  But not sure I'd want to permanently live on one.  Only tempting ones I've seen are the literal small houses on water like in Seattle where they don't have a motor and aren't boats.

 

 

[Whip]

I rented a house boat for a week in January. 

 

We shall see

[terryofperry]

9 hours ago, Whip said:

I rented a house boat for a week in January. 

 

We shall see

 Cross Country Camping and now this.......hmm......

Looking forward to this Winter Tale On The Water........

 

Terry

[Bill_Walker]

14 hours ago, Whip said:

I rented a house boat for a week in January. 

 

We shall see

Hmm.  Not typically houseboat season in most places I know.  Where are you renting?

[Bill_Walker]

Also, do you have any experience with boats?  Rental houseboats used to be common on the Sacramento Delta where I grew up waterskiing, and we got lots of laughs watching the stupid things the inexperienced boat drivers did.  Back then, they were mostly pontoon boats with a box cabin that looked like an RV trailer, with a totally inadequate 40-horse Homelite outboard motor.  Wind was their nemesis.  And often their captains were unaware that the Delta rivers were close enough to SF Bay to have tides, so high-and-dry houseboats were pretty common.

[Whip]

Key West

[Marty Hill]

Key West is wonderful that time but a bit crowded.  Many house boats moored there.  Several very good restaurants.  

 

[Marty Hill]

Not weird.  Tummy should never forget good food.

[RandyShields]

Quote:  Loved the El Siboney Restaurant  on Catherine St. when I was there a few years back. 

 

Very interesting.  In October, when I raced down to Key West to capture corner no. 2 of my (now delayed) 4-corners ride, I had a G&T at happy hour on Duval Street, did some quick research on the best restaurants nearby, and walked there for dinner.  Very authentic Cuban food that fit the bill perfectly for a hungry rider!

 

 

[John Ranalletta]

23 hours ago, Whip said:

Key West

 

So, what's the slip #?   Be kind to the roosters or invite bad luck...

 

   

[Marty Hill]

Key West.  Dad took me there at 6 to fly to Havana.  USN Anti Sub Warfare School in '55 for 6 months.  IBM sent me there since I was the junior rep and the old guys didn't want to drive for 3 hours each way.  I enjoyed the moaning when the Navy started buying from me.  It was less than 40 minutes in my plane.

[greiffster]

On 8/5/2019 at 10:51 AM, Whip said:

Key West

 

good times with good friends...stumbled out of Rick's Bar after too many picklebacks.

[Endobob]

On 8/5/2019 at 11:51 AM, Whip said:

Key West

 

@Whip - Key West in January - What week?  Would be nice if it was the same week as Cedar Key.  You might get some visitors.

 

@Tallman:  Friday 24 January 2020, 11:00 AM until Sunday 26 January 2020, 12:00 PM

...We meet in CedarKey, Florida, one of the coolest old Florida coastal communties. Meet and greet for lunch on the Saturday before the Super Bowl. Many stay for the weekend. This event began in 2005 as a way for fellow riders to start the year with friends in a beautiful setting....

 

 

 

 

[Marty Hill]

I always leave cedar key and head to everglades city for a night or two.  Fave hotel and restaurant 1 block apart.  Then I wander down to key west and stay on the base for a few days.  Good friends in homestead so I bum a night or two with them before heading back home.

[Groanup]

I spent a week on a houseboat in Lake Mead once.

All I really remember about that week is, wind is bad...

I know... I'm no help.

I used to drink a bit, and, it was a while ago.

[Bill_Walker]

On 8/5/2019 at 8:51 AM, Whip said:

Key West

 

What, not Cedar Key?  What would McGee say?

[Marty Hill]

Key west is 100 times better with a lot more to do when on land.  I've been going to both for many years as have many others on the board.   

[roadscholar]

On 8/6/2019 at 8:10 PM, Marty Hill said:

I always leave cedar key and head to everglades city for a night or two.  Fave hotel and restaurant 1 block apart.  Then I wander down to key west and stay on the base for a few days.  Good friends in homestead so I bum a night or two with them before heading back home.

 

Tell me about Everglades City Marty, my dirt route down the peninsula ends there. Wondered if there was a decent motel and restaurant, haven't ever been there..

 

Also I'd agree Cedar Key may be semi-quaint but not a whole lot going on, if at this end of the state I'd pick St. Augustine anytime, far more to see and do with plenty of good restaurants and watering holes. 

[Bill_Walker]

I guess I have to explain.  My reference to Cedar Key was a reference to the Travis McGee novels written by John MacDonald, which I know Whip has read.  It was not a recommendation.  I've never been to Florida.

[Marty Hill]

Everglades city.  Nicest hotel with indoor pool is Ivey House.  I go there every year after Cedar Key.  Just around the corner is the Camillia Street Grill.  Indoor or on the water seating.  You and friend will enjoy both!  Bill W, Kali is great but there is a whole other world out there by bike or car.

  

[Marty Hill]

Bill, there isn't much to do in EC.  I usually go to the airport but never see much.  Enjoy the pool, the food and the quiet.  I usually head to key west from there and stay on the Navy base and enjoy good food for a couple of days.

[John Ranalletta]

Everglades City is a favorite stop when in so FL with an interesting if not checkered history.  It's as close to "old Florida" as is left IMO.  Susceptibility to tidal surge I think accounts for not much new development.  Lust after house on water where the one family (Uline?) buys up adjacent property as it comes for sale.

 

[Paul De]

On 7/22/2019 at 5:27 AM, eddd said:

https://www.wuwm.com/post/milwaukee-boat-house-has-been-symbol-nonconformity-100-years

 

 

 

Haha, I haven't been following this thread cuz I never lived on a houseboat, but that house is a legend here. I live only a few miles away and pass it once in a while just to see it.  It went up for sell some years back and as you might expect it took a unique buyer with a sense of adventure.  Local news did a story and the walk through was interesting to see.  It is living on a boat inside including all the weird curves that make for limited and cramped cubby storage around the "hull"?.  The place was actually never a boat but stick built construction to replicate a boat.

 

Maybe slightly more pertinent to the topic is that the wife and I rented a 65', 10' beam house boat with another couple on the Mississippi.  With a seriously slow helm response it was a handful, sort of like piloting the Exxon Valdez, which made getting caught in a squall with 70 MPH winds a near death experience.  Too bad I can't put my fingers on the beautiful sunset pic we took on the top deck after the storm.  We all looked so relaxed, but we were actually wasted and still in a bit of shock after that harrowing experience.  We did get over it though and rented another 65 footer at Voyageurs National Park and that trip was very nice.  The two experience leaves me with this perspective.  If you do live on a houseboat do it on a permanently secured large square barge so you can actually live in a house.

[roadscholar]

18 hours ago, Marty Hill said:

Everglades city.  Nicest hotel with indoor pool is Ivey House.  I go there every year after Cedar Key.  Just around the corner is the Camillia Street Grill.  Indoor or on the water seating.  You and friend will enjoy both!  Bill W, Kali is great but there is a whole other world out there by bike or car.

  

 

17 hours ago, John Ranalletta said:

Everglades City is a favorite stop when in so FL with an interesting if not checkered history.  It's as close to "old Florida" as is left IMO.  Susceptibility to tidal surge I think accounts for not much new development.  Lust after house on water where the one family (Uline?) buys up adjacent property as it comes for sale.

 

 

Thanks guys, sounds like the perfect spot to end a multi day adv ride (or drive) just as I'd imagined. My only recollection is a couple old episodes of Miami Vice when the boys had to go over there and check out some smuggling operations.. Actually I was headed there a couple years ago on my last scouting trip but had to abort when the alternator on my camper van gave up and nursed it to an Autozone in Naples. It took me 3 new batteries to get back to Jax : ) 

 

Showing people Old Florida is the main reason for the route (besides tying into the TAT) so again should be the perfect ending.. if anyone needs to go all the way, KW isn't hard to find. Good article about the history and even though it's 30 years old, I'd guess there's still a little excitement from time to time

 

I mentioned it once way back but if anyone's interested in a good read about pioneers settling in Florida and what it was like pick up a copy of "A Land Remembered", it's fiction but well researched and written,  if not fact certainly plausible.  

 

 

 

[Bill_Walker]

17 hours ago, Marty Hill said:

Bill W, Kali is great but there is a whole other world out there by bike or car.

Yes, and I've been to lots of it.  But not Florida, or a few other states.  I think my state total is about 38, mostly on MCs.  I've missed New England, Florida, Alaska, and a couple in the northern midwest.  

[Marty Hill]

New England and Alaska are really nice.  Fla., if you have spare time.