All of the issues SaltyDog mentioned are the reason I have a 15' trailerable boat with a single outboard instead of the cabin cruiser I mistakenly think I want sometimes.
All of the issues SaltyDog mentioned are the reason I have a 15' trailerable boat with a single outboard instead of the cabin cruiser I mistakenly think I want sometimes.
Whatever you do, add a slide. I just put an inflatable one on mine, and the kids love it.
Lake Altoona? My brother had a boat at Holiday harbor marina for a couple of years. His late 60's Lazy Days had an aluminum hull that was built like a tank. Re did the whole inside then sold it later. Had a Holman and Moody out drive and control pkg, I never knew they did boat stuff! Progressive has the cheapest boat insurance by far. Most will want an out of water hull inspection, Progressive did not.
I know nothing about boats either and have nothing meaningful to add, so of course I'll post something! One of my friends is a professional chef, and for a while had a gig on a 130' yacht. It had a crew of 15 I think that did nothing but work on the boat non-stop, even when it wasn't going out. Going from Tampa Bay to the keys it burned like 800 to 1000 gallons of fuel, and it took a few hours to fill it up. I forget what the owner said it took to operate it for an hour, but it was EXPENSIVE. Buying it was the least of its cost. I want to say $50k an hour or some such number, but that may be inflated. It was a great looking boat but was also so large they had to have a pilot bring it in and it wouldn't fit at most docks. More than once she had to get a boat to go to and from the boat.
Anyway, I'd rather have a plane than a boat, but that's another money drain all unto itself. 
The only other boat story I know is a buddy that bought a used Boston Whaler. It turned out that fiberglass boats can be totally rotted and this one was. It ended up in the scrap yard as was unusable. Who knew.
The bigger the boat, the bigger the hole in the water....
pinchvalve said:Whatever you do, add a slide. I just put an inflatable one on mine, and the kids love it.
That sound you hear when this boat sails into the harbor is not the engines. Its the sound of panties dropping all along the shore.
Is there a 'grassroots boatersports' equivalent forum online? Family wants a runabout boat, too, and the local market is flooded with all kinds of options at every price point. Again, I don't know what I don't know and we aren't sure where to begin.
For good reading thehulltruth forum is good, but they can be snarky to newbies..... Tons of good info though.
I am on boat #3, no houseboats though, start small IMO. I started with a 12' dingy, went to a 13' whaler, and now I am in a 19' Alu CC. I don't want to go any bigger....
My idea of a house boat is a 15' aluminum with a 9.8 hp merc parked at the end of a cottage dock.
Given $ XXXXXX to piss away on investments, is there a more secure investment that will give a better return?
Trish and I used to rent a Sabre 38 sailboat from Rock Hall, MD and spend two weeks on the Chesapeake, fun stuff. Because the bay is so shallow, when the wind whips up things get scary fast. I saw a lobster boat someone converted to a houseboat, what better place to be in a storm than that type of boat? Are you familiar with a Dutch Barge? Floating warehouses that ply goods up and down the rivers, people started buying them up and making them apartments.
914Driver said:Given $ XXXXXX to piss away on investments, is there a more secure investment that will give a better return?
I think the question is, could there possibly be a LESS secure investment?
People who use the word investment in regards to a car are lost, using it in regards to a boat is an easy way to get committed as a danger to society.
SaltyDog said:We sold our "big" boat last fall after 22 years of boating.
Our 1st was a 40' houseboat similar to your picture. 14' beam, single 150HP outboard. Great for a weekend cabin, lousy if you actually wanted to go anywhere unless there was absolutely no breeze. I'm not talking about wind, just a breeze. With a flat bottom and that much area on the side, the smallest of breezes and you were white knuckling it around the dock or any other objects that you didn't care to hit.
After a ~150 mile trip, we decided that we were getting a different boat or a different hobby.
We traded for a 36' Gibson house boat with twin 350's and V-Drives. What a difference. Speed, handling, manuverability, but still sucked in the wind. We kept it for 8 years, put around 800 hours on it and a lot of miles. Great boat, but, it was like driving your motor home every time you wanted to go for a ride. Still fun, but we found ourselves sitting at the dock when it was just the 2 of us. Since I was the Captain, I wanted something more enjoyable to drive. (BTW, my wife is the Admiral)
Traded boats with a couple we had known for several years who had a 34' Sea Ray Express who used it like a cabin. All they did was sit at the dock and were looking for something more suited to floating instead of boating, so we made a deal in 2005.
Kept the Sea Ray until last fall, put almost 1000 hours on it. Probably going to miss it this spring. Or not.
Things to consider-
Slip fees: Around here, $1200 to $2500 per season.
Winter storage: Here, about the same as the slip.
Power: Some marinas include the power or have a flat rate depending on your boat, some are metered. Ours was metered and ran about $100 month.
Insurance: You will most likely have to have a survey done on the boat before you can get insurance. Survey costs are usually based on a percentage of the value of the boat, so I would expect possibly $1K to $2K. Our insurance was ~$600/yr with discounts for Boat US membership, multiple boater's safety courses,(Not a bad idea, and especially if you take them in the winter. A good reason to hang with other boaters) and the fact that I had zero claims in 22 years of boating.
Winterizing: 3 cases of RV antifreeze, a day's work, fogging oil, power washing the bottom. About $150
Spring: Sand and Bottom paint at ~$150/gal, wash, buff, wax.
So, We're closing in on $5K of annual expense with no labor, but we haven't bought the boat yet.
Sales Tax: May not apply in your state, but did here to the tune of about $3K
Depreciation: Our boat's blue book went from $52000 to $18000 in 12 years. Ended up selling it for about 1/2 the book value. It is a buyer's market, especially in the fall.
Fuel: Our Sea Ray got between .6mpg and 1mpg. Notice the decimal. That's not a misprint. 32 gallons per hour at cruise.
Annual Maintenance: Oil change was 18 quarts of oil, 3 filters (2 454ci drive engines and the generator), 19 spark plugs (gennie was a 3 cyl), 3 fuel filters and 2 water separators. Took a full day of contortionism to perform the work and a week to recover.
Spiders and other bugs love the water, so you'll have to wash it everyday if you want to keep it looking good. Waxing it will take several days.
The "Break Out Another Thousand" is conservative. For us, that was a trip to the gas dock. Other things to remember are "The only thing that works on an old boat is it's owner" and "The 2 happiest days of a boatsman are the day he buys it and the day he sells it". I can attest that all are true.
Marinas are like small towns with their cliques, politics and bullies. Talk to as many people as you can before deciding on one.
We had some of our best times while boating, made a lot of great friends and spent an enormous amount of money.
I don't regret any of it, but I am glad we are out of it. It is a lifestyle that consumes a lot of your time and resources.
I have seen a LOT of people buy a boat without an idea of the costs involved in both time and money, lose interest in a few months and walk away with a greatly lightened pocketbook.
I'm not trying to steer you away, but please take all of this into account and do your due diligence before you decide on anything.
Good Luck on whatever you decide.
Having spent the majority of my youth in a fishing boat, but knowing and seeing first hand some that had the type of boat you speak of, Salty Dog's advice should help you make your decision.
FWIW, I did myself ponder several years ago what you are asking now. But after coming to my senses, I determined renting was a better fit for me. Even if you rent one a few times a season, financially (and time as well) you will likely come out way ahead vs buying. Plus not have all the hassle of the aforementioned maintenance, docking fees, storage, and you get to keep your general sanity.
edit-So my writing here for some reason looks like its included in salty's statement. I did use the quote button to quote him and before I posted mine, it showed my writing separate from his quote. Not sure what happened there?
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