[baitchunker]

i have been thinking about house boats a lot lately. with my son on the way, i have realized that i cant afford water front property. (shocking right?) but, it is a dream to be able to have some sort of "home base" on the water. hopefully, to give my kid and me a place to explore the delta, and the fishing without having to drive too far back and forth.

my ol man had a house boat when i was a teenager. well, it was more of a floating shack on the al. river. we slept, cooked, and fished off of the houseboat. and ran trotlines all over the river. i loved that place. you could fish in the rain and not get wet. it was great. i have since discovered that there are more modernized houseboats. "floating houses" might be more accurate. many of them are hooked up to water/utilities. they can be as big as 3 bedrooms. i think that is a lil much for me, but it would be easier to convince the ol lady to let me buy/build one if it was equipped with AC and shower. prices on these range anywhere from 2500$ to 100,000$. im leaning towards the extreme low end. im not so sure you can insure a floating house and this is hurricane country.

i have been looking at one in particular up on the delta. it is about 600 yards down river from a public launch. it has water and lights. a big flotation style dock/deck thingy. and a metal roof. it is one room with a small fridge, stove, sink area. a toilet and standup shower. and a foldout sofa across from a set of bunk beds. they want 3500$ for it. what do yall think?

i allready have 2 uncles with 2 different bay houses. so my saltwater fishing is covered. but, i really want a place like this so my boy can experience the river and delta. (o.k. maybe its for me too.)

i have also considered building one myself. starting with the flotation/flooring/deck. just building on top of a flatbed trailer so that i can launch it once, tow it where i want it, and then build the rest on top.

do any of yall have experience with houseboats? any suggestions? tips on building them? are they just bigger holes in the water than regular boats? any info. or experience about houseboats is deeply appreciated.

j.d.

 

[SSgt Fishslayer]

you know JD i have been wanting a house boat as well. have been thinking about getting one, only makes sense. think about this. i am staying in for the next 12 years. i want my own place but dont want to buy a house. plus i always want to be on the water. so what better idea than a houseboat? that way if i ever have to leave i can take my house with me. :big_smile: seriously though i would really like to get one and they are quite a bit cheaper than a house. then you dont have to worry so much about property taxes on your land.

 

[jlingle]

What do I think? I think you're looking at a winner for $3500. Seriously, how much more are you gonna spend while looking for a better deal? Buy that one, fix it up however you like it & have a place for you & the family to enjoy. Sounds like a blast to me.

My opinion & a nickel won't buy you a warm cup of jack squat, but I think it's a really cool idea.

 

[postbeetle]

Don't know why I am commenting here, but I am gonna anyhow. I like you two guys and this is my two cents.

Go for it and like everything, work your way up. Start out on the first face on the totem pole and work your way up if fits your bill. I am a landlubber, can't swim and boats scare me to death. But that is not what I am talking about here. If you got the right water and the right place I couldn't imagine anything better. What ya wanna do live in some Godforsaken suburban development with all the other ticky-tacky characters wishing and a hoping for something else. Do it.

John.

 

[SSgt Fishslayer]

other thing i forgot to mention. if you get a nice houseboat, you dont have to worry about a picky and nosy HOA poking about and telling what you can and cannot do.

 

[Phil Washburn]

like the postbettle said, J.D., go for it......and pm me for my phone number so you can invite me to run some jugs from it with you:wink::big_smile:

 

[JAinSC]

I absolutely love the idea. For me it would be heaven. Wouldn't even need a motor - I could just pull it into position with the jon boat and anchor it up. But to be able to sell the idea to my wife I think it'd have to be quite mobile - able to drive it to different areas and pull up to a nice sand bar and hang out for the day, etc. It would also be a big advantage for it to be trailerable to move it up to the lake for a while if we got bored with a river, or vice versa...

Would you worry any about security? If you are gonna have AC, then that means power = generator, etc. I'd worry that somebody might invite themselves inside and help themselves whiile I was at work. Actually, they make propane refrigerators and AC and all, don't they? You could probably run the whole thing off bottled gas? Gas stove, AC, fridge ...

 

[Reel_Blues]

JD i think its a great idea i wish i could afford to get one. I would have one already.:big_smile:

 

[micus]

The only fly in the ointment I see is security. Unfortunately anything left by itself away from other things is going to get stolen or destroyed. I would highly recommend investing in a marina slip for when you are not using it.

 

[SHARON FLEMING]

J.D.

Go for it, I have always wanted a house boat and we jacked around and waited until we are too old. I really think you and your son would build iSharonmemories there that are priceless.

 

[baitchunker]

thanks for the comments yall. i have been dwelling on this for a long time. to me, it makes perfect sense. Amy is a lil shaky. the particular house boat i am looking at isnt really a boat per say. it is more of a floating dock with an insulated building built on top of it. it isnt really all that mobile, allthough i could prolly pull it somewhere with my boat if i had to. one thing i found out about it today, is that it comes with a small parcel of land that you basically have to rent for 100$ a month. the money includes city water piped in, and electricity via power pole on dry land. the piece of land is roughly the size of a driveway. its not quite as secluded as i would like. but, it may be as close as i can get untill i turn in postbeetle's winning lottery ticket.

as for security, that is a concern. the houseboat dad had was in the middle of nowhere. about a 30min. boatride from the nearest launch. all we kept on it were sein nets/cast nets, sleeping bags, air mattresses, extra water/canned food, first aid kit/fire extinguisher, and a lil bit of fishing tackle. we kept all that locked up, and never really had a problem. this place would be at a disadvantage because it is so close to a boat ramp. it does have one advantage which is neighboring house boats within 100 yards of each side. (thats kinda bad if ya like seclusion though).

we wouldnt live in it permanently. i allready have a house for that. my house is in a central location between jobs and the city, has great schools, and is a pretty nice neighborhood with increasing values... and its fair share of ppl like PB mentioned which arent my favorite. we would prolly only be at the HB on weekends and hollidays. still sounds good to me though.

i am pretty sure we can afford it. or at least i believe i could find a way to afford it if $ did get tight after purchase. Amy on the other hand, thinks we should hold off untill the baby is 3-4 years old. i really hate it when she uses logic. financially that makes more sense. and as she put it, "do i really wanna put my pole down to change diapers?" "we at least oughta wait till he can tinkle off the side". i say "i hope he is a quick learner."

besides putting things like this off is how things like this dont happen. right?

if'n i do talk her into it, invitations to all. yall would have to come in groups of 5 or less though, it aint the ritz. but, it would be my castle.

 

[plainsman]

If ya can afford it, go for it. Its not too high priced I think, so ya can start with it, and learn what ya need or want on your dream home. Also if you discover its not what ya thought ya really wanted, ya can unload it without losing a big pile of money.

 

[JAinSC]

Wives have a bad habit of trying to inject too much logic into these matters.

The best counter argument I would have for her is this - the prices of waterfront property (and I'll include a houseboat in that) are going up faster than most of our earnings. There's a chance that it would get harder to afford the longer you wait.

 

[willcat]

I agree with you that would be the perfect getaway on holidays & weekends. We fish in the summer months off a floating cabin in Baffin Bay, a real popular spot for avid anglers who mostly buy into these cabins with someone else since they go for about 60k!!!! My b in law has a friend at work who just happens to share one with his brother, they also have one on land down there hey share with other ppl. That is some of the best fishing for redfish & trout I've ever seen. Plus they built a 150ft lighted peer w/cleaning station next to the one on land that is really nice. Back to the subject at hand, I think u will really like it. If i ever get some pics uploaded I will post them for you. btw this is secluded from landdwellers as the boat ride to these things is about 40 minutes from where we put in @ BirdIsland on south padre island down in corpus, but when u get there it looks like a city on the water where everyone respects their space, and noone will come within 200yds of you when u are fishing. I would really think about getting it if i were you so u could tow it out a ways away from everyone. I've also seen ppl build them out of old pontoon boats anywhere from 20 to 28 ft w/all the amenities of home plus an outboard to move it, then just put it in a slip @ the marina!!!!! Something to think about...

 

[loanwizard]

You have to make the decision that this is THE lake you want to be on always. You can get a 28 foot pontoon with houseboat like stuff on it cheaply (comparatively) The nice thing about a boat and motor is a- it's trailerable b- you can rent a slip for the same or less on an annual basis. c- If you and Amy decide it's not for you, it's easier to sell a boat than a floating cabin for reasons a and b.

I too have toyed with the idea, mostly because I wouldn't mind plying the Ohio and Mississippi when I get older (I am getting closer because my wife loved sleeping on the cruise ship)

Good luck with the decision, this is one of the HAPPY decisions in life. BTW, when you get it, I have a boat and will travel lol! :wink: