I have been boating my whole life on a 21' open bow. Docked at North Shore and South Shore Marinas and moved to Sharpsburg when South Shore closed. We are now looking into a houseboat that we can eventally take to lakes as a "lake house" (possibly Raystown or Kinzua.) Can anyone give me any advice on what or what not to get? We are looking for something on the cheaper side right now to make sure we will like it.. but our goal is to upgrade in a couple of years.
There are very few "trailer-able" houseboats out there. There are larger cruisers that you may be able to tow that have the amenities but in my opinion, esp at a place like Kinzua, you want to get a real house boat. However, you cannot tow a houseboat on your own or move it easily from one lake to another. Most take professional companies to move at a large expense with permits etc. That said, if you buy a houseboat and get it to where you are going to use it, it is a lot of fun. The first 10 years of my life my family had a houseboat on Kinzua and we had a blast up there. We still take the little boat and camper up once or twice a year but its not the same without the houseboat... It would be easiest to try to find one that is already on the lake you want to be on, such as checking at Wolf Run or Onoville marina for houseboats for sale if you want to be on Kinzua. One of the drawbacks to Wolf Run was they did not have electric on the docks back then, but I think they do now.
Just keep in mind that with any boat, the larger they are the more things there are that can break. So when you decide on the year/hours/quality you want to buy, it may be wash in terms of spending more money up front vs buying one that needs many repairs. There are a lot of older boats out there though that have really been taken care of and do not have a ton of hours on them. It is just about being patient and finding one that is in good shape. A survey, esp for a boat that large, is a good idea to get a fresh set of professional eyes on it to identify any problems. It may also be necessary to insure and/or finance the boat depending on the year if you need to.
Thanks Mikey! We are going to look at a Delta Clipper tonight. They didn't say what year it is but the pictures make it look in great Shape for the price. It is docked in New Brighton. I think if we bought it we would leave it somewhere in Beaver for a season or two just to make sure we will use it and not make excuses to not drive 3 hours.
That's funny the boat I grew up on at Kinzua was also a delta clipper. I think it is still on the lake up in Onoville but not sure. Good luck, I hope it goes well!
Good point about testing, checking out the boat, working on it, etc locally first. There are lots of good places to dock on the Beaver River. If you use it a lot and are sure you want to go to kinua you can take it as far up the Allegheny as you can go and have it hauled up from there
Do you know how far up you can go? We actually thought about trying to find out if we could take it the whole way but I think it runs out of water. We are going to Kinzua this weekend to check it out. We have checked out raystown and we want to compare. Any suggestions on things to do in Kinzua?
Kinzua is BYOE bring your own everything. Bring your own party, friends, parts, food, drinks etc. haha. It has changed a lot since my Dad used to go up there all the time. I think there are still plenty who use the lake and maybe the occasional rafting get togethers but it is a national forest area so rules are strict and there are no on-lake establishments, etc. Watersports and camping are great, esp if you like to get away from everyone. We used to take the houseboat to a cove and just stay there all weekend. Sometimes we would beach so we could have a fire, other weekends we would throw the anchor and we would not touch land the entire weekend.
Unfortunately you cannot go the whole way. You can go up past lock 9 and then it becomes too shallow to navigate. Still a ways to go at that point to get to Kinzua. Plus no lock at the Kinzua Dam (that would be awesome though)
Raystown is the same as Kinzua as far as the state land and BYOE. We have heard that it gets VERY crowded at Raystown during peak season and we just want to go be alone and throw anchor for the weekend. I really appriciate the advice. I just started on this site today and I think I am addicted!
A lot of them are made in KY. (Going on our annual week long trip on one in 2 weeks). I would take a walk around the marinas at Raystown, Kinzua. A lot of them are private for sale signs.
Otherwise, take some time and look around KY area and have one shipped here. Lots of choices out there for any price range.
Not sure that a semi could get into some of the launch ramps further north (Templeton comes to mind and I would think it would be tight). East Brady is about 6' deep (still plenty I am sure), but would have to really watch water depth since you have more boat to turn than a typical 22-24' that runs there. Kittanning might be as far as I would go so they could get on 422 easily and go north, if Kinzua was your destination. I would be worried about clipping trees and tight turns.
There are beautiful homes on the water and the run down pontoon. Do you have any experience houseboating? If not, I would highly recommend renting one for a week (Raystown does so, as well as lakes in KY). That will give you ideas on what you would like/not like in one.
I can go on and on about what I would look for in one. We go with 10-15 people for a week. (and would elaborate on amenities if asked and can find the time...).
Yes good point to rent one to try out. and also go on some tours of some houseboats for sale or just go see some on the river. If you ever seem me out I'd be happy to walk you through mine. It helps a ton to hear what people like or do not like about their boats and get a feeling about which amenities or options are a "must have" and which others would just be nice or do not matter.
Thanks for all of the advice. We looked at a couple that are for sale around here. Walking around the docks at Raystown is what got us thinking about the houseboat idea to begin with. It is just so hard to go away for a weekend and make sure we pack EVERYTHING. I usually leave work early the day before we leave so I can pack. We usually stay at the cabins at Raystown Resort and there is no stores within 15 miles of that place. We figure that a hosueboat will make it alot easier. We have an 18 mo. old daughter so just the extra stuff for her is rediculous. I would rather just have it waiting for me whenever I want to get there.
All I think I have figured out is that we need a lot of open space for my daughter to walk around. She loves boating on our 21' open bow but her time limit is about 2 hours until she just needs more space.
That is a good point you make about the boat having a lot of the things you need already on it. It is one of the best things about having a houseboat, esp if you going to a lake like Kinzua or Raystown. You don't need to pack everything every time. You just need food and clothes, the rest of the boating/camping items are already there waiting and that saves a ton of time and aggravation getting to the water.
Houseboat Advice?!?!
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(that would be awesome though)
