Houseboats - Sailing Open Water

Navigating a houseboat in open water on an inland lake. Beaching the boat.

[@WIFEWIFELIFE]

Thanks for your videos Captain! We are getting ready for a houseboat trip on the Trent-Severn and this is so helpful!

[@houseboats1013]

Have fun!

[@houseboats1013]

To hold an 80 foot houseboat weighing about 30 tons, you would need anchors of about 100lb each. Any boat I have seen with an anchor this big uses anchor winches just to get them up out of the water. I still can’t imagine how you would deploy an anchor from each corner of the boat.

[@bkw451]

cheers to you to mate....great video

[@MyTube4Utoo]

Very interesting.

[@rossli8621]

Great video! I am curious whether this type of houseboat can stand a cold winter (like 0 degree Celsius), can you make a video on that topic? Thanks!!!

[@houseboats1013]

If your asking if this type of boat can stand being in zero degree weather - yes it can. The heat pump is quite sufficient. Here in Georgia, we do get days below freezing in winter and I have stayed on the boat when it was around 10 degrees F. That said, it won't stand being locked in a frozen lake. If you were going to live aboard for extended periods in zero weather - I would definitely suggest getting a fully insulated boat - which our is not.

[@steveconnolly7290]

Would you take a 50 ft. houseboat like a Gibson from Louisiana to Ft. Meyers ?

[@houseboats1013]

Not me. You should only do that trip if the water is smooth as glass and predicted to stay like that over the whole journey. If it was a 50ft Coastal Cruiser then maybe.

[@roydora]

Would a gibson be a big problem on the great loop ?

[@houseboats1013]

You would have to time your crossings of open water with the weather. Some sections of the great loop are open to the Atlantic and the Gulf.

[@roydora]

@@houseboats1013 I see some trawlers that time their open water legs with the wind and weather , would do the same with a 40 gibson I figure, I really like the gibson houseboat and plan to get one for my retirement

[@houseboats1013]

@@roydora I believe Gibson have started manufacturing again so you might actually be able to get a new one. If you go for an older one, make sure you get a survey done particularly looking at the hull, stringer and tank conditions. Most houseboats (with the exception of Lazy Days) have low freeboard at the bow, so anything more than a two-to-three-foot swell is going to be a problem.

[@courcheval]

whag aboug 4 anchors at each side to dock the boats anywhere?

[@houseboats1013]

That’s a lot of anchors to manage. How would you lay out 4 anchors? I have seen houseboats try to do it with a bow and stern anchor. Success depends on the size of the boat, type of anchor and type of ground. Also, how windy it is.

[@courcheval]

@@houseboats1013 I m totally inexperienced but given the size of a houseboat, i thought the addional room for 4 anchors wouldnt be that cumbersome

[@richardr1627]

Can you have bow thrusters on a houseboat

[@houseboats1013]

Absolutely. See my episode on Houseboat Control Systems where I go into the various types available.

[@opalrubyinvestments]

You not really in open seas mate

[@houseboats1013]

Blimey mate you could be right! I kept looking for Australia but we never got there. Thanks for watching.