Thanks for the feedback! Nice to hear from someone who has experienced
boating and houseboating.
After the survey results and talking to various people, I decided to get the
boat.

It is actually a Thunderbird, not Thundercraft. As expected, there is some
work needed, mostly minor but the transom plywood needs attention and there
is one 11" crack in the keel. As a result I eventually got the boat for less
than half asking price. With the quote on the repairs, I still come out ok.
It's a given that I am going to put a fair amount of money into the boat
over time but so far I think the money I put into it will be no more than
what I would have paid outright for something a little newer. I will also
learn a lot by going through this. I priced a fair number of houseboats and
I don't believe I could just buy something without putting some money into
it.

I live in Ottawa, Canada and for the next couple of years I will probably
be happy just cruising the rideau system and Ottawa river. Very scenic and
lots of spots to anchor. For the most part, sheltered waters but I know of a
few people who houseboat on the St Lawrence (not as sheltered) and I should
be ready for that in the next couple of years. Who knows, after owning the
houseboat for a couple of years, I may want to sacrifice the space and move
to a boat that is able to venture further than a houseboat will allow.

Enjoy it I will. Poorer in one sense, richer in another.




"rmcinnis" wrote in message
...

"sel1" wrote in message
.. .
Hi,

I am jumping into the discussion a bit late, so sorry if its too late.

My first question is; am I making
a sound decision to go with a houseboat vs cruiser as an entry level
experience?

Without knowing anything about how you intend to use the boat I can't
really
say. A houseboat provides the most living space per foot of boat than
anything else. A cruiser is faster and more sea worthy.

My first boat was a 30 year old, 25 foot wooden hull cruiser. It suited
my
wife and I and our two toddlers fairly well. I went a lot of
semi-protected
places in that boat (it didn't handle rough water all that well). It
slept
two adults and two kids, and that was it.

When the kids got bigger that boat was just too small. I moved up to a 36'
Carver Mariner. That boat was sea-worthy and a lot faster. I traveled
longer distances and into unprotected water on a regular basis. There were
a
few places I simply couldn't go, however, because it didn't fit under the
bridge. This boat slept four in dedicated beds, 4 more in the salon and
dinette, and a couple of time we slept another one or two in the
flybridge.

The kids became teenagers and always wanted to bring friends. Sports and
other kid's activities ruled out the down bay cruises during the school
year. The ski boat was logging many more hours than the cruiser. I
finally
sold the cruiser and bought a 55 foot houseboat. This boat sleeps 6 in
dedicated beds, two more on the sofa bed, and as many people as you want
on
the roof. On several weekends I have had 15 people on board. This boat
moves real slow, is hard to dock, and is a bitch when it comes to anchors.
But it suits us well right now.

Once the kids leave home I will be looking for an express cruiser,
something
in the 35 foot range. Until then I have this floating RV. It is really
comfortable, but it is an entirely different form of boating that what a
cruiser would provide.

Also I seem to prefer a hull design rather than pontoon. Any one
have any comments? Comments in general greatly appreciated.

Pontoon vs hull each have their advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of pontoon:
1) They are really hard to sink. Even if a pontoon ruptures, they are
generally divided into sections and the boat will just list a little, it
won't sink. On a hull style boat, springing a leak (like having the boot
around the outdrive rupture) can lead to a total loss.

2) A pontoon boat doesn't have a hull to collect gas/propane fumes. Thus,
they are much safer with respect to propane stove and refrigerator. If
you
like to anchor out a lot, having propane refrigerator is a wonderful
thing.

3) Pontoons are generally very sleek in the water and they move about with
very little effort. Slowly, but with little effort, hence they don't burn
as much gas, use smaller engines, etc.

4) Pontoons are generally a shallower draft, and the pontoons will
generally
take a bit of a beating and are more suitable for pulling up to beaches
and
such.


Hulls have their advantages too:

a) All that hull space provides for a LOT of storage.

b) The larger hull space allows for larger engines, generators, etc.

c) You can get more living space down low due having cabin at or below the
waterline.


My houseboat is a pontoon style, and it suits me well. There are a few
things I don't like about it, however. The very shallow draft make them
slip
sideways really bad in a cross wind. There is no chain locker, and no
winch. The anchor has to be pulled manually and then stowed.

While the boat is very stable with respect to people moving about, a
pontoon
boat actually rocks more from boat wakes than a hull boat does. This
surprised me at first, but consider this: When a wake hits the side of a
hull it tends to pass underneath and lift the boat vertically in the
process. There is a small amount of "rock" as the increase in bouyancy
moves
past the center of mass, but the overall mass of the boat naturally wants
to
resist this. The result is more of a vertical lift than a rock.

On a pontoon boat, the wake acts on each pontoon, or hull, individually.
A
6 inch wake hitting broadside will lift the first pontoon 6 inches. The
boat leans that amount. Moments later the wake reaches the other pontoon,
and lifts it 6 inches. The boat leans the other way. Now imagin you get a
1
foot wake, and the peak of one is hitting one pontoon while the trough
reaches the other pontoon. That's a two foot difference and the boat is
really rockin!

Another disadvantage of a pontoon boat is that the bow has very little
extra
lift. When a hull hits a wake/wave head on the wave hits the hull and
provides a dramatic amount of extra bouyancy. If you are not driving into
the wave too fast the extra lift will carry the boat up and over the wave.

There isn't much of anything for the wave to act on in the front of a
pontoon boat. The couple of extra inches that the wave can act on the
leading edge of the pontoon just isn't going to get the bow lifted up.
Hence, if your deck is 16 inches above the water, and you enconter an 18
inch wake, it crashes over the top of the deck.

The one I am going to look at is a 40'1969 Thundercraft
Drift-a-cruise. My guess is there is a lot of updating etc which I can
live
with. The price is $9,500 CDN. What do you think as a starting price for
the
vintage?

A 34 year old boat of any construction could have a lot of issues. I am
not
familiar with the boat, and I don't even know where you are. This could
be
a deal, or it could be a total waste depending on the condition of the
boat
and what sort of accomodations it has.

My best advice is to get a survey before you buy ANY used boat. It can be
argued that a survey is a good idea even on a new boat.

The standard practice is to make an offer on a boat contingent on a
sucessful sea trail and acceptable survey (note I didn't say "clean"
survey,
such a thing doesn't exist!). If the seller agrees, you take the boat on
a
"sea trial", which often is the trip to the boat yard. At the boat yard
you
(the buyer) pay for the boat to be hauled out and for the survey. Here in
California I would expect to pay $10 a foot to have the boat hauled out
and
another $10 a foot to have the survey done, so you would be looking at
around $800 for this.

On a boat that old I am sure the survey is going to find all sorts of
things. In the end, the survey will include an appraisal for what the
boat
is worth, often two: one as is and one if the major items are fixed.

Take this survey and renegotiate with the seller. Some things he may say
he
just isn't going to fix. Others he will get fixed. Some things he may
offer to split with you or make other price adjustments. It is also
possible that the survey will report that this boat is simply not worth
what
the seller is asking, and if you can't reach a compromise you ask for you
deposit back and walk away. You will be out $800 but that might be a
whole
lot better than being out $9500.

If the deal does close then you take possesion of the boat while it is
still
in the boat yard. Now do the maintenance that needs to be done with the
boat out of the water. Paint the bottom. Install new zincs. Fix any
dings
in the prop. Get the boat ready to go for another year or two. Get the
work
done, launch the boat and enjoy.

Rod McInnis