05/02/2012 06:06:07 AM
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TonyB
Admiral
Posts: 218
Joined: 09/05/2011
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I dont know what you call that style houseboat where the house goes straight back without dropping down like a Gibson Standard.
Anyway, I cant tell from pics what style hull it has. Does it come to a point or is it a barge type hull where you push a lot of water?
Also by having a one level cabin I would think that windage could be a big problem in steering on narrow rivers. Is this a safety issue or am I over-thinking this?
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Never wrecked a boat while awake or sober
Kemah, Tx. - Galveston Bay
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05/02/2012 06:54:59 AM
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Bamby
Admiral
Posts: 226
Joined: 07/30/2008
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Though some here would argue the point the pontoon houseboat such as the Three Buoys appears to be could if set up right be maybe the best choice for a liveable, live aboard houseboat if in protected inland waters. The pontoon hulls part through the water with very little resistance thus a person can get by quite well with a smaller more economical motor to operate. As far as tracking and windage I've encountered absolutely no problems what-so-ever with mine though it's likely a lot smaller than anything you're likely looking at.
If I had the capitol and were inclined to live-aboard a boat myself I would probably focus all my efforts on acquiring a pontoon houseboat with the right floor-plan to suit my needs. In retrospect though I'd really rather build my very own from the pontoons on up. 
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Respect Our Outdoor Recreational Resources Leaving Only "Footprints in the Sand" 2003 5.3 Chevy P/U 1972 35' Crest Pontoon Houseboat 2007 90 hp. Yamaha
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05/02/2012 08:47:10 AM
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TonyB
Admiral
Posts: 218
Joined: 09/05/2011
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Originally posted by: Bamby...... In retrospect though I'd really rather build my very own from the pontoons on up. ![]()
I still think about it but I really dont want to spend a year building a 40 footer or so without a boat to travel in. The down side to pontoons is the lost space and the carrying capacity.
Even though I would cover the plywood with fiberglass, it is still considered a wooden boat. Wooden boats are difficult to insure the hull and home built ones are even harder to find an insurer. Just about anyone will insure for liability but I would want my boat and contents insured as well.
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Never wrecked a boat while awake or sober Kemah, Tx. - Galveston Bay
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05/02/2012 09:09:46 AM
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Bamby
Admiral
Posts: 226
Joined: 07/30/2008
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I had absolutely no issues insuring mine for both liability and contents and it's titled as a 72. And were did or do you get the idea of wooden anyway? The only wooden one I'm aware of is Amelia's and they're probably a big factor as to why her boat is still under construction..
With few exceptions pontoon boat hulls are aluminum, with a splattering of metal and fiberglass and Amelia  . Space can be a factor as far as the necessary amenities of fresh, gray, and black water all necessary features of a houseboat. But other than that the only thing I see most house-boaters utilize the hull for is a place to throw the life-jackets and water toys into.
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Respect Our Outdoor Recreational Resources Leaving Only "Footprints in the Sand" 2003 5.3 Chevy P/U 1972 35' Crest Pontoon Houseboat 2007 90 hp. Yamaha
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05/02/2012 10:35:25 AM
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stmbtwle
Admiral
Posts: 2142
Joined: 04/22/2003
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Tony this might be of interest to you. We almost bought it but the draft is a bit much for our area, and we decided we didn't want to have to check the tide every time we wanted to go out. http://www.yachtworld.com/boat...ounty/FL/United-States
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Willie She's a tired old barge but she's paid for! http://s71.photobucket.com/alb...p;current=ef324993.pbw
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05/02/2012 10:55:11 AM
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TonyB
Admiral
Posts: 218
Joined: 09/05/2011
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Originally posted by: Bamby
I had absolutely no issues insuring mine for both liability and contents and it's titled as a 72.
Yours is home built? What is "titled as a 72" mean?
And were did or do you get the idea of wooden anyway?
If I built one, I would build it from wood because that ia what I like working with. Then I would cover it with fiberglass for added strength and waterproofing
. But other than that the only thing I see ....most house-boaters utilize the hull for is a place to throw the life-jackets and water toys into.
If I built it myself, I would utilize every spare inch for tankage. The downside of building a pontoon boat, at least for me, is the displacement or load carrying capacity. But I like the idea of building a pontoon boat because of the speed and ease of construction.
It would be fun and rewarding for me to do, but I am at the point that living on my boat and traveling on my boat is more important than building it. But that thought is always there.
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Never wrecked a boat while awake or sober Kemah, Tx. - Galveston Bay
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05/02/2012 11:07:48 AM
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TonyB
Admiral
Posts: 218
Joined: 09/05/2011
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Originally posted by: stmbtwle......We almost bought it but the draft is a bit much for our area, ........
Thanks for the link. I live on Yachtworld when time permits. My wife and I both like the trawler style boats but they might not exactly fit our needs. I dont know if you can beach a trawler with a deep "V" hull and not rock a little. Also, at this point in time we are not really sure where we will be side-tracked to and how the draft could certainly be limiting. The coastal Gulf of Mex is fairly shallow and so, we do understand "limiting". Our draft now is 4'-6". Sometimes when bad weather is coming we cant get into the 'fraidy holes' our friends can. We spend the night rocking and rolling and our friends are without so much as a breeze less than a quarter of a mile away.
We have discussed doing the Great Loop. The type of boat we buy will be the way we will have to go. We are easy to please and would be just as happy staying inland.
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Never wrecked a boat while awake or sober Kemah, Tx. - Galveston Bay
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05/02/2012 11:42:43 AM
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SinOrSwim
Member
Posts: 73
Joined: 06/30/2009
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I owned a Three Buoys and not sure I would own another one? Mine was older though with a hull and not pontoons. Those fiberglass structures are very tough to maintain. We had 3 of them in our marina at one point, one being mine, and all of them had leaking issues. I thought since they were used as rentals a lot they would be very sturdy. Not the case. That thing had so much wood rot inside that cabin structure it was amazing. The other two in our marina must have had issues as well as the back end on both had been completely redone. I was constantly patching cracks in the fiberglass. THe other guy obviously does too and he doesn't even care about color. He has gray putty all over on his. Looks like crap. I used white epoxy stuff so it would look good.
My first boat was a pontoon style and I liked it. It was old and like you said, not much storage but you can get past that. VERY easy to work on. Everything is easy to get at.
Good luck with the process and enjoy!
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05/02/2012 11:52:43 AM
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GoVols
Member
Posts: 87
Joined: 08/08/2011
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I have a 2006 pontoon style houseboat made by Sailabration. Every boat they make is custom made to the buyer's wish list. They're in Powell, TN, which is close to Knoxville.
In their '07+ boats, they've created hatches in the floor to access the insides of the pontoons, so you have much more storage space. Also, they're stuffing the marine air and the generator down into the pontoons, which makes for a clean rear deck and more cabinet space in the kitchen.
My boat is powered by 2 economical 90 hp Honda 4 stroke outboards that don't need to be winterized, which is really nice when you need to pump-out the holding tank in the winter.
Good luck with your search!
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16x66 Sailabration on Percy Priest Lake near Nashville.
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05/02/2012 01:50:58 PM
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42gibson
Member
Posts: 144
Joined: 11/19/2010
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i had 3 pontoon houseboats.a 14X40 ft crest, a 15X43 foot crest houser , the last one was a 15x54 playcraft. it was a virtual tank. it glided though the water with ease. i had a 100 hp johnson which if i would have kept it i would have put a yamaha 4 stroke on it. they were all very good in shallow water.i had 15 people on the top of the playcraft 1 4th of july when the port pontoon filled with water in a storm (my fault) it leaned some but still handled great with absolutely no problems. got back to the docks and drank a coo, one while i pumped it out.
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1991 gibson 44 executive
454's
norwich,ohio
docked on the good ole ohio river in marietta
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05/02/2012 03:21:01 PM
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Bamby
Admiral
Posts: 226
Joined: 07/30/2008
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Originally posted by: TonyB
Originally posted by: Bamby
Yours is home built? What is "titled as a 72" mean?
The boat was originally manufactured in 1972. When I purchased the boat I totally striped and rebuilt it from the pontoons up the only original in the boat is the built in 1972 Pontoons.. You can view our Pontoon Houseboat Rebuild Blogs here.
If I built it myself, I would utilize every spare inch for tankage. The downside of building a pontoon boat, at least for me, is the displacement or load carrying capacity. But I like the idea of building a pontoon boat because of the speed and ease of construction.
Well Lets see here, If I were to build another to be a live aboard I think I'd stretch it out a bit 45' may be real doable for the purpose. So we can go here to a Pontoon Weight Capacity chart and see what we have to work with. Seems that working with 45' we can go up to a max of 22,000 lbs. and we've the option to put still another pontoon adding about half again. Seems to me like I could utilize some pretty substantial construction with that kind of load capacity. 
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Respect Our Outdoor Recreational Resources
Leaving Only "Footprints in the Sand"
2003 5.3 Chevy P/U
1972 35' Crest Pontoon Houseboat
2007 90 hp. Yamaha
Edited: 05/02/2012 at 03:26:44 PM by Bamby
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05/02/2012 05:59:21 PM
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TonyB
Admiral
Posts: 218
Joined: 09/05/2011
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Originally posted by: Bamby
[Well Lets see here, If I were to build another to be a live aboard I think I'd stretch it out a bit 45' may be real doable for the purpose. So we can go here to a Pontoon Weight Capacity chart and see what we have to work with. Seems that working with 45' we can go up to a max of 22,000 lbs. and we've the option to put still another pontoon adding about half again. Seems to me like I could utilize some pretty substantial construction with that kind of load capacity. [IMG][/IMG]
I was thinking the same thing about adding an extra pontoon. Maybe narrower but deeper to give the same floatation as the other 2 but be deeper in the war to act as a keel.
all 3 keels could share the load for tankage.
Too bad I an too old too mess with it. Not old in age so much as in not wanting to stay tied down. I am planning on retiring 1-1-13. It sure would be fun though.
BTW, thanks for the link, I will read it later.
OOPs, I spoke to soon. I didnt realize it was in chart form
I was thinking along the lines of making the pontoons. These round ones they refer to - I assume they are aluminum and what is the approx. cost and wher can you buy them?
Tony B
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Never wrecked a boat while awake or sober Kemah, Tx. - Galveston Bay
Edited: 05/02/2012 at 06:06:49 PM by TonyB
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05/03/2012 07:37:48 AM
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stmbtwle
Admiral
Posts: 2142
Joined: 04/22/2003
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That's about the same as I did with my boat, though I used a conventional hull. Initial cost was 2k and I sold the engines for 1k so my investment was 1k. Then I went to work with a chain saw.
But that was nearly 12 years ago and I was younger. Would I do it again? Probably not.
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Willie She's a tired old barge but she's paid for! http://s71.photobucket.com/alb...p;current=ef324993.pbw
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05/03/2012 10:11:37 AM
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Bamby
Admiral
Posts: 226
Joined: 07/30/2008
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Originally posted by: stmbtwle
That's about the same as I did with my boat, though I used a conventional hull. Initial cost was 2k and I sold the engines for 1k so my investment was 1k. Then I went to work with a chain saw.
But that was nearly 12 years ago and I was younger. Would I do it again? Probably not.
My biggest regret is the fact if I had realized just how bad the boat was when we got it I would have negotiated a lower price or walked. We knew it needed work but we thought we'd get a few years of service before we had to address it.. Oh well it it worked out in the end. As far as building another one if our finances were as good now as they were then, it could be a consideration. That said I don't see any overall improvement around the corner, at least for us.
Originally posted by: TonyB
I was thinking along the lines of making the pontoons. These round ones they refer to - I assume they are aluminum and what is the approx. cost and wher can you buy them?
Tony B
Tony they are aluminum and IMHO if you're boating in fresh water especially they are the only way to go. We've got a member here who's went the route who I believe may be out on the inter-coastal somewhere at this very moment. U-Fab and Fire and Marine are two potential sources of pontoons...but watch it with U-Fab the product is great but it's in Canada and JJohnson got hammered with duty fees bring his kit back to the states. As far as cost you'd haft to contact them..
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Respect Our Outdoor Recreational Resources Leaving Only "Footprints in the Sand" 2003 5.3 Chevy P/U 1972 35' Crest Pontoon Houseboat 2007 90 hp. Yamaha
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