Houseboat magazine generally attracts three types of readers: those who own a houseboat, those who are looking to purchase their first one and those who love to dream of the experience of owning one some day.
Appropriately though, the main focus seems to be on the big picture: owning a houseboat of your own. Once you take ownership though, the picture changes at that point.
The accessories that you purchase are a big factor in determining how much you’ll enjoy the ownership of your new home on the water. The small things can make a big difference.
This roundup takes a look at some accessories we love that you can add to your new or existing houseboat. While are not able to cover every product that is available, the next few pages will give you a great starting point.
Watermakers
When you are out on your favorite lake you are surrounded by a lot of water. Unfortunately, it is not drinkable and that means filling up a tank full of fresh water before leaving the dock. Relatively new to the market are devices called watermakers that make access to clean water a whole lot more convenient.
Eagle Marine Enterprises offers a system similar to that of a municipal water treatment plant. The system uses a multi-stage filtration system that filters raw lake water to clean, drinkable water. The aspect of its system that we love is the amount it can filter: system capacities usually average about 10,000 gallons a day. This means you can fill a large recreational water tank in less than an hour. In addition to the base system, Eagle Marine Enterprises also offers optional filtration stages, such as an oil absorbing filter and an active carbon filter.
Another watermaker that we like is the system by the WaterFixer Company. The system is designed to filter microorganisms from lake water by using a high-intensity ultraviolet light. The great aspect of this system is that it doesn’t use any chemicals and beat the standards set by the United States Public Health Service for UV water disinfection. This makes it perfect for boats in highly populated docks where there might be an excess of microorganisms in the water or if the dock water is question. It also does not require separate water tank or faucet.
Eagle Marine Enterprises, LLC
614-296-5861
www.watermakerman.com
ElectroMaax
866-945-8801
www.electromaax.com
Sea Recovery USA
800-354-2000
www.searecovery.com/marine
Spectra Watermakers, Inc.
415-526-2780
www.spectrawatermakers.com
The WaterFixer Company
541-560-2338
www.waterfixercompany.com
Watermakers, Inc.
888-34-FRESH
www.watermakers.com
West Marine
800-BOATING
www.westmarine.com
The most important part of owning a houseboat is getting out on the water and having a great time surrounded by family and friends. With the addition of these great products to your houseboat, and many others that we didn’t have the space to list, you can ensure that the time you spend on the water is full of great memories instead of worrying about the small stuff.