The wife and I are looking into purchasing a used houseboatI've been looking thur the internet classified and have narrowed it down to one

of three. River Queen, Sea Going, or Jeff Boat they all look about the

same to me is one better or are they all good boats

Thanks, JON

In its day RiverQueen was an outstanding boat (we owned 3) but their day is past. Steel boats rust and unless you run into an outstandingly maintained unit the cost of repair usually exceeds the value of the boat.  Insurance for a steel boat is hard to obtain and many marinas won't allow them. All this being said we loved our Queens and they were one of the toughest houseboats made. Also those made before 1968 had vynil covered plywood cabins which rotted away.

Thanks for the information on the steel houseboats can you tell me which brands I should be looking at. I,m looking for a houseboat I can keep on the eastern shore of lake michigan. The reason I was looking at the River Queen was the high bow which would handle the waves and chop of the great lakes. Plus I didn't want to spend more that than 30,000 on the boat.

Thanks for your reply

Jon

A houseboat is not the best idea for Lake Michigan a cruiser is more approprate due to the often rough conditions. This was one area where RiverQueens excelled.

We lived on lake Huronwhen we had ours and they could take a lot of punishment,

You might look for a Holiday Mansion Coastal , Harbormaster or Aluminum Lazy Days high bow. The Burns Craft were also a tough boat.
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