Hi,

New to houseboating but have been shopping around a bit in the used market. The big steel/aluminum boats seem like a little more boat than we need. I have a private dock, and the 30-40 ft fiberglass boats seem like something I could handle down there. A little wary when I see some of the comments about rot on the older fiberglass boats.

Any comments on something like this:

<a href="http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatDetails.jsp ?currency=GBP&units=Meters¤cyid=1005&boat_ id=1591665&checked_boats=1591665&back=%2Fcore%2Flist ing%2Fcache%2FsearchResults.jsp%3Fmanc%3D59%26uom%3D127%26cu rrency%3DGBP%26units%3DMeters%26duom%3D126%26sm%3D3%26wuom%3 D126%26luom%3D126%26currencyid%3D1005%26currencyid%3D1005%26 ps%3D30%26ps%3D30%26man%3DIsland%2BQueen%26slim%3Dquick%26so %3D0%26n%3D1%253A1%253A10192%253A49302%253A59&searchtype =">70 Island Queen</a>

Doesn't look bad from the pics, but I haven't seen it in person yet. I'd probably have a surveyor look at it.

Thanks for any input!

I ran into the same issue before picking up my 34' fiberglass boat.  My 32' private dock doesnt seem overwhelmed by my boat.  Now that I know more I'm still satisfied with my choice.  You can get an old Gibson or something similar for very little if you look around.  These cheap boats are likely to need work but just try to ensure that it's basic upkeep type work and that the hull, stringers, decks, etc are sound.  I would rather have a boat like the Whitcraft that was recently discussed here or a Chris Craft Yachthome or but since I'm on an enclosed lake the extra capabilities would go unused anyways.  A small aluminum houseboat would probably have made the most sense in the longrun but they are so much harder to find and definitely not cheap, even in horrible condition.  

What's considered "cheap"?  I've come across some fixer-uppers that look pretty rough in the <10k neighborhood. Most of the boats that look decent (not really looking to take on a full restore right now), seem to be more in the mid 10k to low 20k neighborhood. Am I just looking in the wrong places?  We've got 3 local marinas nearby and I've cruised through those too. Some nice big boats for sale, and some pretty beat up ones, but I'm not coming across a lot of the older but usable condition type. Probably going to look at that Island Queen in person tomorrow.

Value is more important than price.  There are $20,000 houseboats that are worthless while some $5000 boats can be outstanding bargains. Get a survey on whatever looks good to you so you know what you are getting into.  For 15k, up you should be able to get something with a sound transom and _frame_s and reasonably good running mechanicals.

Thanks! Sounds like I need to absorb some more info before plunging into anything. 

That sounds like a good idea. Go look at a few boats, learn from other owners, and figure out what is best for you.



What I've seen is that when a houseboat gets in bad running or
interior condition, many owners will quit using their boat, let it run
down further then try to sell it. After having a hard time
selling it they will finally sell for very little just to quit paying
dock fees. Sometimes they just leave them to the marina to be
sold off, check your local marinas, they probably have those type sells
a few times per year. Those boat will sell very cheap whereas
direct from an owner I'd call cheap $5000 or so. If you can find
a good structure for that price, doing some interior paneling and
carpet or some engine work shouldnt cost too much. If you pick up
a boat with rot in the structure or too much rust, you should avoid it,
even if everything else seems in good condition.



Seems Gibsons then Nautilines then RiverQueens will probably be the
most common in the size you're probably looking for and I'm guessing it
will be most hard to find a good structure on a Nautiline.

Well, we took the plunge.

http://www.e-artisan.org/~stew/downloads/75-Crest/

I'm pretty happy with it so far.

Congrats! Looks like a fun, ready to go boat and a safe purchase. If that's a 1975, someone took appears to have taken great care of it.
There are a few posters on here that seem to really enjoy their Crests.