Many times I have seen people, including myself, ask whether any houseboats can make the Great Loop or cruise the Intercoastal. The answer from wiser heads than me has always been that maybe a Pluckebaum or Whitcraft but generally no other houseboats should attempt it. Now I can answer the question from firsthand knowledge. In mid-May we met friends who are doing the Great Loop in a Carver 42 Aft Cabin Motor Yacht. That is a fancy name for a vessel never designed to handle rough seas. Nonetheless we boarded in North Myrtle Beach, SC and cruised to Elizabeth City, NC in a week. If you want to read about our adventures go to justusboating.com and click on all entries for the log and scroll to May 13 and read all the postings by Rusty(that's me). You will get a real flavor of the trip and see what can go wrong. When we hit a WRONG FORECAST by NOAA crossing the Abemarle Sound and ran into 5-8 foot beam seas in the area known as Deadman's Circle and we found out that my Gibson 44 would be at the bottom of the Sound with all those other wrecks on the chartplotter. One time we tried to make a turn to get back on course and heeled over 20 degrees. Spray from the waves was going over the top of our 19 foot bimini. That is measured from the waterline. On a tall flybridge you think you are about to experience the Posieden Adventure. Now granted on most days the old Gibson or most other houseboats would do fine with no other boats around but there are other crazy people out there on even the calmest days. We weathered a tornado one night tied to a dock in Swansboro, NC with winds in excess of 45mph. And on totally calm days a big sportsfish driven by some idiot who never took a boat course will run by kicking up a 4-5 foot wake and rock your world. My friend is one of the best boat pilots I ever saw. He can make a boat dance. We spent nearly 6 months prepping his boat in Chattanooga for this trip. Even so he has had to have that boat pulled five times since October when this trip started and has spent untold thousands in repairs. One incident in the Bahamas cost over $17,000. And the day we left the boat he tore up a prop in the Dismal Swamp and had to pull the boat in Hampton, VA. So DO NOT ask anymore about taking houseboats out in such conditions. I truly think that choosing the right vessel and never taking a chance on the weather is the best advice. administrator38876.7156134259