I’m considering buying a Holiday Mansion,
Nautiline, Gibbie, etc. with the idea of Doin the Ditch at some point. Being a former cruiser guy (Trojan F32), I
don’t know much about this class of boat.
Any info on the following would be a great help. BTW – I’m 6’4” tall, so legroom and headroom
are important. That said – short of the
QE2, I’ll never have enough of either.







Maneuvering with one screw vs two?



Gas consumption



Hull
blistering issues



Hull
height issues with wake



What’s good



What’s not so good



Are there better years for a brand?







Thx in advance for any info



Bud in Georgia

Well Bud, you posted on the River Queen site. We consider the RQs to be good choices. Steel won't blister, but rust. Check the hull inside and outside. Since the ICW is not all "ditch", I would'nt put a "lake lover" out of protected waters. That narrows your choise considerably.
The ICW here in Louisiana has BIG boats (ships) on it. Wakes can be dangerious. I'd want more freeboard than most "box" houseboats have. IF you are gouing to cruise extensively, then inboard diesels are the way to go. Max hours on a sterndrive between overhaul, is factory set @ 800 hrs. OK for weekender/vactioners but not extended cruising. Single screw is OK. You won't be far from help, so another engine is just more maintainance.
RQs are as good (or better) for space as any.
Steel hulls rust from inside to out, SO, survey that hull thourly! Good luck Bud.

The "ditch" is the Tennessee Tom Bigbee waterway. Any thing reliable with enough fuel capacity will get it done. When you get south steel boats in salt water need extra protection.