Since returning from our annual houseboat float on Lake Oroville, California, Telstar Logistics has been reviewing our photographs of the adventure and reflecting upon the state of contemporary houseboat design.
By definition, houseboats are awkward, hybrid watercraft: more house than boat in many ways, yet nevertheless capable of extended self-sustained propulsion and operation on a calm body of water. Part beach house, part boat, part RV, and part trailer-park prefab, a houseboat is basically motorized barge in a leisure suit. Yet within that basic framework, some distinctive styles emerge. Here are a few we noticed last weekend.
The Basic Box:
Simple houseboats for hard-working Americans, these boats provide a festive place for mom and dad to get away from it all with the kids. Box-like in their construction, they provide only limited interior space, but ample awnings and roof decks encourage vigorous outdoor living.
The Margaritaville:
A floating party hut. A houseboat like this is intended primarily to serve as a docking platform for a flotilla of smaller watercraft: ski boats, jet skis, paddleboats, floating trampolines, and the like. Between wakeboarding runs and fossil-fueled dashes across the water, this is where you go to gas up on food and beer while rocking out with your bros. Yar.
The Beaver Cleaver:
These vintage houseboats from the glory days of Yogi Bear cartoons and the Kennedy Administration illustrate just how much houseboat technology has evolved since California was in the throes of its postwar infrastructure boom. These boats provide a wholesome place to light up your pipe, pop open a can of Schlitz, and catch a few trout. They come in faded pastel colors, and they look like something that someone bought from a Sears catalog. (We mean that in a good way.)
The Aquatic RV:
This was our houseboat, which we rented from Forever Resorts. It was of contemporary vintage, sleeps 10, with four bunkrooms, a fold-out couch, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, barbeque grill, a TV and Playstation, upstairs wet bar, and rear slide. It steered like a Greyhound bus with lazy eye, and it had the general build quality of an entry-level camper trailer, but it was clean and functional. That's Christine on the back deck. Wave hello.
The McMansion:
So, maybe you're rich. Not clever, but rich. You've got money to spend, but frankly, you don't want to get into the whole custom design thing. You just want a comfortable houseboat where you can hang out with friends and prospective clients, and you don't want any headaches. A factory-built boat like this one is the way to go. Plenty of space and lots of pre-installed accessories, all in one very big turnkey solution.
The Donald:
This houseboat makes a statement. In fact, we saw it shimmering like the Manhattan skyline from more than a mile away as we approached Bidwell Marina from the far reaches of Lake Oroville. As you can clearly see, it's tall. Four stories tall, with a amusement park-style water slide snaking its way from the top deck to an outlet in the stern. Notice the twin jet ski lifts. And the cool white paint, with tinted glass. If Dubai were a houseboat, it'd look something like this.
PREVIOUSLY:
A Day on the Bay in a High-Tech Tugboat
Our Day on the Bay Aboard a US Coast Guard Cutter
(IMAGES: All photos by Telstar Logistics)
i think i like the basic box best, but those twin jetski lifts are certainly intriguing.
i wonder if the owners of "The Donald" will end up reading this post some day.
Posted by: striatic | 08 July 2008 at 07:29 AM
Excellent wrap up of store-bought houseboats Telstar. Number 423 is an impressive design, though the 3 story tall tube slide was a must-have feature for the future.
Posted by: fsharp | 08 July 2008 at 01:28 PM