Houseboat Tips for
your Crew
If you're planning a
houseboat trip these tips will help novice crewmen. Have the
entire crew read these tips 1 month before your trip, giving enough time
to shop and buy any essentials. These tips will help to
prepare and minimize risk during your vacation. This list of tips
can put you 2yrs ahead of the curve, read carefully if you're going houseboating for the first time.
The following helpful hints were contributed by experienced
houseboat owners who's combined experience totals more than
100yrs. If you want to contribute your own hints, just send them in by email. We will review and post for all readers
to see.
First Aid Kits
Food Logistics
Marine Radio Practices
Campfires and Fireworks
Houseboat Anchoring
Anchor Stakes
Houseboat Campsite Selection
Houseboat Navigation after 4pm
Clothing, how much to bring
Water Socks, Beware
Keeping Sand off the Houseboat
Ice Chest Efficiency
Ten Tips from Cris Garcia
First aid kits
First aid kits are important
during any camping trip. Make sure everyone knows where the first aid kit is
located on the houseboat in case the captain is not on board. Before beginning your
houseboat trip, make sure your first aid kit is stocked with gauze, snake bite
kit, Band-Aids, Neosporin, Solarcain (for sunburn), Ace bandages, scissors, and white
tape. This is one area of equipment you cant over pack.
In many areas of Lake Powell and Lake Mead you can be hours from a hospital by
ski boat. Be prepared, the lives of many count on it.
Food Logistics
There is no
better way to reduce the preparation and loading stress of houseboating
than to have someone else do your food shopping. Although this may sound
risky it's worth the planning and effort. At Lake Powell's Wahweap and Antelope marinas you can have Bashas or Safeway
in nearby Page, AZ do all your shopping for a small fee. They will bring
the food right to your boat slip exactly when you need it delivered. For
a group of 12 people you're talking about a lot of food, maybe $750 to
$1000 depending on how fancy you want to get. Handling that much food is
a lot of work. We recommend keeping things simple, like chicken,
burgers, fish, spaghetti, tacos, and don't forget the condiments. Plan
your menu with your guests 1 month before your vacation. Refine it
carefully then contact the store 3wks prior to arrange the shopping. You
can fax in the list, or use their online system. Make sure to
include all the heavy stuff, like drinks, water and ice. Yes, ICE,
because it's heavy and it's cheaper to buy ICE in town than from the
marina. You can even buy dry ice. Make sure you buy enough
for the ice chest scenario you have. 6 to 8 blocks and 5 bags of
crushed is a good start, assuming you have enough ice chests, or a deep
freezer on the houseboat. If you have a 7CF deep freeze I recommend 10 blocks and 7 bags of
crushed. Once you learn the convenience of having Bashas or Safeway do
your shopping, you'll never do your own food shopping again for a
houseboat trip, except maybe special stuff like vegetables, or filets,
etc. Although there will be a mistake or two, the store will
generally hustle back and bring anything they got wrong or forgot.
Make sure you have your food list with you upon food arrive and check
every item to insure nothing was overlooked. This is critical, BE
ORGANIZED and be prepared to QUICKLY check off each and every item.
One person does the checking and 3 others can move the food from arrival
bags to inventoried bags, one item at a time, at a clip. By the 3rd year you'll have
this down to a science. Trust us,
it's worth the learning curve, it saves
a ton of time and stress if you go houseboating every
year.
Marine Radio practices
Its always a good
idea to have a marine radio on Lake Mead. Most houseboats have radios built in, but many
captains dont set a routine time slot to monitor the
radio. Since it is possible to
receive emergency phone calls via marine radio, its good practice to leave the radio
ON at a certain time every day AND MONITOR the radioi so you can be reached in case of emergency.
Many chose between 7pm and 9pm to monitor channel 16 since the odds are good that
someone will be on the houseboat during this time for dinner, etc. Just inform
relatives and friends to call you during that time slot in case of emergency. Emergency
"Shore to Ship" calls can be arranged by calling the emergency Lake Mead
dispatch. Remember this is only for emergencies. There
are 3 things land callers must know to reach your boat by phone in
case of emergency.
1. The time slot you will be monitoring the
marine radio (i.e. 7-9pm).
2. Your vessel name.
3. For Lake Mead, call
Emergency dispatch at (702) 293-8998
4. For Lake Powell, call
800-225-5288 if you use ATT for long distance or have an
active ATT calling card. Otherwise call 10102880 if you don't use ATT for
long distance.
This call will need
an operator to assist you. When you get the automated voice for various options,
wait till the end, then SAY "OPERATOR" and you'll be connected to a real
person, an operator. When you reach the ATT operator ask to connected to
the Window Rock Marine Operator in Arizona to place a Shore to Ship call.
If the operator acts like she doesn't know what your talking about (likely)
and doesn't know who the Window Rock Marine Operater is, ask
to speak to a supervisor. Ask the supervisor for Window Rock Marina
Operator, tell the supervisor the ATT router number is 520058121 (this is not a
phone number) for Window Rock Marine operator. They will ask you for the
name of the vessel to make the call.
This call is not cheap, about $15 first minute,
$1/min after that, plus the marine operator charges (varies).
Campfires and Fireworks
Although many of us have shot off
fireworks during vacations, but trust me on this..... dont bring them to Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, or Lake
Powell. It's illegal within the National Park boundaries,
a federal offense.
The surrounding sage brush can burn like gasoline, and with the prevailing winds a fire
can spread out of control very quickly. If you plan on having a campfire, be
careful, especially if a sudden gust of wind comes up. Sudden gusts of wind are
common at Lake Mead, Mohave, and Powell, right out of the blue....so be forewarned.
Houseboat Anchoring
These Colorado River
lakes can have powerful wind
storms at almost any time. Adequate anchoring on shore is very
important. The typical "danford" anchor looks like upside-down "A" with a 1/2"
shaft welded to the feet of the "A", providing so-called "ears" that
extend about 6" on each side. Bury the anchor deep enough so the
"spade" is hooked good under ground, yet shallow enough so the shackle shaft
can point directly to the rear houseboat cleats. After burying each anchor, back them up with a
stake in front of each ear of the anchor ears (2 stakes per anchor,
one on each side of the anchor). If you
own your own houseboat, we suggest using car axles for these stakes. They work great
because the hub flange works to pin the anchor ear down, plus they are big, heavy,
and strong. It's also good practice to use one of these axles for staking the
bow of the boat to the beach. This keeps the bow from blowing sideways in rising waters
and high winds. See our
Anchor Page.
Anchor Stakes
As stated above, car axles are
the best method for backing up buried anchors. If you own a houseboat and dont
have car axles for this purpose you should consider it. Junk yards sell car axles
for $5-$10/ea. Look for the lightest axles while still having about a 3
length. Generally smaller cars with 4 lugs bolts are good, but some light 5 bolt
axles are OK too. Look for axles that dont have the axle bearings, otherwise
you have to use a torch to cut them off. Pound the lug bolts out of the flange with
a sledge hammer. Clean up the axle with lacquer thinner for painting. Paint
the axle flange a fluorescent color so they are easy to see and wont be lost or
forgotten on the beach. Its recommended to paint the whole axle so they clean
up easier in water after use. For drawing how to use the
stakes, see our Anchor Page.
Campsite selection
Several things should be
considered when picking a beach campsite for your houseboat.
1. Is the location is close enough to
a marina to get ice and gas if needed?
2. Is there potential for afternoon
shade from surrounding cliffs (a good thing)?
3. Is it is too close to other
houseboats, will their loud music or generator disturb you?
It's suggested to always have a scout walk the
beach and inspect the campsite and surroundings before beaching the
houseboat. Generally the scout uses another boat or personal watercraft to do this
6
point inspection..
1. Is the beach is free of stickers
and sharp rocks?
2. Is the approach to the beach
free of big rocks that could damage the houseboat?
3. Is the beach wide enough (175ft preferred) to get
a good shoreline angle for anchor lines ?
4. Is the sand deep enough to bury the anchors and back
them up with car axles stakes?
5. Is there enough is room to tie up any ski boats
or PWC you may have?
6. Is the campsite tucked up a canyon away from
the main channel for good protection from waves and wind?
Other luxuries to look for in a camp site are:
1. High cliffs nearby to the west for afternoon
shade.
2. Centrally located so you can run about the
lake and sight-see the area. At Lake Powell, this means not camping
5-7miles back up into a canyon, increasing your gas consumption and limiting
your flexibility to visit other canyons.
3. Absence of insects. Generally speaking
there are always insects.
Gnats are the most prevalent, while flies can also be annoying. At
Lake Powell from Wahweap Marina to San Juan
River you should note that the land on the south side of the lake belongs to
the Navajo Indians. Their cattle use Lake Powell for drinking, hence there
can be a lot of cow poop along the shoreline, a source for flies.
These "cow-pies" can also be unhealthy to swim near as water level rise during
spring (April to June). There
are a lot less flies on north shores of Lake Powell, since flies won't fly
across big bodies of water.
Houseboat Navigation after
3pm
Late afternoon sun can reflect
off the water and easily impair the captain's vision. Although many submerged rocks
are marked with buoys or milk cartons, there are many unmarked shallow
rocks. You have to be careful for those unmarked
hazards. Spotting submerged rocks in late afternoon becomes more difficult,
especially when heading into the sun. So it's recommended to have your boat beached
and tied up by 3pm to avoid potential accidents. If you must navigate in the late
afternoon, use the upper deck controls from up high. This
will give you the least glare and best visual angle for submerged trouble.
Clothing, how much to bring
Most people bring too many
clothes for their summer houseboat trip. Unless you are unusually vain you
probably won’t need more than three swim suits for a 1 week trip. Most
will only need 1 set of clothes for cool weather in case the evening gets cool
(unlikely at Powell, Mead or Mahave in the summer). Add a few T-Shirts and 3 pair of socks, you
should be set. Also bring 2 pair of water socks and 2 pair of cheap
sunglasses. Leave all jewelry and expensive designer sunglasses at home so
it’s not lost, broken, or forgotten.....it's just not worth the risk.
Water Socks, Beware
Water socks are great to protect
your feet at the lake because they are made to get wet. They are highly recommended
as standard equipment on the lake to prevent foot injuries, especially while riding
PWC, then hiking. The problem is ..... you can wear wet water socks too long, producing
"prune foot" after several days. Extended exposure to water
will dry
your skin out (yes dry out) which wrinkles up the skin like a prune. When your feet
dry off they will crack, resulting is a painful situation when you get home. This
generally happens with 4+ day houseboat trips, but some people experience the problem with
weekend trips, depending on their sensitivity to dry skin. To prevent prune foot,
always remove your water socks and go
barefoot when it's safe, like on clean dry sandy beaches, on a ski boat or
houseboat, etc. Some people switch to thongs to let their feet dry off when on
the docks, etc. Believe me, severe "prune foot" can be painful the
week after you return home. For those with naturally dry skin, take skin moisturizer
along to use on your feet every night. Another trick is to use Vaseline on your feet
every night and wear socks to bed to keep the Vaseline from rubbing off.
Keeping sand off the houseboat
Tracking sand onto houseboats can be a nagging
problem, especially if you have kids and you're picky about keeping your $300-500K houseboat in
good condition. A good solution for this is two square plastic pails of
water, big enough for two size 12 shoes. Put one pail on the beach at the bottom of the
houseboat gang plank ramp, full of water. Put the other on the houseboat front deck
near the top of the gang plank, 3/4 full of water. The routine when boarding
is..... dip your feet (with water socks on) at the bottom of the gang plank, then walk up
gang plank to the deck and take off the water socks. Dip bare feet and stay barefoot
or switch to thongs on the houseboat. You will need to clean out the pails
about once a day and rinse off the gang plank if it gets sandy. This is a lot easier
than vacuuming sandy carpets on a daily basis.
Make a rule to leave all
watersocks on the front deck for best results. Once everyone is trained, this
routine should minimize the sand tracked on the houseboat. As a side
benefit.....getting out of those watersocks regularly will prevent potential "prune
foot" which can be very painful at the end of the week,
resulting in cracked skin and sometimes bleeding feet.
Ice Chest efficiency
Keeping the drinks cold
in the summer is as important as having enough sunscreen available...... very important.
Most will agree that drinks from the ice chest are a lot better than from the
refrigerator during summer months. Here a few suggestions that should help cut drink
costs and reduce the number of trips to the marina for more ice.
Problem:
Sports bottle drinks...... If your kids are like mine, they will open
one up, drink about 5 sips, then leave it somewhere on the counter to get warm.
Sound familiar? Then.....if there are 15 people on the houseboat that drink becomes
"lost" and nobody knows who it belongs to, sometimes getting tossed.
Suggestion:
Don't buy sports bottle drinks !! Buy the gallon jugs of whatever
drink at PriceClub/Costco. Put one of those in the ice chest for everyone to use.
Never put two of the same gallon jug in the ice chest. That will do nothing
but melt ice needlessly. When someone needs a drink, pour it into a plastic 12oz cup.
Mark each cup with black felt marker with the persons name. This cup should
try to be used 6-10 times before replacement. Make each kid (and adult) responsible
for his or her cup. Pour the amount you think the kid (or yourself) will drink each
time. When the gallon jug gets empty, put another jug in the ice box. You will
be amazed how much ice and money this routine saves. This works great with drinking
water, Gatorade, grape juice, apple juice, anything that comes in gallon
or half-gallon jugs.
Problem:
Ice melts, right? Yes, especially in the summer. Usually nobody ever
thinks about "ice protocol", it just melts and you can't do anything about it.
When the ice gets low you make trips to the marina and buy a bunch more, right?
Suggestions: Well....yes,
ice melts. But it can be conserved if you train the people on the houseboat how to
use it. Most of the ice melts because people open the ice chest too much. A
simple awareness meeting about keeping the chest closed really helps. Tell everyone
to know what they want before opening the chest. Don't stand there staring at the
drinks trying to make a choice. And when they want a drink, ask around if anyone
else wants a drink so they can fetch two or three drinks with one ice chest opening.
Cool eh? Yes, it's a simple concept that can easily be conveyed to all houseboat
occupants as expected behavior for the benefit of all.
As plastic jugs
become empty, don't through them away. Rinse them out and fill 3/4 with potable
water. Later in the week if you have room in the freezer, freeze the jug overnight
and put it in the ice chest.
As the ice melts, keep no
more than 4 inches of water in the chest for most efficiency. Inspect every morning
and evening.
If you have two ice
chests, use one to keep stuff in that isn't needed as much.....and make a rule that only
the captain is allowed access. This will keep the lid closed more, conserving ice.
This may sound obvious, but make sure the sun doesn't shine directly on the
chest. It also helps to wet an old beach towel around 10am every morning and spread
it over the chest. The ice in that chest will last much longer than the
"public" ice chest.
Also, if you are going to
be in a remote area where ice isn't easily available, consider the dry ice option.
Make one ice chest (hopefully a 150+ quart size) an ice cache. Put
about 15 blocks of ice in this chest (full) with about 20lbs of dry ice
on top.
Make sure to insulate the dry ice enough so it doesn't make direct contact with
the regular ice. Wrap the dry ice with bubble pack sheets, but leave the
ends open to let the cold temp escape. Don't open
the chest till you need more regular ice for the drink chest. It's best to
duct tape it shut so curious kids won't peek
in. In the summertime this dry ice will last about 4 days. The regular ice
won't start melting until the dry ice is gone.
As you get room in the
refrigerator later in the week you can pre-cool 6-packs at night. Then
put them in the chest first thing in the next morning. Obvious, eh? Not
really, just overlooked most of the time.
Ten Tips from Cris Garcia
(one of our readers)
1) Preparation
Make sure you prepare
early enough before the trip so you
are actually on vacation when
you leave. This means, make sure the boat and trailer are both
working properly, all the packing is done and drive times,
transportation and shopping are all done in advance of the trip. In
other words. Start your vacation on vacation. There's nothing
worse than scrambling around right before you leave to make the
start of a trip less of a vacation and more like a job
with high stress. A good vacation is always carefully planned
and organized weeks in advance, sometimes months.
2) Early
boarding.
If possible schedule
your trip so that you arrive in the evening prior to
your departure morning and arrange
early boarding for the night before. It's worth the couple of hundred extra bucks for a
couple of reasons. It's much cooler to load the boats in the
evening than it is during the day. Second, the carts used to load
the houseboats are a necessity and are easy to
get in the evenings, versus when the crowds arrive in the morning. Third, you can depart first thing in the morning after your
walk through, capturing the good beaches before
others.
3) Be patient.
The people at the
houseboat office are usually very friendly doing their best
to help you out. It's generally first come first served, but they
do have to clean the houseboats before they will let you
board on
your boat. Don't assume that because your boat is in the slip that
it's ready for you to board. Don't insist on being a pain because
that will only add to your frustration and delay. Use the wait time
to have something to eat, or talk to other houseboaters and enjoy
the amenities. I've heard the houseboat staff refer to many
customers as having the "California Attitude". Those who are
generally rude to the employees and are generally looked upon with
animosity. So try to be pleasant in all circumstances.
4) Communication
is key.
Having
FRS radios are much better for houseboat landings than
a cell phone. Most cell phones barely get service at the
ramp, can you imagine what that will be like once your out on the
lake. The radios (5 mile range) are available at Wal-Mart and
other places for about 30 bucks a pair, they're invaluable. Water resistant radios
are preferred, but as we found out, resistant isn't waterproof, so
keep them dry if possible.
5) Search for a
cove with ski boat or PWC.
You'll save time and gas
money if you send scouting boats out on an
excursion to get the cove set up in advance of the houseboat
arrival. They can usually spot a good cove and investigate it
quicker and safer. If you take your houseboat into every
cove you'll waste lots of gas just looking
for a spot. Use your FRS radios to communicate with the houseboat as to
the status of your search.
6) Select a safe
cove prior to dusk.
You should be tying your
houseboat up by 3pm in the afternoon (before the Monsoon
comes). You don't want to be caught on the lake in the middle of a
storm, so travel early and seek out shelter from the weather as
early as possible. Many a houseboat I've come across in trouble
have all had one thing in common, they were caught by surprise with
nowhere to go when the wind hit. A safe cove is a cove that
requires 2 turns to get into from the main lake. A single turn to
get off the lake and then another turn to add an element of
shelter. Try to resist those beautiful beaches with clean water
that are open to the main part of the lake. They are dangerous!
They're clean and swept with sand for a reason........waves!
7) Tie off the
houseboats at 6 points.
1
on each side toward the front and 2
on each side toward the back. The back
lines are the critical ones. If you don't do anything else, make
sure the lines to the aft of the houseboat are secured to
shore with good anchors, preferrably danford type
with hold-down stakes. When
the wind comes, you'll be thankful for this tip because your entire
houseboat vacation and deposit could depend on how well the windward
side of the houseboat is anchored to shore.
I've seen countless houseboats sideways to the shore with the props
destroyed due to a weak tie down. For
more information and diagrams,
CHECK THIS.
8) Share the load.
Nothing worse than going
on vacation with a dictator who has to have everything their way.
Usually, no one benefits from this arrangement. If you divide up
the cooking and cleaning duties everyone gets a chance to
participate and no one feels like they're along for the ride. Make
sure you decide in advance if you're going to move every night, or
stay in one place. We prefer to find the perfect spot the first day
or so, and then use it as a base of operations for the week. Your
vacation will be much more enjoyable if you're not pulling up stakes
(literally) every day and putting them down again somewhere else. I
know some of you out there are having problem with this, but usually
they're the first timers. If you need to break first timers from
the desire to move every day, then make sure they're the ones who
are pulling up the stakes and pounding them in. They'll soon see it
differently.
9) Don't expect
a 4 star hotel.
Remember folks, this is
just a step above camping. Sure there is air conditioning, hot
water and even hot tubs on some of the boats, but trust me, the hair
dryer thing is going to be out unless you are staying around the
dock all the time. Leave your jewelry home along
with those expensive sunglasses, too much risk of damage or loss on
the lake. No one really cares about anything but relaxing and
your in and out of the water all the time, so don't go on the trip
expecting maid service. It's more like RV'ing. Water conservation
is a must to avoid that costly trip to the dock for a pump out in
the middle of the week.
10)
Live your best
life on vacation.
Enjoy all
that the river lakes have to offer and
take in the breathtaking scenery. You'll see things few other people
ever get a chance to see. Be respectful of the river, and the
surrounding environment. Don't take unnecessary risks and above all
have fun!
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