joined the darkside.. sold the sailboat... bought an....OMG

[Amapola]

It looks like you came over to the Bright side. We too gave up our sails for a trawler and love it.

[S/V Antares]

"I feel a disturbance in the force"

[offline]

Bill.. From Melbourne, Florida... not the more enchanting Aussie city! :beer:

Originally Posted by BillAU

It's a beauty but how did it handle crossing the big pond from Melbourne, AU to FL, USA Your houseboat makes this working mans houseboat, which I also like, look like the poor relation And I bet yours cost less too

Bill
Australia

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by offline

Bill.. From Melbourne, Florida... not the more enchanting Aussie city! :beer:

Got-ya DR What do you think...Would a similar boat of 38'-45' be suitable for cruising the East coast and Top End of Aus', something like a 39' Holiday Mansion Coastal Cruiser
Cheers
Bill
Australia

[offline]

Staying in protected water absolutely a Holiday Mansion or Gibson would be a great choice.. I wouldn't ever venture offshore or out of sight of land however..

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by offline

Believe it or not there was no anchor on board when we bought her. She was driven marina to marina or beached.. I was told that the previous owner saw no need for one.

I however feel very differently..

The plan is to use this boat on the ICW in South Florida all the way to Key West so for now I put a spare 35# Delta on board, but it is a bit undersized... this boat has tons of windage and I may want to step up a size...

I've had more than a few people say that this boat will make a Bahama crossing without issue if I carefully choose the weather window... Don't know if I agree.

Yeeeeaaa I don't know if I agree as well. On a good day, and there are many, you could easily get there. But one miscalculation in weather could be a disaster.

[ebaugh]

Originally Posted by Tellie

Yeeeeaaa I don't know if I agree as well. On a good day, and there are many, you could easily get there. But one miscalculation in weather could be a disaster.

Sometimes luck is a really good thing. I have a friend now in his 50's, that grew up in Lauderdale on the ICW. When he was 13, he and his younger brother took a 13 foot Whaler to Bimini and back in the same day. Would have gotten fully away with it had his brother not brought back a Bahamian coin eventually discovered by Mom. It was quite some time before he got out of his room except to go to school, and even longer before he got the keys to the Whaler again......

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by ebaugh

Sometimes luck is a really good thing. I have a friend now in his 50's, that grew up in Lauderdale on the ICW. When he was 13, he and his younger brother took a 13 foot Whaler to Bimini and back in the same day. Would have gotten fully away with it had his brother not brought back a Bahamian coin eventually discovered by Mom. It was quite some time before he got out of his room except to go to school, and even longer before he got the keys to the Whaler again......

Reminds me of some of the adventures I did in my youth. Bottom line take a map, add to that the maximum possible speed of ANY vehicle they might have access to, double it, and calculate the maximum hours they were out of your site times 10, and draw a circle that large on the map, and draw an X,... yes they went there.

If they have keys to the car, that circle is around a thousand miles in diameter, and covers at least two adjacent states, if you let them take the car to the corner Mc D's for lunch.

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by offline

Staying in protected water absolutely a Holiday Mansion or Gibson would be a great choice.. I wouldn't ever venture offshore or out of sight of land however..

G'day DR,

I'm not sure that "staying in protected water" is feasable...I'm talking about the East Coast of Australia so that's the Pacific Ocean I would be playing in.
Sure I can stay in sight of land most, if not all the time but it's still Pacific coastal waters, tides and winds.
If you think a boat similar to yours is suitable, which of the following, houseboats, if any, do you think would be suitable for those waters

Boat #1

Boat #2

Boat #3

Boat #4

IMO they are all good looking boats but I'm not sure if any of them would be up to the job.

Bill
Australia