About to take the plunge into living full time

[Seasiren2012]

Hi! I am new to the community and I hope I am in the right area to post. My husband and I are getting ready to purchase a houseboat to live on full time with our 2 children. We want to live on the Texas coast, preferably the Galveston area as my oldest son will be attending Texas A & M Galveston. We are new to boating but are willing to learn along with our boys. Any suggestions, tips, ideas? I am open to all! Thanks so much!

[a64pilot]

Assuming you want to primarily stay in a marina and not do any cruising, your doing the smart thing buying a houseboat. My opinion
Not much if any different than living in a house really, just either clean the bottom yourself or have it done at least every other month.
Run the motor(s) monthly at least and not just at idle

[SSgtPitt]

Not sure I’ve seen any “how to boating” tips for a house boat.....yet. Guess you’ll be the first.
Make sure your ac works and works well. It’s miserbly hot and humid down here. If your ac quits working, check the thru hull first for trash....from the outside....had a plastic bag on mine last week. I now have a full flush system home engineered and it works great.
Shade. You’ll need some shade. Fabricate, sew, buy whatever keeps the sun off the boat.
DO NOT swim in the marina.
Get rid of any carpet on the boat.
Your electric bill is highly dependent on how cool you keep it in the boat. Lots of 12 volt fans help.
Check out the marina bathing / laundry / shower areas before signing up.
Keep Windex and paper towels in your truck. And NO, home made vinegar and water does NOT work as well as Windex.
The water in the pipes at the marina gets really hot. I mean really really hot if you’re at the very end of the slips.
The further away you are the quieter it is, and the longer you have to walk.
Buy a little wagon to tote everything back and forth.

And have fun.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Seasiren.

[jrbogie]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Assuming you want to primarily stay in a marina and not do any cruising, your doing the smart thing buying a houseboat. My opinion
Not much if any different than living in a house really, just either clean the bottom yourself or have it done at least every other month.
Run the motor(s) monthly at least and not just at idle

understand that BOAT stands for break out another thousand.

[ShellBack89]

Originally Posted by SSgtPitt

Not sure I’ve seen any “how to boating” tips for a house boat.....yet. Guess you’ll be the first.
Make sure your ac works and works well. It’s miserbly hot and humid down here. If your ac quits working, check the thru hull first for trash....from the outside....had a plastic bag on mine last week. I now have a full flush system home engineered and it works great.
Shade. You’ll need some shade. Fabricate, sew, buy whatever keeps the sun off the boat.
DO NOT swim in the marina.
Get rid of any carpet on the boat.
Your electric bill is highly dependent on how cool you keep it in the boat. Lots of 12 volt fans help.
Check out the marina bathing / laundry / shower areas before signing up.
Keep Windex and paper towels in your truck. And NO, home made vinegar and water does NOT work as well as Windex.
The water in the pipes at the marina gets really hot. I mean really really hot if you’re at the very end of the slips.
The further away you are the quieter it is, and the longer you have to walk.
Buy a little wagon to tote everything back and forth.

And have fun.

I have my 43 ft Cruisers at South Shore Harbour in Kemah and everything you said is spot on. We are on a T head and it’s a country mile walk to the end of the dock but it’s quiet since it’s just us. The water gets hot so no need to turn on the hot water heater during the summer and the marina water is nasty so there’s no cooling off there. Our electric bill is $125 per mo which I think is crazy since we don’t even live on her.

For the OP - There are a lot of nice live aboard boats in Clearlake. Look at Trawlers since many have nice staterooms. I can give you the number of our broker. He’s as honest as they come and his office is in Galveston.

[Scout 30]

If you're looking at actual houseboats instead of trawlers I'd look for something with outboards instead of I/Os. Houseboats are great for rivers & lakes but not meant for the Gulf.

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

If you're looking at actual houseboats instead of trawlers I'd look for something with outboards instead of I/Os. Houseboats are great for rivers & lakes but not meant for the Gulf.

+1

[sailorboy1]

I was slowly motoring down the ICW in NC a few months ago and a houseboat passed me. A new low for me :-)

But I bet the OP is asking about "live aboard" boats and not really houseboats.