Any Seaworthy Houseboats?

by Dave
(Darwin, Australia)

Are there any seaworthy houseboats out there? I'm writing from Australia, and am looking at a tri-hull houseboat which is advertised as sea worthy in most conditions.

What do think that might mean? Are there any houseboat designs better suited for short ocean travel and coastal voyages, or are they all only suited for rivers and lakes.

I'm moving from a 'stink' boat to a houseboat, and am trying to build-up the knowledge bank. Any links to decent Australian houseboat sites would be appreciated.

Thanks, Darwin.

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Reply - Answer
Well Darwin, congratulations on your decision to buy a houseboat. Your question about whether houseboats are suited, or seaworthy for short ocean travel or coastal voyages, is a common one asked by boaters everywhere. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the tri-hull houseboat you're asking about.

My short answer is YES & NO, but my longer answer is below:

I will try and answer this as realistically as possible. I have been, or navigated on the Atlantic & Pacific oceans, the Great Lakes, and many rivers and lakes in North America, and I would prefer not to be out in rough sea conditions in a houseboat.

Now don't get me wrong, there are some houseboat models that are better suited for short, good weather window, calculated & planned trips across rougher waters, but they generally aren't built to those standards.

My first choice would be a trawler style boat, but if I was to do it in a house boat, I would want a fast sturdy built houseboat, with sufficient power and freeboard to handle the wind, waves, and currents.

If you're curious, have a look at our houseboat designs page, and you will see some planing, catamaran, and displacement houseboat styles, and these would be my preferred houseboat choices for short coastal travel.

You will find the following pages of interest:

Houseboats Built to Cruise and Travel

Excellent boating & cruising DVD's to watch.


Lastly, hopefully some of our readers will share and post comments about their seaworthy houseboat experiences.


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