A real houseboat story - can house boats bring peace and enjoyment?

by Bruce & Cindy
(Nicholson, PA)

Can house boats really bring peace and enjoyment, well here's our real houseboat story of how we "finally found it". We've been married 32 years and have spent much of that time trying to find what really makes us happy (other than each other, our kids & grandkids).

We both love the same type of recreation and have owned several makes and sizes of boats, motorcycles, kayaks, campers/motorhomes, etc. but have never found as much peace and enjoyment as we have since buying the houseboat last July. It's an old (1969) 34' Nautaline with an upgraded 318 I/O.

Last Saturday evening about three hours before sunset, we backed out of the marina slip and into the Erie canal (right turn into the canal, left turn opens into Oneida Lake).

With the throttle at 1,200 rpm's, we slowly made our way 6 miles east toward lock 21 then turned around and, with the sun just starting to set on the water dead ahead, both realized that we have finally found what we could spend the rest of our lives doing.

When we're on the houseboat, we don't talk about bills or birthdays or car repairs or any of the other things that rule our working days.

We simply relax and enjoy the things around us, like watching a large toad hop across the grass and settle next to the dock, or the largest snapping turtle we've ever seen swim right under us while sitting on the back of the houseboat, and I can't wait to see the bill for all the rolls of film we've taken of baby beavers swimmimg around the marina, birds, other boats, etc.


Boating obviously isn't for everyone, just as many things aren't, but this Houseboat surely is "it" for us. Can't get the pix to upload.

Bruce & Cindy




Reply - Answer
Well Bruce & Cindy, I appreciate and can totally understand how you feel, as my wife and I also realize that we have "finally found it".

For us there is no better place in the whole wide world as being out on the houseboat, just cruising or relaxing.

As for uploading pictures, they would have to be 800x600, and need to be either in the jpg or gif format. That's why I inserted the sunset picture from our end of the world :)


Lastly, hopefully some of our readers will share and post comments about their own houseboat stories and experiences. Feel free to use the "Click here to post comments." link found near the bottom of this page.


Thanks again for sharing, IAN - from www.all-about-houseboats.com

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