Houseboat Guests and Visitors - Watch the Kids, and the Car or Boat Keys!

by Johnny
(Ft. Walton Beach, FL, USA)

When you have guest or visitors on your houseboat, you have to watch the kids and your keys, if not, bad things can happen.

This is my new saying, "Friends, don't let friends kid's, carry their keys."

That's what happened to me, I had invited a friend and her two kids to spend a day on my boat. Little did I know her kids were total HELLIONS!!!!!!

Something possessed my friend to allow her 6 yr old to carry her car keys from the car, down the dock, to the houseboat (oh yeah, they live about 100 miles away).

Needless to say... the 6 yr old dropped the keys in the water while boarding. I tried desperately for 4 hours to retrieve the keys with a large magnet on a rope.

No luck.. They were stuck there for 2 days!!! My 36' Gibson houseboat turned into a 15' footer real QUICK!!!!

Best regards, Johnny.

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Reply - Answer
Well Johnny, welcome to the houseboat forums, and I am sorry to hear about unexpectedly turning your Gibson into a hotel :)

I know what you mean about keys, keys of all types seem to always end up in the water, even with the best of intentions.

I have been boating long enough to know that you have to have a floater on anything that you don't want to end up on the bottom.

I have had great success with these new self-inflating key floaters.
They are a real conversation piece, and they work extremely well.

If others here have any tips or ideas on keeping keys, cellular phones, or any other item dry, or out of the water, do let us all know.



Lastly, hopefully some of our readers will share and post comments about their houseboat guests and visitor 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 all-about-houseboats

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