Houseboat Vacation: Rent or Bring Your Own Boat?

[titelines]

Hi All,

I'll be joining some buddies for a houseboat vacation and can't decide whether or not to bring my fishing boat, or if we should just rent one. The guys said that they'd help me with gas, so that's not a problem. I'm just wondering about convenience, hassle-free, piece-of-mind stuff. We can rent a 17' Pro Angler from the outfitters for about $85/person for three days, pretty cheap.

I guess it's just personal preference, but has anyone ever done a houseboat deal and left your boat at home? Seems like $85.00 isn't a lot of money to not have to worry about flat tires and everything else that goes with a long trailering trip.

Thanks for any opinions!

[traveler]

We took our own boat... I couldn't see paying the extra bucks to rent something I already own. Plus I'm more comfortable running my own boat, electronics, etc...and I trust mine more than rental equipment.

[learnintofish]

I would say it depends on how far you have to travel and how your trailer is. For 85.00 I would leave my boat at home so I dont have to worry about tires, bearings, risk of tranny problems from towing plus the extra gas it will cost ya to tow the boat. Once you get the boat here, you have to worry about dock rash, what ever might happen while you r towing it behind houseboat. How well do you know the lake your going to? Maybe hit a rock or dead head ect. So if you have a $30,000 boat leave it at home and bang up the rental. Good luck fishing.

[Stick in Mud]

Funny enough, for me it would depend on my electronics....If I'd invested big bucks in a fancy side-imaging/gps model, I'd like to have that with me because it might help me catch more fish. Without that kind of model, I'd be happy to spend the few dollars (I assume all of you'd be splitting the cost of the rental) to use their boat....in part because, if a maintenance issue DID come up, I doubt your buddies would be giving you cash for the spare tire/bearing/etc.

[IcePro]

They way I interpute the price is $85 per person or do you mean $85 a day for the boat rental?

[jmd1]

what lakes offer houseboat rentals? My wife and i are thinking about a trip and this might be a great idea. Any suggestions are appreciated. Jeff

[Down Deep]

what lakes offer houseboat rentals? My wife and i are thinking about a trip and this might be a great idea. Any suggestions are appreciated. Jeff

You can find houseboat rentals on several MN lakes. Vermillion, Crane and Rainy come to mind. If you are looking for very nice vacation in a relatively wild and remote environment I would recommend Crane Lake. Crane gives you access to Voyagers National Park which is a great place to spend a week or two. There is decent fishing on all of the Voyageurs lakes and there are improved overnight spots all over the the park. The rental companies will give a full orientation and furnish charts. I took the wife on a 4 day trip and she actually would like to do it again. She is a person that thinks a vacation should involve a plane ride, a condo and a spa. I think should would rather clean the basement than go fishing or somewhere remote. We had a great time on the houseboat trip.

[Down Deep]

Hi All,

I'll be joining some buddies for a houseboat vacation and can't decide whether or not to bring my fishing boat, or if we should just rent one. The guys said that they'd help me with gas, so that's not a problem. I'm just wondering about convenience, hassle-free, piece-of-mind stuff. We can rent a 17' Pro Angler from the outfitters for about $85/person for three days, pretty cheap.

IMO I've got my boat set up for me and have all my gear in there. The boat is paid for and trailering is no problem for me. I would invest the $85 per person in gas and bait.

[titelines]

They way I interpute the price is $85 per person or do you mean $85 a day for the boat rental?

It's $85/person for renting a 17' Pro Angler for three days. Not a bad deal imo.

[titelines]

what lakes offer houseboat rentals? My wife and i are thinking about a trip and this might be a great idea. Any suggestions are appreciated. Jeff

This will be my first one, but we're booked through Voyagaire's Houseboats on Crane Lake. Seems like a nice outfit, and nice based on the calls I've had with them.

[Tom7227]

This will be my first one, but we're booked through Voyagaire's Houseboats on Crane Lake.

Their HSOforum lists a boat rental for a 17' Pro Angler with a 50 hp four stroke, side steering, live well, electric start, bow mount, electric trolling motor, trim & tilt, depth finder and windshield at 130 a day or 610 a week. I think 3 guys could fish out of that fairly easily. A number of years ago we went to Rainy and I managed to ding a prop on a borrowed boat. Ended up paying a lot of dough for repairs to the gears and shaft. I may go for the rental between the risks of damage and the PITA aspects of towing very far.