houseboating Lake powell
 

Hi! We've rented a houseboat at Lake Powell <BR>for 5 days in July. Four adults, 5 kids, mostly teens. We are bringing our own speed boat. We have never rented a houseboat. Help! Does anyone have a great list of what we should bring along? Any info on what to do, what to see, where to dock, etc. We will be taking off from Bullfrog. Thanks!

Mike, you'll have a great time. Powell is awesome. You will think you've gone to another planet. A lot of the houseboats come with BBQs and the biggest coolers you have EVER seen. Some have slides -- really fun! Hint, houseboats drive just like a house on the water. They're not too fast and really suck gas. If you have 5 days, I would suggest moving only twice and using your speed boat to sightsee. Be sure to get out and hike to some of the Anasazi dwellings. Very educational. Take TONS of waterproof sunscreen. The houseboat company will give you the speech about watching for thunderstorms. They are very dangerous for houseboats caught in the middle of the channel, but if you have some, be sure to be in a side canyon. Then you'll get to see the waterfalls pouring off the slickrock! Don't try to anchor against the rocks. Find a nice sandy beach and anchor well. The wind can blow sometimes and move your boat all around. Bring some games for nighttime, cards, Trivial Pursuit, etc. Be sure to drink gallons of water. It's extremely dry and easy to get dehydrated in the heat. Have a great time, you'll love it.

Mike, you'll have a great time. Powell is awesome. You will think you've gone to another planet. A lot of the houseboats come with BBQs and the biggest coolers you have EVER seen. Some have slides -- really fun! Hint, houseboats drive just like a house on the water. They're not too fast and really suck gas. If you have 5 days, I would suggest moving only twice and using your speed boat to sightsee. Be sure to get out and hike to some of the Anasazi dwellings. Very educational. Take TONS of waterproof sunscreen. The houseboat company will give you the speech about watching for thunderstorms. They are very dangerous for houseboats caught in the middle of the channel, but if you have some, be sure to be in a side canyon. Then you'll get to see the waterfalls pouring off the slickrock! Don't try to anchor against the rocks. Find a nice sandy beach and anchor well. The wind can blow sometimes and move your boat all around. Bring some games for nighttime, cards, Trivial Pursuit, etc. Be sure to drink gallons of water. It's extremely dry and easy to get dehydrated in the heat. Have a great time, you'll love it.

I have never taken this trip, but my brother has, and the photos he brought back could make you weep. What a beautiful place! He and his wife and three other couples rented a houseboat two years in a row, and with all of the "beverages" they drank, and returned safely, it can't be too hard. Post an update when you get back and let us know how it was...considering it myself for next year!

We are Arizonans and have rented houseboats on Lake Powell several times. <BR>Above advice about sunscreen is good. Water safety is imperative, especially for greenhorns. Write us directly with specific questions. From Bullfrog, most of the best sites are downsteam, that is, toward Wahweap, Dangling Rope, and Rainbow Bridge. The landscape tends to flatten out northward. Be sure to buy a lake map before you shove off. Available at the marina. Be sure to watch the buoys as you enter the main channel. Careful around larger power craft; cross their wake at an angle. Make sure your front door is closed, otherwise a heavy swell can wash over your bow and run smack through your boat, leading to all sorts of things, some funny and some serious. Make sure your teenagers know that water horseplay is a bigtime no-no -- you are on your own and a long way from help. When a storm threatens, get off the main channel and into a protected side cove with a beach downwind. Your vessel offers a huge surface to any wind and is like trying to steer a billboard. Make sure you tie up with two anchors ashore, each at a 45-degree angle to the boat and well up onto the sand. Find your anchorage long before dark. If you find yourselves unable to get off the beach in the morning, everyone but the helmsman should go aft, adding weight to the fantail and raising the bows (which often get hung up on the sand). Avoid mud beaches; they stink and they stick. <BR>Idea: each couple should be responsible for two dinners and two breakfasts, thus spreading the work. Lunch is do-it-yourself sandwich time. Have safe fun.