We used to spend our vacations with my grandparents on Texoma using rental house boats.......stay all week. Storms and drunk boaters.....never a dull moment this was back in the 70's......Islands were just that...nothing more.

LP - would you believe that the 102' houseboat (Fantasy Inn) at our puddle anchors out ALL weekend with just ONE anchor...granted, it's a BIG anchor, but all weekend, it seems to hold from what I've seen. Granted, we've got some good muddy lake bottom to dig into though at Grapevine.

LP-1 wrote:

In a houseboat you need three if you have it beached or free anchored. I've tried two but there's just to much movement and it'll break one loose. I'd use four if i had them.

Captain Buddha wrote:

LP - would you believe that the 102' houseboat (Fantasy Inn) at our puddle anchors out ALL weekend with just ONE anchor...granted, it's a BIG anchor, but all weekend, it seems to hold from what I've seen. Granted, we've got some good muddy lake bottom to dig into though at Grapevine. LP-1 wrote: In a houseboat you need three if you have it beached or free anchored. I've tried two but there's just to much movement and it'll break one loose. I'd use four if i had them.

I agree! We have a 90'x18' houseboat on Table Rock in Missouri. We cove out a lot & a properly sized & set anchor will hold just fine.
We prefer to nose it in on the shore & tie off the back of the boat to a tree on each side of the boat at no less than a 30* angle.

Missouri is the houseboat capital because it's wind protected. Travis is too deep and too unprotected. Wind whips through there like the Texas panhandle. It's not required you listen to me. However, it is required you listen to my "I told you so's" after you fuck up.

LP-1 wrote:

Missouri is the houseboat capital because it's wind protected. Travis is too deep and too unprotected. Wind whips through there like the Texas panhandle. It's not required you listen to me. However, it is required you listen to my "I told you so's" after you fuck up.

Table Rock is over 100' deep in MOST places. It is wider than Texoma & we have our fair share of winds in excess of 40mph. Plus, storms will sneak up on you in a hurry.
Additionally, when you are floatin $500k worth of boat you don't fuck up. Also, Kentucky, specifically Lake Cumberland is the houseboat capital.

Sorry, should have said Lake Travis.

Well, I have no real experience so y'all park that boat overnight with a single anchor out and sleep tight.

Wow.......everyone's a 100' expert.

So Im confused......is the house boat on Travis or Table rock?

And also beaching the nose and setting the rear at no more than 30 deg is not really anchoring out....is it? How would one well set and sized anchor hold a 100' house boat in one position in a cove....... not nosed up on the beach? That must be one badass front anchor......I'll bet money I aint got that in a 5 mph side wind the ass is leaving......but Im no expert.


Tuff crowd.

devils cove is not open water and the wind would have to be wide open out of the north to affect that cove. Also helps that the end where everyone parks is a no wake zone. Most that I have seen park nose in on the west side and tie off to trees on the bank and anchor out the back. If you take extra anchors make sure extra rope, that channel is a deep mutha, especially now that the water is up.

My gosh, didn't know a simple question would get everyone so pissed off. Its been years since I've been to devils cove and I've never anchored a houseboat there. Just though I'd get a few opinions. I guess we'll just pull shifts and drift all weekend.

I don't think anyone's pissed off. We just have differing opinions of anchoring safety in a big houseboat. nothing breaks anchor like a houseboat. it can't be compared to any other vessel. I'd go with experience. "bad idea" seems to have some experience with it. I anchored our 78 footer no less than 300 times so i have somewhat of an idea myself. When the wind get's a hold of you, and it will, you'll also have an idea. Shallow hull, giant billboard with a parachute on top. it ain't no cruiser.

LP - different bottoms = different anchoring conditions...haven't anchored at Texoma...but I'm guessing, and it could be a totally wrong guess, sandy bottom? Mucho different anchoring than a sticky/muddy bottom. Nothing wrong with an extra anchor, that's for sure! Also, the type of rode (chain and rope, all chain, all rope) makes a HUGE difference too.

Texoma gives you an opportunity to experience all kinds of bottoms, from sand, to mud, to rocks, to roots to dead bodies. Chain, anchor type and llength of line matter with pretty much any boat. I bought my boat on Travis so i'm not without experience on both lakes. I've owned everything from riverboats, to sport fishers, to cruisers, to performance boats to sport boats. I've owned lengths from 86' to 25'. I've boated all over the country and even anchored on the mississippi river. I'm not pretending to know everything. I'm just saying you should anticipate different problems with a long houseboat when at anchor. I've seen the rear end get away and wipe out 4 or 5 boats. I've seen the boat blown sideways at 25 knots and snap 4 heavy lines like thread. I've seen them break anchor and end up sideways on shore and watched them mow down a big sailboat before the sailboat could break anchor and get out of the way. They're a whole different animal and if you're a novice to handling a big one, safety safety safety. If you beach it tie off the front and anchor the rear. but also anticipate wind change and set a separate anchor so the boat doesn't blow sideways and pull up your other anchor. I dunno... maybe I don't know anything? that's just my experience. but, i am over the top when it comes to safety.

"When Houseboats Go Wild" by Lake Pirate...could be a good book/movie!

Have fun Bobsplace........its all part of it right?

Let me try to shed some more light on this.
If we are going to anchor out our #1 choice is to beach the boat & tie each side of the stern off to some trees. Way safer than being out in unprotected water. Both from boat traffic & weather.
When we do anchor out in the main lake, like watching fireworks & such. We use a Fortress anchor for a 100'+ boat. We always put out line in a 4-1 ratio and always poke the nose into the wind.
With a properly set & sized anchor your boat will hold as long as the wind doesn't change 180*s in direction & the waves aren't 5+' high.
If you are going to invest in a good anchor, invest in the anchor saver product. www.anchorsaver.com/Site/Home.html

LP - I think you need to trade in your pirate hat for a sailor hat! BTW, I found a new picture of you! LOL

LP-1 wrote:

Texoma gives you an opportunity to experience all kinds of bottoms, from sand, to mud, to rocks, to roots to dead bodies. Chain, anchor type and llength of line matter with pretty much any boat. I bought my boat on Travis so i'm not without experience on both lakes. I've owned everything from riverboats, to sport fishers, to cruisers, to performance boats to sport boats. I've owned lengths from 86' to 25'. I've boated all over the country and even anchored on the mississippi river. I'm not pretending to know everything. I'm just saying you should anticipate different problems with a long houseboat when at anchor. I've seen the rear end get away and wipe out 4 or 5 boats. I've seen the boat blown sideways at 25 knots and snap 4 heavy lines like thread. I've seen them break anchor and end up sideways on shore and watched them mow down a big sailboat before the sailboat could break anchor and get out of the way. They're a whole different animal and if you're a novice to handling a big one, safety safety safety. If you beach it tie off the front and anchor the rear. but also anticipate wind change and set a separate anchor so the boat doesn't blow sideways and pull up your other anchor. I dunno... maybe I don't know anything? that's just my experience. but, i am over the top when it comes to safety.

I could tell you stories. been caught out in the Mississippi Sound in a tow boat with loaded barges during a hurricane. been on a crew boat damaged and sank due to large waves (in february at 3 in the morning). Been to the snapper banks in an 18' ski boat. sailed a clipper naked. got stuck on the upper mississippi for 40 days due to ice. was almost sucked into turbines under a tanker. Ive run aground, been capsized, been run over, hit the gates of a lock when a line snapped, seen three men die from overboard, rode out a hurricane with no engines, navigated to bimini from ft lauderdale with one engine, no radar and no compass. And that's not even the lake stories.

I really should write a book.

Yes, write a book!

LP-1 wrote:

I could tell you stories. been caught out in the Mississippi Sound in a tow boat with loaded barges during a hurricane. been on a crew boat damaged and sank due to large waves (in february at 3 in the morning). Been to the snapper banks in an 18' ski boat. sailed a clipper naked. got stuck on the upper mississippi for 40 days due to ice. was almost sucked into turbines under a tanker. Ive run aground, been capsized, been run over, hit the gates of a lock when a line snapped, seen three men die from overboard, rode out a hurricane with no engines, navigated to bimini from ft lauderdale with one engine, no radar and no compass. And that's not even the lake stories. I really should write a book.

I would like to hear more about the stories above, sounds pretty interesting.

yes, i was completely naked.

If you write a book, just say NO to pictures in it! LOL

LP-1 wrote:

yes, i was completely naked.

my eyes eyes are permanently dameged with jsut the thought of seeing that!

I can agree with LP on the houseboat deal. The most pissed off I ever got at the lake was about 9 years ago with two willow springs rental houseboats...neither of which ran that weekend. We towed them to the islands and left them there on sunday and took the runabouts we brought back to the car. I snapped 3 of their "mooring lines" that were just 100' long 1/2 in three strand braided lines at the islands when the thunderstorms would go through. For about 3 years there was a tree in the little cut that runs to the back of north island....yeah...the 56' houseboat drug that tree out by the roots and pulled it into the middle of that in a thunderstorm...and not even that bad of a storm. The other houseboat ripped a tree out and blew across the sandbar into that deep lagoon behind north island.

By the time that weekend was over, I was exhausted, everyone had a decent time but nobody was all that excited to do it again. I was thrilled when all of those got repo'd so nobody got ripped off,hurt or killed on those POS rentals.