Look out Lake Powell - here we come!! Houseboat time!

[Blue Crabber]

Hey everyone.

Looks like the admiral and I will be headed to Powell this fall to take a houseboat out for a week!! I am stoked and cant wait. This has been a dream of mine for quite some time!!!

Couple questions:

We are looking to go in September possibly. The boat I wanted is not available until October 2nd though. So here are the options:

September 18th (Different boat) or October 2nd (preferred boat)

What will the weather be like out there this time of the year?

Will there be a big difference in temps between these dates? We prefer warmer water then colder.

How crowded will the lake be during this time? Was kind of hoping that we would miss all of the summer vacation crowd!

How strongly do you recommend that we have a PWC or Powerboat with us? Was considering this, but the prices are $1000 for the 5 days plus fuel in addition to the houseboat.

Going to be renting out of Wahweap Marina on one of the 46' boats for just the 2 of us.

Do you guys have any recomendations on where we should go and what we should see?

Do you think we can get the 46' houseboat back to the Rainbow Bridge area?

Here is a proposed route that we may take. Got it from the Lake Powell website. Below is a map that I tried to outline as best as i could.

Day 1 - Red Line - Wahweap Marina around Antelope Island to Padre Bay - 25 miles
Day 2 - Yellow Line - Padre Bay to Dangling Rope Marina then to Oak Canyon - 33 miles
Day 3 - Blue Line - Oak Canyon to Rainbow Bridge to Anasazi Canyon - 15 miles
Day 4 - Purple Line - Anasazi Canyon to Rock Creek Bay - 24 miles
Day 5 - Green Line - Rock Creek Bay to Wahweap Marina through Castle Rock Cut - 33 miles

This was a sample itenary from the website. Please feel free to post your thoughts on this. Is there anywhere else we should go? Is it worth venturing back the San Juan arm farther?

At this point we are leaning towards the earlier date in September.

Thanks for all of the help!!!

 

[12vMan]

Re: Look out Lake Powell - here we come!! Houseboat time!

Sounds like an awesome trip!

I haven't been to Powell in over 10 years, but I have been houseboating for over 25 years, so what I can tell you about your plan is that it's a LOT of houseboat travel. I would try to only motor the first, last and a day middle. Use your tow boat (I do recommend renting if you can't bring your own) to explore. Pick a centralized spot and take-off from there, like Rock Creek Bay. From there you can hit all the other spots without having to move every day and you'll have more time to drop your anchor for a while and relax.

 

[Blue Crabber]

Re: Look out Lake Powell - here we come!! Houseboat time!

Thanks for the response, it is really helpful. What would the cruise speed of these houseboats be? About 6 or 7 mph.

I am really leaning towards renting a bowrider boat as well too. Cant bring mine as we are flying out there. So maybe your suggestion of staying in one spot longer makes more sense. Whatever happens, I want to see a good bit of the lake as I think this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Does anyone have any other suggestions to add? We are really looking forward to our trip, just wanting to plan as much as I can ahead of time so that we can have the best possible trip!!

Thanks again everyone.

 

[12vMan]

Re: Look out Lake Powell - here we come!! Houseboat time!

I'm not familiar with the HB you'll be renting, but the boats from Forever Resorts at Mead with either dual 90hp o/b or dual 175 i/o do 8-10 mph not towing anything, so you could figure losing a couple miles an hour towing a boat.
When we explored the lake we always planned it out from where we stayed instead of jumping around the lake.
Once we camped in a motorhome on the sand over off Lone Rock and met a realty agent in the bar at Wahweap who said she could rent us a mobile home to stay in at Halls Crossing. We explored the lake up one side, skipping over the San Juan of course, and stayed the night in Halls, then came back down the other side. The only bummer was that we still needed to keep a decent pace to make it since it was around 100 miles each way. When we got to Dangling Rope for fuel they were out but we had passed the gas barge on the way up so we just had to float around a while waiting...
Having a houseboat makes it easier to go to key spots you really want to explore and stay a while, because you can have the hb in a centralized spot on the lake to be able to take advantage of more of what the lake has to offer.

Definitely check out some websites for things to see so you can map out what you want to do since this will be the one chance you'll have for a long time

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Look out Lake Powell - here we come!! Houseboat time!

Definitely get the open bow, you'll run out of ice! The weather is always good clear into October, the water warm and nobody there! I've done that trip several times and it's my favorite time of the year there. Cool at nights, the water will feel warmer than the air so be ready for that. The lake is pretty full, you'll be able to head up river through the cut for the first time in awhile which will save you a ton of fuel and get you to Padre Bay relatively quick. Shouldn't have to go around Antelope. Oak Canyon is a favorite camp of mine, you'll like it and Gunsight is a great place to hide if the weather gets nasty. Have fun!

 

[AguaSki]

Re: Look out Lake Powell - here we come!! Houseboat time!

Been to Lake Powell several times in my bow rider (Stayed in Page hotels), but I have never done the house boat thing. Powell is such a big and beautiful lake that I can see why house boating is the preferred option. Don't know if this is kosher, but I will do this anyway because I am convinced I am providing better information than what the iboats board can provide. Redirect your browser to www.wayneswords.com. This site is managed by a gentleman that lives in Page and he knows everything about Powell. The website also contains a message board that is not as well formatted as iboats, but the information on the board is top notch. The other members that frequent the board have a lot of experience and will be able to answer your questions in great detail. Good luck. I wish I was going to Powell too.

Mod's - I have no malicious intent in posting about another forum. Just trying to help the OP get the best information. No offense taken if my comments get zapped.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Look out Lake Powell - here we come!! Houseboat time!

Blue-- What an awesome trip!--unless your gonna spend a ton on boat gas- I would think a rental BR to run & spend the day at destinations and return to the MotherShip--move the HB only when Absolutely necessary would be the way to go.
I don't think towing a BR with a HB would expend much additional fuel.may he HB folks will chime in.

Anyways I am jealous!