House Boat Towing

So we have a house boat booked on Lake Ouachita this summer for a weekend and I am looking for the experts who have towed behind a house boat and also who have been to Lake Ouachita on a house boat.

Question one: Is there anything that needs to be done to the boat to tow it? This may sound silly but back in 2018 we broke down on Lake Hamilton (starter failed) and a fellow forum member rescued us and towed us a good distance at a relatively slow speed. While under tow I kept hearing a strange harmonic sound and we traced it to the proper shaft. As we were being towed water going through the propeller was causing it to spin (slowly) and it was making a sound that sounded almost like a harmonic sound but I wasn't sure if it was the shaft seal rubbing due to no water being pumped to it with the engine off. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it ok to just let the propeller spin as water flows across it even though its not getting lubrication water to the shaft seal?

Question two: Where are the best placed to park a house boat on Ouachita with good water for riding? I was looking at Pollard Creek but I am not sure how stumpy it is. Navionics shows "flooded timber" in the area so that makes me nervous.

We have towed our Mojo with the houseboat and have seen many others do the same. I did have to replace the dripless seal last spring, but was told that the transmission had shifted, causing the shaft to come out of center, ruining the seal. The shop indicated they thought the previous owner had hit something with the prop and not disclosed it. Houseboats will typically only go 5-8 mph, which really shouldn't cause issues though. If you get above 10 mph, you may have a problem but at these low speeds things should be fine.

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Originally Posted by Zog

We have towed our Mojo with the houseboat and have seen many others do the same. I did have to replace the dripless seal last spring, but was told that the transmission had shifted, causing the shaft to come out of center, ruining the seal. The shop indicated they thought the previous owner had hit something with the prop and not disclosed it. Houseboats will typically only go 5-8 mph, which really shouldn't cause issues though. If you get above 10 mph, you may have a problem but at these low speeds things should be fine.

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Ok, the house boat place said the boat does 8, i figured I would just keep it at 5 since we will have our boat plus 2 wave runners in tow and I am not in that big of a hurry.

One more quick question for you, did ya'll beach the house boat? and if so, how did yall control the Mojo being towed once you got up on the beach? you have someone on the back of the house boat prepared to catch the mojo or pull it in while other people tied off the house boat?

You will want to stop the houseboat out in the lake where you have plenty of room to drift a little because it take a bit of time to pull the ski boat in, get someone in to drive it, and untie it from the tow rope. Then the houseboat can go in and beach and tie up. After the houseboat is all tied up then you can bring the ski boat in and tie up the the houseboat. At least that is how we always do it.

Yes, the HB can probably do 8, but you have to run the engines at higher RPM, which means your fuel burn rate goes up considerably and your trip becomes much more expensive. I run ours around 6-7 since I am impatient and am typically running about 15 miles up lake.

I would be more worried about towing the wave runners than the boat, by the way. Read up on the towing requirements, since some models require you to pinch off the water supply since pushing water through the jet pump can cause the pump seal to leak, filling up the boat with water and sinking it. I know SeaDoo is very susceptible to this, but I don't know about others.

We beach our houseboat. Prior to bringing it in, we pull everything off the back of the boat. This is an absolute must, since even if you were to catch the boats as they come in, you still have spinning props down below and they will eat your tow lines quickly. A fouled houseboat prop will ruin your trip. Prior to beaching, take the houseboat to idle speed, pull in the boat and wave runners, and have them disembark. Have the wave runner people get on shore and help you set your anchor lines. Houseboats need very secure shore anchorage if you are going to have any kind of wind or wave action. Anchorage is my biggest concern every time we take the houseboat out. Every time you think things will be fine if you go light on anchorage, something will happen to make you realize it is a fools game. Last year I thought I would be fine placing just two anchors on each side of my boat, but lost both on one side in a wind storm. I was tied around big rocks and the rocks exploded. Causing me to start drifting. Fortunately, I had started the engines already and was prepared to counter the wind with my props. The only way you can do this though is with proper seamanship, keeping your anchor lines orderly and free from the area of the props and making sure there is nothing that would cause you to damage anything or any boats you might have tied to your houseboat.

Good luck on the adventure! We love house boating. In my opinion, there is no boating/lake experience better than house boating. There is also no experience more terrifying when things go bad, so be prepared for anything.

I started laughing reading this.
We all know if gas wasn't $10/gallon at the marina you would just drive everything at once but now it's how can I tie everything together and save my fun gas for when we park the house.

As far as towing you should be fine. House boats are slow but watch the chop while towing. If the rope is too short it can force the nose down crossing a roller.

^^ That is way we have also done it.

Been in some deep coves where we have a long line on the transom tied to a tree onshore. Then the bow was anchored.

Also been anchored in the middle of the cove. If it was big, we just tied the boat to the side, spun the houseboat around, and anchored.

Fun times. Where are you going?


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Originally Posted by Holdmybeer

I started laughing reading this.
We all know if gas wasn't $10/gallon at the marina you would just drive everything at once but now it's how can I tie everything together and save my fun gas for when we park the house.

As far as towing you should be fine. House boats are slow but watch the chop while towing. If the rope is too short it can force the nose down crossing a roller.

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Only $6.72 as of this morning! For us it is more about making sure we don't have to go into the marina to fill up. We have about 400 gallons on board for the week that has to supply the engines, generator, and boats (Mojo, Supra SE, and SeaDoo). Any gas we can save that isn't associated with play time needs to be saved, though my brother in law refuses to tow the SE. It's OK though since we use the SE and the SeaDoo to scout out the beaching locations and reserve the spot. Everything gets towed back though and I am always hopeful that I will get the Mojo back on the trailer with about 5 gallons left in the tank. Last year it was bad enough with my $1,300 gas bill at the marina after a week. Really not looking forward to over $2,000. I am being told that if gas is much more expensive, we may keep the houseboat boat in the marina and enjoy a slightly different kind of houseboat trip. I have never minded staying in the marina though. The chances of a moment of terror go way down, though the opportunities for smooth water are certainly much lower.

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Originally Posted by Zog

Yes, the HB can probably do 8, but you have to run the engines at higher RPM, which means your fuel burn rate goes up considerably and your trip becomes much more expensive. I run ours around 6-7 since I am impatient and am typically running about 15 miles up lake.

I would be more worried about towing the wave runners than the boat, by the way. Read up on the towing requirements, since some models require you to pinch off the water supply since pushing water through the jet pump can cause the pump seal to leak, filling up the boat with water and sinking it. I know SeaDoo is very susceptible to this, but I don't know about others.

We beach our houseboat. Prior to bringing it in, we pull everything off the back of the boat. This is an absolute must, since even if you were to catch the boats as they come in, you still have spinning props down below and they will eat your tow lines quickly. A fouled houseboat prop will ruin your trip. Prior to beaching, take the houseboat to idle speed, pull in the boat and wave runners, and have them disembark. Have the wave runner people get on shore and help you set your anchor lines. Houseboats need very secure shore anchorage if you are going to have any kind of wind or wave action. Anchorage is my biggest concern every time we take the houseboat out. Every time you think things will be fine if you go light on anchorage, something will happen to make you realize it is a fools game. Last year I thought I would be fine placing just two anchors on each side of my boat, but lost both on one side in a wind storm. I was tied around big rocks and the rocks exploded. Causing me to start drifting. Fortunately, I had started the engines already and was prepared to counter the wind with my props. The only way you can do this though is with proper seamanship, keeping your anchor lines orderly and free from the area of the props and making sure there is nothing that would cause you to damage anything or any boats you might have tied to your houseboat.

Good luck on the adventure! We love house boating. In my opinion, there is no boating/lake experience better than house boating. There is also no experience more terrifying when things go bad, so be prepared for anything.

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Zog do you write instruction manuals or "Installation Practices " by any chance in your job..........

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Originally Posted by HFarr

Zog do you write instruction manuals or "Installation Practices " by any chance in your job..........

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Lol! I am an engineer, but don't write manuals. I wind up writing long explanation documents for my clients to explain why they are spending so much money on something that doesn't benefit the bottom line. I guess it infects a lot of what I write elsewhere too.