House boat trip

[warpt71]

Morning all,

Given the choice, where would you prefer to get your House boat from; Cottonwood or Callville?

My wife won us a 5 day rental on a 59' and we can choose one of the above locations. We are planning to go the 2nd week of October (I think lol) We will most likely be taking our neighbors with us and maybe another couple. All our kids should be staying with grandparents, but if not they say the boat sleeps 10 but only has 2 dedicated bedrooms? We will most likely bring our boats with us as well, we have our Carrera jet and our neighbors have a 22 Cole skier. Neither of us have done a house boat trip and we're pretty stoaked! What else do we need to know? Id like to get to one of the marinas and see the boat frist hand befor the week of as well, worth the effort or not?

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

I have never been on a HB out of either place, but given the choice, I would do Calville.



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[twocents]

Have done houseboats out of Callville a half dozen times. They run a good operation. Ask if you can have an evening load-in and stay onboard overnight at the dock before you leave the next morning. Usually you can load after 7:00pm -- you could also call ahead and see if one of the dock porters would stay late to help (they get off at 6pm) -- it's a long walk from the parking lot to the boat from the parking lot. Also check a chart of the lake and pick a few spots where you might want to beach -it. Sheltered coves always best -- you never know when the wind will come up -- nothing more unpleasant than waking up to a houseboat sideways on the beach.

 

[fmo24]

For food we always had one couple do meals for entire day. Purchase, prep, serve and clean up. After your day you are done. Also bring your own munchies.

 

[Andy B.]

Another vote for Calville.

 

[BajaMike]

If they say the houseboat sleep 10 people, don’t take more the 6 adults. Any children that are not good swimmers or old enough should not be on the houseboat.

 

[warpt71]

So no one here has rented a houseboat out of Cottonwood Cove?

Will Lake Mead be clam enough for us to go enjoy our little open bow cruiser?

 

[stephenkatsea]

We have done HB trips on Mohave and Mead. We prefer upper Mohave, hands down to Mead. Upper Mohave has abundant coves with good beaches. We have not found that to be the case with Mead. The run up to Boulder Dam on Mohave is spectacular. The run to Boulder Dam on Mead is boring. We have never rented a HB from Cottonwood or Callville. So, I cannot speak about their houseboats. But just the bodies of water, there is no question. Mohave is very much our preferred. Perhaps the fact that BHC Vic and the guys do their Dam run on Mohave says a lot. The same could be done on Mead. But, it is not.

The coves of Mohave provide much better protection should the weather come up. We've stayed at the motel at Cottonwood, launched daily, and really enjoyed upper Lake Mohave.

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

I've done four or five houseboats out of Cottonwood. Always a great time going upriver from there!
Agree with Stephenkatsea.
So awesome going up to the dam! Plenty of coves to park in.
Probably have done about 20 houseboats. Get the early board.

 

[warpt71]

@stephenkatsea @SHOCKtheMONKEY

Which coves specifically? Im leaning towards upper Mohave and enjoying more of the river like we are use to down in Blythe. Im thinking evening floats back to the HB kind of deal vs. floating in the lake.

 

[stephenkatsea]

@stephenkatsea @SHOCKtheMONKEY

Which coves specifically? Im leaning towards upper Mohave and enjoying more of the river like we are use to down in Blythe. Im thinking evening floats back to the HB kind of deal vs. floating in the lake.

Suggest you get a chart of the lake. Those water proof Fishin' Maps are good. The water level of Mohave remains fairly consistent. But, it can fluctuate enough to get your attention when beaching your HB. There is current that runs down the lake, north to south, but nothing like the river current. You'll see HBs are not allowed beyond the extreme upper end of Mohave.Believe that portion is called Black Mountain Canyon and it is beautiful, much more narrow than the lake and it leads to Willow Beach and the base of Bolder Dam. The water is very cold, but quickly warms up as it enters the broader Lake Mohave. All the best coves are above Cottonwood Cove. If you intend to return to Cottonwood for ice and supplies etc, selecting a Cove that is a reasonable distance for your small boat is a good idea. I would not suggest going below Cottonwood. There are additional regulations for the run from Willow Beach on up to the dam. You'll want to check those. They vary per days of the week and time of year. On a first trip to Mohave first night the lake level had gone down enough that we were unable to back our HB off the beach the next morning. We had all the cases of water, beverages and the large ice chests stacked on the bow deck. We simply transferred all that weight aft and we floated right off. Some of the beaches and coves are very large. If you select one of those you are likely to have neighbors. If you select one just large enough for one HB that takes care of any unwanted neighbors. Unlike the Lake Powell HBs our Mohave HBs did not come with anchors. We secured the HBs with lines ran to bushes, trees, rocks etc on the beach. IMHO, boating on upper Mohave is second only to Lake Powell. Enjoy.

 

[stephenkatsea]

Through the years we have rented houseboats on Mohave numerous times. But, those were from Willow Beach and Katherine's. Neither rent houseboats any longer.