OUR HOUSEBOAT
- Mike Kilroy
- Jun 11, 2016
- 3 min read
We like to joke that we own the ugliest houseboat on Lake Pleasant. She's definitely not sleek or sexy, but neither am I, and I get by pretty well. It's what's inside that counts, right? Yes, and thank goodness for both of us! We were able to complete a pretty nice remodel on the cheap, which you can see in this post, making a huge difference in the interior.
You board the boat on the forward deck, port side. It's not huge, but leaves enough room for a love seat, hammock, and bike storage. The sliding glass door leads into the salon (main living area). As you step in, you'll immediately notice how open, bright, and airy the boat is. Lisa did an excellent job, as usual, in picking colors for the re-design. The forward portion of the boat is open concept, with the living room, dining room and galley all sharing space. There is a mini-split AC unit on the port wall to keep the space nice and cool.
The living room consists of a hide-a-bed couch, a couple of comfy chairs, end tables and a storage ottoman. We have a sound bar hidden away in the cornice box, and a projector above the couch. The dining room has a drop-leaf table that can seat six pretty comfortably. We keep one leave down, with it tucked against the wall. Tucked in the cornice box on the port side, is a pull-down 80" projector screen.
The galley has everything we need to cook our family meals. Full size fridge, wine (bottled water and butter) cooler, convection oven/microwave, 4 burner propane cooktop, warming drawer, deep sink, and a dish washer to help clean up the mess. There's room for two, if you synchronize your movements. The counter top is nice and big, and has a bar top for 3.
A decent sized pantry is across from the galley, and also houses the instant on propane water heater, and 5 gallon electric water heater. Aft of the galley are two heads. The forward head has a tub/shower combo, and the aft head has a shower only. They're a bit tight inside, but I don't usually do pilates in there, so the size is acceptable.
Aft of the pantry, and across the hall from the heads, is the girl's stateroom. It's fairly roomy, as it used to be two divided staterooms. There's enough space for their bunks, and armoire, stacked hanging lockers and enough leftover floor to move around.
Aft of this stateroom is the combo school/toy room. This also used to be divided into two staterooms, with a hallway between. The starboard side has the kids table with booth seating, which converts to a berth (bed), and the port side has the toy storage. There is an overhead AC unit to cool the room, and also moves cold air down the hall, and into the girl's stateroom. The sliding glass door opens to the lower aft deck.
The lower aft deck is covered, and offers a decent amount of shade, even though it is south facing. The deck has a nice sized set of patio furniture, our combo washer/dryer, and a spiral staircase that leads up to the upper aft deck. The generator, battery, and engine compartments all are housed in the aft deck.
Just forward of the pantry, is a spiral staircase that leads up to the master bedroom. It measures about 14' x 25'. We have a twin full forward. We could probably fit a queen, or possibly king up there, but we're not very big people, and we like each other. In the aft of the room are his and hers Ikea closets to starboard, and bookshelves to port. There is a ton of open, carpeted floorspace and it has two overhead AC units to keep it nice and chilly. The girls routinely use it as a play area. The sliding glass door aft opens to the upper aft deck.
The upper aft deck is pretty awesome. It's large and open, and offers great views. We have a nice sized grill with a side burner, bar top table, storage bench and low table up top. There is a triangular sail shade that helps keep things cool on the forward part of the deck. The aft starboard corner supports the water slide that dumps you off about six feet above the water below. It's a big hit with all the kids!
I hope you've enjoyed your tour of our houseboat. We'll be sad to see her go in the coming months, but we look forward to downsizing again, and moving aboard a sailing catamaran.
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