If you have recently purchased a houseboat and are quickly approaching your first off season you will likely have heard people talking about blocking up their houseboats but you may not know exactly what that means or how you do it. Since you are new to houseboats learning all these new phrases and how to do them is important so we want to cover what it is and how you do it in this article.
To block up your houseboat all you have to do is take your houseboat out of the water and store it on blocks during the off-season. Of course how easy that is depends majorly on how big your houseboat is.
Most people do one of two things to their houseboats during the off-season.
The first is to leave them in the water if they are really big. Yes you risk your houseboat getting damaged because of ice or snowstorms but the thousands of dollars in the fall and the thousands of dollars in the spring to get it out and back into the water isn’t something most people do.
The second thing that people do is take it out of the water if it is a houseboat that is easy to put on a trailer (also known as a trailerable houseboat). These houseboats are considerably smaller than traditional ones which means it is possible to take them out of and back into the water quite easily.
If you have one of these trailerable houseboats what you will normally do is load it up in the trailer take it to the place where you are storing it over the winter and then take it off the trailer and put it on blocks.
Typically these blocks will be 4×4 or larger blocks and you will slowly lower the houseboat off the trailer as you position the blocks under it to hold it during the off season. Then in the spring you pull the houseboat back on to the trailer and take it back to the water.
Some people just forgo the blocks entirely and just leave the houseboat on the trailer all winter so they don’t have to worry about taking it off and putting it back on but the main issue with that is it is bad for the trailer and tires on it especially if the houseboat is really large.
To learn more about this process you can keep reading or check out the video below.
How to properly take your boat off its trailer with Master Shipwright Louis Sauzedde
How to block up a houseboat
Before we learn more about how to block up a houseboat we should first learn why you would need to block up a houseboat in the first place.
After purchasing your houseboat, you may want to take it off the water and keep it in storage for some time normally during the off-season. This is when you would need to use blocking. Here is how to block your houseboat efficiently to avoid any damage when it is in storage.
Consider climate conditions
The first thing that you should consider while blocking up your houseboat is to consider the climate conditions of the place where you will be blocking your houseboat at. If you live in a place where the climate is extreme, it is always better to take some extra effort to block your boat in a way that reduces the risk of any kind of damage due to ice or snow causing your boat to shift.
Invest in a good chine or keel
If you are indeed planning on blocking your boat during the off-season, make sure you invest in a good keel or chine. The keel or chine should be able to easily handle the weight of the houseboat but a good keel or chine is very difficult to decide on when you are considering the many options that are available on the market as they all claim to be the best.
However, you can always ask for some help from experts or people on online forums to help you make the best purchase for yourself.
In the earlier days, it was difficult to get professional help for your boating troubles but today you will easily be able to find help with many professional and online help services so this shouldn’t be a problem for you.
You will want to make sure you do not fall prey to easy online “hacks” that do not have any verified sources or reliable reviews. Do all your research about blocking and blocking products on verified sites and trustworthy online forums that provide trusted and tested information.
You do still have to be careful on online forums as virtually anyone can say anything on them so double check any information that you get from individuals on there.
Now that you know a little bit more about blocking up your houseboat we want to discuss why houseboats seem to be all the rage these days. If you’re willing to purchase a houseboat anytime soon, then you should carefully consider each of these.
Here are a few reasons why houseboats are loved by many people around the world.
A boat and a house in one place
How many times have you wanted an apartment with a beautiful view of calm and soothing water? If you are someone who loves being around water or if you are someone whose profession requires you to be around water most of the year, then houseboats are likely a perfect purchase for you. Not only is a houseboat the perfect place to relax most houseboats are also very spacious and well-designed giving you the feel of a perfect, cozy home.
Affordable
Believe it or not, houseboats are indeed more affordable than many apartments these days. If you are looking for a convenient, beautiful and affordable place to stay then you may want to consider buying a houseboat. Even if you do not plan to stay on a houseboat permanently, a houseboat is a great alternative to an expensive house, apartment or vacation house that would certainly cost you far more to buy and to upkeep as well.
Affordability is among the many reasons why so many people are purchasing houseboats these days.
Creative designs
A houseboat being an amalgamation of a boat and a house is indeed one of the most creative creations in itself. However, it is because of this reason itself that designers can get even more creative.
Nowadays, houseboats are so beautifully designed that they may put any mainstream apartment or house to shame. If you love the peace and quiet and are someone who loves to experiment with their place of residence, houseboats are definitely the best for you.
Great views
If you are tired of the conventional view of the city and want your eyes to witness the serene beauty of nature then you can definitely go for a houseboat. Waking up to beautiful sunrises and being able to witness the most colorful sunsets are among the many reasons why more and more people are looking forward to buying houseboats.
Now that you know why you should consider purchasing a houseboat, let us see a few points you should consider before making a final decision on a purchase:
PRICE RANGE: for obvious reasons it is always better to plan your price range way ahead of time before setting out to purchase your ideal houseboat. Houseboats are long term investments and price should be given plenty of consideration.
TRUSTABLE SOURCE: make sure you purchase your houseboat from a trusted source and do not purchase anything in haste. Make sure you test out the houseboat carefully before purchasing especially if you are purchasing a used houseboat.
After you have purchased the houseboat of your choice, you will then have to decide if you want to block it up during the off-season or if you will simply leave it in the water year around.
Conclusion
I hope this article has been helping in getting you on the right path towards blocking up your houseboat. In all honesty, there are many ways in which you can block your houseboat. You just need to find a way that suits your houseboat perfectly.
Blocking your houseboat may be tiring work so it is always the best if you do so with your friends and family or people who have done it before.
Now that you have all the information about what to remember before purchasing a houseboat and how to store a houseboat in case the need arises, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and purchase the houseboat of your dreams.
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