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Houseboating on Shasta


kb3

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We are taking a week long trip on Shasta starting the 9th of September. I have never been on Shasta and am really looking forward to the experience. I would appreciate anything and everything others have to offer as to making it a successful trip. We are renting the boat out of Jones Valley Resort. Any ideas on what direction we should go exploring, what to bring, how to tie up the Bu to the houseboat, etc would be great.

Thanks in advance

Ken

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We are taking a week long trip on Shasta starting the 9th of September. I have never been on Shasta and am really looking forward to the experience. I would appreciate anything and everything others have to offer as to making it a successful trip. We are renting the boat out of Jones Valley Resort. Any ideas on what direction we should go exploring, what to bring, how to tie up the Bu to the houseboat, etc would be great.

Thanks in advance

Ken

I've only been on Shasta once and that was for a day trip about 3 weeks ago. It was beautiful. Water was about 20 ft from the top. We went up the McCloud arm all the way up. Great water up there, per SacRiverRat, and he was right. After Labor Day though, the HB companies told us you'll more or less have the lake to yourself...... so you may not need to travel too far from the marina area.

SacRiverRat does a big HB trip there very year, so he can definitely give you some pointers. BUT, you'll have tow wait for him to come back from his honeymoon before you get those tidbits of advise Whistling.gif

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I'm a fan of the Mccloud arm and definately make a point to visit the caverns. The kids will love it. You can park your boat and take the ferry across the mccloud arm, I think it's located about half way up the arm.

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thanks guys...

Mike...can you give me more info on these caverns? I have never heard about them.

Ken the Lake Shasta Caverns are pretty cool. When we went we parked at the dock under the caverns. We didn't bother with the shuttle. Things may have changed since then.

The only down side is they are a little pricy. But other than that, they're cool. The kids will love them.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Bringing it to the top one more time before the trip. Anyone else have any input to add? I would appreciate any other pointers or comments.

Ken

Ken,

I will chime in here. We just got back from shasta yesterday. We rented a housbot out of Silverthorn which is right around the corner from Jones Valley. We found a really nice spot for our houseboat on the Squaw creek arm which is very close to where you will be launching.

To get there leave Jones Valley and turn left. This is the Pit river arm. When you get to the main part of the lake turn right this will be the Squaw creek arm. There is a sign on the right side of the arm which will tell you which way to go. Kind of like a highway sign. Stay on the right side of the arm and turn right into the first long cove you will see, about 1/2 mile. Follow this all the way to the back and there is a small cove on the right where we stayed. You can also just follow the pit river arm up and there are other spots. But the one i described was the nicest we found. Secluded with no body else around and it gets shade early than most spots so you get some relief. I would guess about 30 to 40 minutes one way.

We went up the Pit river arm at first but there were a lot of trees sticking out of the water on the right and not too many places for the houseboat.

We also found the best water for riding on the Squaw arm.

We didn't visit the caverns as we were having too much fun on the water. We did call for prices which were steep. $20.00 for adults and $12 for children 5 to 11.

I fyou have any questions i would be happy to try and help.

We had a great time. Shasta is a great lake! Let us know how it goes when you get back.

David

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Make sure you loosen the ropes and back up the houseboat off the shore a little every day so you don't get stuck!

Have fun!

That's good Shasta advice. I've been there before when we stayed on the lake for 2 weeks and had the water level drop around 12 to 15 feet in that time. We've had some interesting times getting some of the beached houseboats off the shore.

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...what to bring, how to tie up the Bu to the houseboat, etc...
Past threads about houseboating...

Houseboat Help / Anchoring

Towing Behind A Houseboat

A 2nd Towing Behind A Houseboat Thread

Have a great trip and be safe. :)

Michael,

Thanks for the links....I searched and read those several weeks ago. Hoping Troy will chime in with his expert advice....but now that he is married....he probably doesn't know much anymore Surprised.gif

Ken

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Just got back Saturday from Shasta. Best gas prices we found on the lake was Packers Bay (conveniently we rented our HB there). Prices we saw were as follows as of last week:

Packers Bay $4.17/gallon

Bridge Bay $4.95/gallon

Silverthorn $4.65/gallon.

Another nice spot we found was just west of Silverthorn marina on the south side of the lake. Went way back in and had good protection from the wind.

Are you getting the Titan with the tube slide out of Jones Valley? We found some people with one who were kind enough to let us take a tour and it is bling bling (it had a washer and dryer if that tells you anything). Interestingly they had to RLX's tied to it. Is that anyone here? If so thanks again to Debbie for the tour.

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I'm glad spooogy liked the squaw.. the thing I don't like about the squaw, is all the little random islands (not in areas you'd necessiarly expect - though usually marked) and the number of boats usually found up in the smoother areas

The end of the lake (or river or whatever) is purdy though.. worth a look-see up there.

My all time personal favorite is the McCloud though - once you get up past Herz bay, you can almost always find great water up there, the traffic isn't bad either. and a pretty long run of smooth area (vs ridding back and forth in the same little pocket)

My very least favorite it the Sac arm, it is way too busy, and blown out, and well - not as purdy ;)

If this is your first visit to the lake, I suggest you plan to check it out. It is big and diverse. If you don't look around, you won't know what you're missing. Maybe pick an arm to visit each day. It is worth the cruise around

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Oh, and sorry for the delay on the chime in ;)

As for the gas, Holiday Harbor and Lakeview, both on the McCloud arm have decient prices.

Packers Bay is by far my fav little marina & HB rental joint..

If you get tired of cookin for yourself, there is a cute little coffee house cafe' thing at Holiday Harbor, we do that for breakfast on occasion, and if you'd like something for dinner... the Tale 'O the Whale at Bridge Bay isn't bad... the view is nice, and makes for a nice change of pace - evening out thing.

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Make sure you loosen the ropes and back up the houseboat off the shore a little every day so you don't get stuck!

Have fun!

That's good Shasta advice. I've been there before when we stayed on the lake for 2 weeks and had the water level drop around 12 to 15 feet in that time. We've had some interesting times getting some of the beached houseboats off the shore.

12-15 ft in one week, Shocking.gif

Ken have a good safe trip. :)

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Make sure you loosen the ropes and back up the houseboat off the shore a little every day so you don't get stuck!

Have fun!

That's good Shasta advice. I've been there before when we stayed on the lake for 2 weeks and had the water level drop around 12 to 15 feet in that time. We've had some interesting times getting some of the beached houseboats off the shore.

12-15 ft in one week, Shocking.gif

Ken have a good safe trip. :)

I believe that that water drop was over a 2 week period, still a considerable drop.

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Make sure you loosen the ropes and back up the houseboat off the shore a little every day so you don't get stuck!

Have fun!

That's good Shasta advice. I've been there before when we stayed on the lake for 2 weeks and had the water level drop around 12 to 15 feet in that time. We've had some interesting times getting some of the beached houseboats off the shore.

12-15 ft in one week, Shocking.gif

Ken have a good safe trip. :)

I believe that that water drop was over a 2 week period, still a considerable drop.

A foot a day is not that uncommon. McClure typically drops at that rate.

Oh and Kb3...with the height of your 247 you should be more than fine towing it along side the houseboat as long as you have good bumpers. I always tow my boat next to the houseboat when underway and have never had a problem, my HB or rental.

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A foot a day is not that uncommon. McClure typically drops at that rate.

Oh and Kb3...with the height of your 247 you should be more than fine towing it along side the houseboat as long as you have good bumpers. I always tow my boat next to the houseboat when underway and have never had a problem, my HB or rental.

Along side vs. behind? I guess I will have to take a look as to how the side of the houseboat lines up with the side of the 247.

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A foot a day is not that uncommon. McClure typically drops at that rate.

Oh and Kb3...with the height of your 247 you should be more than fine towing it along side the houseboat as long as you have good bumpers. I always tow my boat next to the houseboat when underway and have never had a problem, my HB or rental.

Along side vs. behind? I guess I will have to take a look as to how the side of the houseboat lines up with the side of the 247.

I prefer along side versus behind because the boat is right there and you get detach it from the HB quickly in case of emergency. Towing behind IMO can be more risky 1) because if you encounter a problem you may not be able to pull in the rope quick enough to react in time 2) you have to be more careful navigating obstructions or turns with a long line towing the boat behind you

It's just my opinion but do whatever makes you feel most comfortable.

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A foot a day is not that uncommon. McClure typically drops at that rate.

Oh and Kb3...with the height of your 247 you should be more than fine towing it along side the houseboat as long as you have good bumpers. I always tow my boat next to the houseboat when underway and have never had a problem, my HB or rental.

Along side vs. behind? I guess I will have to take a look as to how the side of the houseboat lines up with the side of the 247.

I prefer along side versus behind because the boat is right there and you get detach it from the HB quickly in case of emergency. Towing behind IMO can be more risky 1) because if you encounter a problem you may not be able to pull in the rope quick enough to react in time 2) you have to be more careful navigating obstructions or turns with a long line towing the boat behind you

It's just my opinion but do whatever makes you feel most comfortable.

I will see if I can get it tied along side....either that or behind makes me much more comfortable than having my wife drive it following behind ROFL.gif

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A foot a day is not that uncommon. McClure typically drops at that rate.

Oh and Kb3...with the height of your 247 you should be more than fine towing it along side the houseboat as long as you have good bumpers. I always tow my boat next to the houseboat when underway and have never had a problem, my HB or rental.

Along side vs. behind? I guess I will have to take a look as to how the side of the houseboat lines up with the side of the 247.

They're the same length.

BTW - how do you connect a boat "along side" of a house boat - I've been HBing many times, and never even seen this. We have never had a problem towing behind, and we've towed some low freeboard boats, MC 190 - several times, Echelon, Rlx.

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