Marinette Boat Forum

In the 1990's, we had a 32 FB Marinette. Kept it on Lake Cumberland, KY. We could not wait to get there on Friday night and head out to find a cove to tie up with our friends for the weekend. The cove was usually 15 miles away and we tied across the cove with ropes for security in case a storm brewed during the night. We ran the generator in the morning and evenings to keep the batteries charged. All day long, we were in the water floating and partaking of beverages. Life was good and fun. And gas was about $2 per gallon.

In 1998, we moved up to a 41 Marinette. For the first couple of years we coved out on the weekends, but soon found we most enjoyed our friends and water time. And, the evenings were too quiet with little to do. So, we started a new lake lifestyle. Use a pontoon to go to the swimming hole and leave the Big M at the dock as a home base. It was nice -- air conditioning, cable tv, internet, walk to the restaurant, walk for exercise in the morning, etc. So, we gravitated to only using the Big M away from the dock when the temperatures were too cool or wet for pontoon use. After retiring, we also sold our Ohio house and moved to the lake. Now, we occasionally take the Big M for an afternoon cruise because it is only minutes from the house.

Our friends and family are located at the dock and on the water, so we will likely always have a boat that we can sleep on and enjoy. But, the question arises about would I do it all over again? My 41 Marinette is worth about half of what I paid for it. If I had bought an aluminum hulled houseboat, it would be worth twice what it cost in 1998 and NO STAIRS. Given how our boating habits have changed, I would probably buy the houseboat. But, I own the Big M and it is in fantastic condition. So, we will continue to use it as home base.

Keep your eyes open for a Big M River Cruiser.

Hello,bpboater is your boat at state dock? If so I have walked by and gawked at her a few times. We live on the lake in Somerset and just purchased a 37 double cabin that we hope to start restoring and have in the water this summer. We have a long way to go and the fall didn't allow much work to be completed but we did get her transported from Indiana down to Somerset and have her close at hand to work on now.

Yes, my boat is at State Dock. To my knowledge, there is only one other 41 Marinette on Lake Cumberland. Marinettes are great for Lake Cumberland. Fibereglass boats tend to blister and delaminate on Cumberland -- somethings about the water. Aluminum hulled Marinettes just keep on floating. I hope you enjoy the 37, and have a great time restoring it.

You, like so may others, have learned the value of a floating condo on the water. What others have found is that, having a smaller boat used solely for the occasional cruise, makes even more sense--sort of like having your cake and eating it too.

One thing I must disagree with you on: going up and down stairs. Most of the larger houseboats I've seen, like the Holiday cruisers, have stairs somewhere, like to the berths. Hard to eliminate them completely.

Jeff

PS: Stairs is one of the things I HATED about my 32 footer, always going up and down, up and down, to the galley and salon. We had looked at a Carver that had the entire floor pan on one level (with stairs entering it, however. Hard to get away from them.) That's why we removed the flying bridge soon after we bought our 32 footer..