SCAN ME
silent as the petrifi ed sand dunes all around us.
“This is what it would look like if you could go boating
on Mars,” Mike remarked. Taking in the blue-and-
orange palette around us, we had to agree.CATHEDRAL OF STONE AND LIGHT
On our last night, we gathered on the top deck to watch
the dying sun illuminate the walls on the other side of
Padre Canyon. The sculpted sandstone seemed to glow
from within, fading slowly in the twilight. We roasted
s’mores around our fi re pit at the lake’s edge. Storiesand laughter echoed in the darkness, and the nearly full
moon made the sugar sand look like snow.
Morning brought the fi nal to-do list, from pack-
ing our gear and retrieving our anchors, to preparing
the MasterCraft’s tow harness and taking a few fi nal
squealing trips down the waterslide. I’d grown fond of
the Wanderer. It might not be fast, it might not turn on
a dime, but it had allowed us to become more intimately
acquainted with this little corner of Lake Powell. Plus,
when combined with the X10, it gave us the chance to
make this cathedral of stone and light our own.TAKE A HOUSEBOAT
COURSE Operating a large
houseboat is not the same as
running a runabout or express
cruiser. Lake Powell Resorts &
Marinas offers houseboat educa-
tion courses, and you can earn a
discount on your rental.HIRE A PILOT If you’re still
nervous about maneuvering
in and out of the slip, hire a
marina pilot. They can also help
you choose the right spot for
anchoring.BRING A SECOND BOAT
A second watercraft lets you
scout for beach campsites,
explore more of the lake, and
enjoy activities like tubing and
wakeboarding. If one of yourcrew can run it, you don’t need
to worry about towing it around,
but you might need to carry
extra fuel for the second boat.TEAMWORK IS DREAM
WORK Before you depart, as-
sign jobs to your crewmembers.
Discuss each step and what
they’ll need to communicate to
the captain. Again, it’s a really
big boat.DON’T FORGET THE
GENERATOR You’ll need to run
it for approximately six hours
daily to keep the house batteries
charged. We chose to break it
up: three hours in the morning
and three in the evening. Turn
the genny off while beaching.
It uses lake water, so it will suckup sand and other debris in
disturbed shallows. When the
water settles down, you’ll be
able to run it without a problem.
Keep it off while the kids play.
Carbon-monoxide poisoning
is a real risk if children are
swimming off the stern or using
the waterslide.ANCHOR STRONG Bury your
anchors in 3-foot-deep holes.
Water levels can fl uctuate up to
10 inches, and storms turn the
canyons into wind tunnels; if
you’re unprotected, any wave or
wake could be threatening.PLAN CAREFULLY You’ll need
to plan everything, from meals
and fi rst-aid supplies to fuel.
Our houseboat fi ltered lake
water for drinking and cooking.
This is a remote canyon wilder-
ness with no easy way in or out.KEEP AN EYE ON FUEL
Be vigilant about monitoring
the houseboat’s fuel tanks, the
tanks aboard bonus watercraft,
and the auxiliary tank for
refueling those toys. Calculate
fuel-consumption rates and
understand how far you can go
with what you have.SAFETY FIRST Bring along
a registered personal locator
beacon (PLB) so rescuers can
fi nd you if needed. File a fl oat
plan with friends too.DON’T PUSH THE
ENVELOPE In this wild pocket
of the desert, it’s incredibly dark
at night. Buoys are not lit, and
exposed rocks might not be
on your charts at current water
levels, so limit your boating to
daylight hours. Then enjoy the
moonrise from the top deck.houseboat how-to
WANT TO TAKE A HOUSEBOAT EXCURSION? FOLLOW THESE TIPS.
With four
anchors
securing the
Wanderer to
the beach,
we had a
mothership
to return
home to at
the end of
every day. We
could sit on
the top deck
and watch
the moonrise.For more helpful
tips for taking a
houseboat, go to
boatingmag.com/
houseboattips or
scan this tag!BOATINGMAG.COM | MARCH 2018| 77