bobowski Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Hey guys. So i'm planning on renting a house boat this summer for a vacation with the wife's family. I was wondering if anyone knows of any reputable companies where i would be able to rent a house boat for a week? Looking for something that is within a few hours of the GTA. Nice scenery and decent fishing would nice. I have never done the house boat thing but i have heard its fun from people who have done it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Look up "Pigeon Lake houseboat rentals" on GOOGLE and you'll find a few of them. They're a very popular vacation destination so you may want to book early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizzo Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 I have never done it, but have vacationed on Pigeon a few times and these suckers are everywhere. We always enjoy watching them struggle to get back home on the final day of the rental...always seems to be a strong west wind that day and I guess these things are a bit underpowered. Seems to take them hours to crawl across the width of Pigeon when the wind is blowing. Couple times I was tempted to go tow one across when it was making such minimal progress...but my cold beer on the shore had a stronger pull. They made it eventually! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 There is also Temagami. Have seen rentals there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captpierre Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Make sure you have good weather. Can be miserable in cold, rainy and windy weather. There are basic and higher end boats. Pigeon, Buckhorn and Chemong lakes are all connected without locks. Called Tri-lakes. Beyond that you can litterally go forever through the locks on the Trent system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmer Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Also, the Kawarthas have gotten very busy in the summer, so if you are looking for quiet, you might want to go the extra few miles to Temagami. I hear that the houseboats out of happy days on Pigeon are quite dear, but very comfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIFTER_016 Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 There are places that rent them around the Honey Harbour area on Georgian Bay as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobowski Posted February 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Thanks for all the responses guys. I will check those places out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioFisherman Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 https://www.canadahouseboating.ca/ Here is a list that includes rentals in Ontario, as far as a fishing platform? I imagine they catch a lot of wind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanD Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 If you find a house boat; you may want to think about having a small tinny to pull behind the house. If the rest of the family wants to anchor for the night or want to sleep in in the morning; your not stuck there with them. Jump in the tinny and go fishing or exploring. If the house boat's motor gives you troubles; use the tinny to get the house back to shore for safe anchorage. On windy days; you've got your own tugboat to get you where you want to be. My brother an another couple rented a house boat, for a 2 week vacation. He said he would have gone stir crazy; without having the tag along boat. Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister G Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 (edited) We houseboated 3 times in the Kawarthan's........ First time back in the mid 80's we rented from "Three Buoys" and their boat were FANTASTIC and NEW but they went out of business. Second time we use Egan and had nothing but problems with the frig in the boat. They met us twice and changed it out but that never helped us. It kind of ruined our vacation that week. Third time was Happy Days House Boats. I would rent again from them in a heartbeat...... Plan your vacation in JULY or early AUGUST and you will have great house boating weather........and yes we towed a tin fishing boat behind the house boat....... We used the included lock passes very much as we travel much of the Trent system with the house boat. One warning.......if you want to house boat around and not just tie up somewhere for much of the time, you are going to go thru at least $350 of gasoline. Just figure that cost into the total of your vacation costs. BTW the first time we took the insurance that was recommended on the house boat........but the last two times we declined it and save some big bucks.......read the fine print of the insurance and it's crappola...... http://happydayshouseboats.com/ Edited February 22, 2019 by Mister G To add link..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobowski Posted February 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 So many great responses and tips. Thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 If you decide on Temagami you'd better get your boat reserved PDQ. Most of the fleets are taken by yearly repeats and very little "fill in" spots for newcomers. Lakeland Airways / Three Bouys has 7 x 42' units that sleep 12 I believe and Leisure Island has a few dozen of their little brown houses. They would be my choice if I was going with the in laws as they'd have to have their own boat. They only sleep 4 and that would be 2 adults and 2 kids or two VERY friendly couples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch4113 Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 I will be going with Happy Days myself - for the first time. Leaving in a couple of weeks. Really looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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