Well....I did the math and having a pontoon boat (*or any houseboat, pontoon, etc) costs quite a bit. The only way it is cost effective is if you go several times per year. If you are a hit powell every year or two kind of person it is definitely cheaper to rent...especially if you go off season.
Even without a pontoon or house boat, a week on the lake will cost about $500 car gas, $75/ day boat gas = $375 assuming 5 days boating, food=$35/day more than normal=$245 for 7 days. That comes out to about $1130 for a week on Powell if you camp. Adding a houseboat with houseboat gas costs between $3500 and $10000+ depending.
Anyways, for this year, I think I am going to try and figure out a good way to transport gear and gas to a remote site. Jon boats have a published weight limit of about 500-600 pounds for a 12 footer. I wonder if I can go up 1000 if I keep the weight low and put a cover on it. I've definitely seen 1200 pounds of bubba in them down on the red river.
Someone should start a resupply service on Powell where they boat in supplies to folks at remote campgrounds.
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