I've never been, but jus from what I know from other travel experiences, generally the more people you can get together the cheaper it gets (except for hotels cause they'll charge u extra per person) I'd say rent a house boat. I know there are a couple Marinas on Shasta that rent 'em out. Also if u're gonna do the house boat thing buy all ur food at the grocery stor it will be significantly cheaper than eating out or buying food from a marine store or somthin like that. Hope that helps, wish I could have been of more help, good luck and have fun!