Cumberland and Dale Hollow

I am trying to coordinate a 4 family houseboat trip

I don't have commitments from my friends yet, but could possible have 16 people. 8 adults and 8 kids.

I really want to go to Dale Hollow, but don't see a boat that sleeps more than 12. Cumberland has a monster boat that sleeps at least 16.

I have emailed a marina on Dale Hollow and am waiting for a reply

Do any of you Dale Hollow guys know if a marina there rents a boat that would sleep 16?

Cliff you might want to consider Norris Lake in TN, it's probably the best water for wakeboarding in the area. I drive past Cumberland and Dale hollow to get to Norris. It's further for me but worth it for sure. Flat Hollow marina would be your best bet for good water and houseboat rentals, (it's located on the mouth of Powell River) you might want to consider a floating house. I have stayed in a couple of their floating houses, and the kids loved it. I have never rented their houseboats, but I found a link with the info.

Houseboat
http://www.flathollowmarina.com/new_houseboats.html

Floating house (I have stayed in this one)
http://www.flathollowmarina.com/rentals/excalibur/index.php

P.S. Some of the marinas have board shops too!
http://www.grides.com/NorrisLakeLocation.htm

thanks Paul
we spent a week on Norris 2 years ago
great lake
the floating house is a great idea thanks

No problem Cliff. We had two families and several kids on our trip. The floating house is the best experience that I have had on any lake. You could also rent two of the smaller ones that are right next to each other. Another plus is most of the floating houses are only a couple of years old. When we talk about doing vacations every ones first choice is Flat Hollow floating houses. I have stayed in this one a couple of times. http://www.flathollowmarina.com/rentals/lakehouse/index.htm

it's too small for 16 people, but it's the nicest one that I have stayed in. It has a gate around the patio to help keep little ones in.

Hot tub and water slide are a must.

Cliff I think most boats on DH sleep 12, 6 queens sizerooms and a pull out couch. We sometimes stick the kids in a tent on shore or up top to accomaadate such a large group. Or how about 2 boats?
Try sunset marina they have new boats and easy to get to the marina, reasonable priced. Also try Wolf River, there boats are smaller but ALOT cheaper than others on the Lake and Brand new. Hope this helps, let me know when your there. we're there almost every weekend.

We argree with Paul, Norris Lake allows for better water. Most boats on the lake are smaller than 25'. Flathollow is fun and can get loud on the weekends. Grides also offers lessons and gear. We rent our condo that sleeps 9 thru www.norrislakeproperties.com (our unit is #5 or E) but all the pictures are of our unit. They have houses and condos at Flathollow and Lakeside. The good thing about Lakeside is the ramp is within development and the walks from the houses to the docks are some of the shortest on the lake.



This is the view from our deck.

http://www.wisdomdock.com/86.shtml

check out wisdom dock at dale hollow.

I love Dale Hollow. We rented at wolf river resort and marina 2 years ago. we had a 72 footer for $2400 for the week. seeps 12 though. No hot tub which kinda sucked. Now they only have the 72 footers and there 3400 now. We also rented from East port marina. There 80 footer is sweet. has hot tub tube slide regular slide and water cannons. sleeps 14 if you count the pull outbed. its like 3800 for the week. The only down fall to that marina is they are off the beaten path a bit. takes about a solid day of constant driving to get to the center of the lake.

Hey paul, is the water at norris clear like it is at dale hollow and cumberland? I dont care but the wife likes it. We are actually now thinking of hitting up norris this summer. Thanks for the sweet link.

Norris is just a bit more clear than Cumberland and Dale Hollow. They are all very similar, but Norris has a ton of houses on the shoreline and smaller marinas. A super cool guy rents Wakeboard boats on Norris also, www.Norriswakeboardsandinboards.com

what is the night life like on the norris if we wanted to venture out one night for drinks and dinner?

I would disagree with Tyler I love both lakes, but When I pull my boat from Norris there is a nice ring around the hull. I dont ever see that on DH.

Both lakes have a visibility of about 20 feet. When the pollen is out you will have rings on both, but they are easily wiped off. I had four boats that I left on Norris all summer. I took them out once every other week to clean and they are looking great after the end of the year.

Cliff the to best websites for these lakes are www.dalehollowlakeinfo.com
www.norrislakeinfo.com

The sites look bad, but they are loaded with information.

good luck and email me if you need some prices on houseboats for your group. (I do not rent them but I have list of all the pricing on the lake)

Snippy

The night life of Norris is great.

Sequoyah marina has wing and corona night on Friday.
Twin Coves has a band almost every Friday and they have good food with beer on tap.
Stardust has several bands that play on Saturdays.
Hickory Star and Deerfield have great Restaurants.
And Flat hollow has Karaoke, and other events.

Thanks for the great info Doug!

I ride on Norris quite a bit and you cant go wrong. The lake is very clean and as Doug said there is plenty of night life and good food around to.

what are the lake temperatures in march and april?

I was out on Norris at the end of March last year, and it was in the mid 40's. It was a little cold but still ride-able.

March and April Im not going to lie are still a little cool but with a wetsuit its all good. April it starts warming up pretty quick just takes a while for the water.

Jo
This is an average, but jason is right we usually do full suite in March and heater top in April.

Jan. Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

33.3 37.0 46.6 55.6 63.1 70.2 73.6 72.7 66.6 55.8 46.8 37.6 54.9

sorry they do not line up.

thanks for all of the info guys

looks like at least 1 family of the 4, is not interested

so...we will see,if, and how many.......

with regards to water temp, you guys are funny...

we were on Norris 2 years ago at the end of July

my kids didn't wanna do morning sets 'cause the water was cold

our lake temp here at the end of July is normally between 93 and 97

why is the lake temp at norris a lot cooler than dale hollow? Last coupe times at dale hollow its been like in the 90's. I dont mind 70 degree water. Whats the air temp in late july early aug like?

I've done both Dale Hollow and Cumberland in the last few years. You guys convinced me to look into Norris though...a floating house sounds sweet!

Maybe see some of ya'll around down there.

snippy
its been a couple of year, but it seems like the mornings (fog on the water) were in the 70's

the water was warmer than the air

that was late July

thanks. I think we may be booking a floating house at flat hollow. I love the houseboat but the house looks sweet and no worries about gas docking ect

Floating houses are great you cant go wrong. I live in knoxville so im fortunate and close but we rent a floating house atleast 2-3 times a year.