Bad weather, structural issues plague houseboats in Presque Isle State Park

A.J. Rao, Erie Times-News
Updated ·4 min read

The past several months haven't been so kind to the houseboats anchored in Presque Isle State Park.

Bad weather and structural issues grounded two of the 24 houseboats on Horseshoe Pond, while another, just in the past couple of weeks, found itself almost fully submerged.

Houseboats on Horseshoe Pond at Presque Isle State Park are shown here on July 22, 2022.
Houseboats on Horseshoe Pond at Presque Isle State Park are shown here on July 22, 2022.

The incidents are a stark reminder of houseboat living, which, while offering an idyllic retreat for houseboat owners, comes with a fair share of challenges.

"Everyone realizes that the winter storms can cause some issues, primarily with anchoring," said Mike Hirsch, a houseboat owner who's also president of the Presque Isle Houseboat Owners Association. "For the most part, people out there are problem solvers who are constantly working to keep their houseboats floating and in good shape."

Sunken houseboat to be lifted in mid-April

Lakeshore Towing Services President Eric Guerrein said a houseboat, which began to sink around mid-March and which has now completely submerged except for its roof, will be lifted out of the water by mid-April.

Guerrein said his divers have prepped the houseboat for removal but the company’s barge and crane are still in use at the North East Marina.

A houseboat on Horseshoe Pond, on the eastern tip of Presque Isle State Park, has sunk, as shown here on April 1, 2024.
A houseboat on Horseshoe Pond, on the eastern tip of Presque Isle State Park, has sunk, as shown here on April 1, 2024.

“I’m going to estimate it will probably be around the third week of April before we have the equipment to bring it up,” he said.

Guerrein said the houseboat is not leaking any hazardous substances. And because it’s already sunk, it’s “not really an emergency at this point.”

He said it's still unknown what caused the houseboat to sink and that more information will be gleamed once it's lifted from the water.

The houseboat is only the second houseboat in more than 30 years to completely sink, he added.

“The first one was in 1992,” he said. “We’ve had a few since then that have been partially sunk. But this is only the second one that was completely submerged.”

He said the houseboat, unlike the ones that partially sank, has only a single barge underneath it. That means if water breaks into that barge, the “whole thing goes to the bottom,” he said.

Guerrein said the roughly 50-year-old houseboat has been maintained over the years and that it was last lifted from the water for a major renovation in the late 1990s.

He said the owner, who comes from the Pittsburgh area, will make a determination on its replacement.

What's the status of the grounded houseboats?

Guerrein said two houseboats were also recently grounded, most likely due to the heavy wind storms that occurred over the winter months.

Guerrein said one of those houseboats was built on an old wooden frame that had already rotted. The wind storm, he added, was the "nail in the coffin" that pushed the houseboat into shallower water and into the mud.

"Part of it was stuck in the mud, the other part was in deeper water ― so it was just flexing and cracking the wooden structure underneath it," Guerrein said. "To get it floating again would have been very expensive and it just wasn’t worth it. We couldn’t even remove it from the mud without it breaking apart."

A grounded houseboat on Horseshoe Pond, in Presque Isle State Park, on April 2, 2024. The grounding was most likely caused by heavy winds over the winter months.
A grounded houseboat on Horseshoe Pond, in Presque Isle State Park, on April 2, 2024. The grounding was most likely caused by heavy winds over the winter months.

Guerrein said the houseboat was taken out of the water and demolished. He said the owner is building a new houseboat that is expected to enter the water in May.

The other grounded houseboat remains perched along Coast Guard Road.

Guerrein said he's not heard from that houseboat's owner and is unsure of their plans to repair or replace the structure.

Houseboat owners remain undeterred by incidents

Hirsch told the Erie Times-News on Monday that houseboat owners don't appear to be spooked by the recent houseboat incidents and that he's not aware of any houseboats going on sale.

"Every now and then, I will hear a rumor of a place going for sale but nothing credible," he said.

The spaces on the pond are leased for a 10-year renewable period. The state reserves the right to cancel any and all leases at any time with a six-month notice. The limit, as mandated by the state, is kept at 24, and no additional houseboats are allowed.

Houseboats use different types of flotation, from barges to plastic barrels to empty fuel tanks.

Hirsch said maintenance is an ongoing challenge.

"The two big things are anchoring and flotation — and if one of those systems fails, you got a problem," he said in an earlier interview with the Erie Times-News. "Every place out here, at one time or another, has had some issues, especially with anchoring. It's just constant maintenance."

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on X @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Weather, structural issues afflict houseboats in Presque Isle Park