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This Nautaline was constructed in Tennessee in 1970. At this time, Nautaline was the houseboat division of Glastron Boats. It was made to be truly a top end houseboat. Prepare to be impressed.
It is powered by twin Chrysler 318 Series LA engines generate a total of 450 hp. These engines were used mostly in light industrial trucks and police cars, and are described by Allpar as loaded with low-end grunt, long lived, and practically bullet proof. The 318's are coupled to Dana™ stern drive units. The stern drives are oil filled and show very little signs of internal wear. The drives are gimbaled to allow them to lift up in the event of an impact with a submerged object. As an added measure of safety, the drives include a clutch that disengages the motor while the drive is shifted into forward or reverse. This is an automatic process that is controlled by the shift levers.
The Nautaline hull was manufactured as a planning hull and under the right conditions is supposed to reach speeds of up to 25 mph at 4000 rpm. (However, when fully loaded down with the 11 deep cycle batteries, don't expect planning).
The Nautaline 43' was known as the "Cadillac of Houseboats" and was built to lead the houseboat industry with innovations normally reserved for Yachts, yet still offer the spaciousness of a houseboat. The boat is a classic tri-level design that affords excellent visibility while underway, and loads of interior room in many different areas or "rooms". Nautaline and its nautical engineering staff won industry awards for design excellence. Once on board you'll understand why. Adding an extra 2' of beam creates a feeling of expansiveness both inside and on the top decks.
The hull material is thick, hand-laid matte and sheet fiberglass and thanks for high quality resins, even after all these years the hull is practically blister-free. While underway the bow rises to reveal a large freeboard and semi-V bow. It slices through even heavy chop or large boat wakes and is a pleasure to drive through rough water. Still, she drafts only about 28 inches making it a perfect delta or riverboat. At 9 mph she runs with minimal wake, and at speeds from 10-12 mph throws a huge wake. With the proper weight distribution, she starts to climb on plane at 12-15 mph, and is up on plane at speeds of 15-20 mph leaving only a minimal wake and lots of bow spray!
The gas crisis caused a major shift in the recreational boating market and Glastron was forced to shift their focus back toward smaller boats, and discontinued the Nautaline brand. Still, the hull mold lives on, being purportedly acquired by Fischercraft in Stockton, California (and possibly one another company).
On "Big Dog" a lot of thought and expense have been invested into the electrical system with the intent of having full time household current (120VAC) without running the generator, except on rare occasion. The system is built around the HeartTM Inverter which provides power for AC loads up to 1,800 watts. No special 12 volt devices are needed, just plug in and go. This also allows for a full sized, full time refrigerator. The invertor is powered by a separate deep cycle battery bank located in the bow. (there are a total of 11 batteries on board).
One battery bank powers the engines/Genset and a separate battery bank powers the invertor. Each bank is charged by any one of 3 power sources: Shore power, onboard generator, or when the engine alternators. 150 amp alternators are split: the port engine charges the engine battery bank while the starboard engine charges the inverter bank. You can get by with far fewer batteries if you want to save some weight, or keep them for a huge onboard supply of AC power.
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