We’re thrilled to have you join us on the Aurora houseboat. Lake Powell is one of our favorite places and we hope you’ll enjoy your time there as much as we do.
Over the years we’ve developed some basic rules and reminders that are designed to help all of our families enjoy spending time in a shared space. We ask that you go over the list below with your kids so that we’re all on the same page. Then, we ask that you oversee enforcing these rules for your own family during our time at Powell. It’s going to be an amazing experience!
The Rules and Reminders:
- No work or stress from back home are allowed on the boat!
- Sleeping in the first-floor family room, second, and third floors is open to anyone in public areas. If multiple people are interested in sleeping in the same area please take turns and be mindful of others.
- Bedding in shared areas (listed above) needs to be put back in rooms or stored out of the way within a short time after waking up. Please do not leave bedding on couches or in walkways.
- There are three full bathrooms on the houseboat. Each family should only use their assigned bathroom. There is a half bath in the upstairs kitchen anyone can use. Please keep all clean.
- Please make sure you flush the toilets correctly. Use enough water to flush everything down and help it dissolve but don’t use so much that it floods the holding tank. Families you’ll want to use the odor chemicals throughout the week otherwise you’re in for a surprise halfway through the week.
- Clothes and lake towels should not be left around the houseboat. Clean up after yourself. Families look out for your crew.
- Please make an effort to turn off lights in hallways and bathrooms after people begin going to sleep. Lights left on bleed into rooms of people trying to sleep. Parents please police lights after your kids use areas at night.
- Please manage your use of snacks and drinks. We have enough gatorades and sodas for each person to have two small gatorades and no more than two sodas a day. If you need more bring your own personal supply.
- Please mark red cups with sharpies for repeated use.
- Snacks left outside your room are considered community property (they disappear soooo fast if leave it out)
- Water bottles are for use on the wakeboard boats, hikes, etc. Water drank on the houseboat should come from the sinks or the filtered water station.
- Please police yours and your kids closing exterior doors especially when they’re closed to keep toddlers inside.
- Please try to keep personal items from being left out in shared spaces (fishing poles, beach towels, shoes, toys, etc).
- Please remember that the community snacks and food need to last us the entire time on the boat. In other words maybe don’t eat half of the oreo box, half a bag of chips, or three bowls of cereal a day (Cereals, treats, and some snacks can disappear quickly without a watchful eye.)
- Games should be put away by those who played them.
- Please clean up after yourself after meals. Put food away. Throw paper plates away.
- Anyone who wakes up early should try to stay quiet so that others can continue to sleep.
- Lifejackets must be worn by anyone under 13 while on the houseboat (or any other watercraft) when it is moving (state law).
- Please turn off the waterslide water pump when you’re done using it.
- Kids should only use the waterslide when parents are in the area (making sure no one is under the slide before the next person goes down as serious injuries have happened)
- Fishing with hooks should not be done on the back deck when people are swimming or congregating in that area. Before you fish look to make sure no one is hanging out below you or around you.
- Keep an eye out around you when fishing – parents please police).
- Please make sure you clean your feet when walking onto the houseboat from the beach. There are two buckets placed along the ramp to the houseboat. Please put your feet in both to clean them. If the buckets are full of sand please take a turn emptying them out and filling them with water from the hose on the houseboat porch.
- Please make sure you hydrate. That means drink more water than you think you need. It’s easy to forget you may be getting dehydrated even though you’re in water all day.
- Use sunscreen. Or don’t and get ready to learn a painful lesson.
- Jetski rules:
- Children under 12 can steer a jetski only if a parent is on the jetski sitting behind them
- Children 12-17 can drive a jetski solo only if a parent is on another jetski at the same time and in the same area policing their usage
- Any damage to a jetski must be repaired at the expense of whomever was riding the jetski at the time of the damage
- No one riding a jetski should ever leave the area within eyesight of the houseboat without another jetski following them in case they get stranded (there is no way to call for help on the jetskis)
- Please always check the gas meter on the jetski before leaving the houseboat
- Please take turns using the jetskis and be sensitive to others wanting to use them.
- Life jackets are required by law for anyone using a jetski.
- Paddleboard and kayak rules:
- Children under 17 should never leave the area within eyesight of the houseboat.
- Children under 12 should never be on these watercraft alone without their parents watching them from the houseboat or beach.
- Lifejackets should be worn at all times on these watercraft by children under 12.
- The watercraft and paddles should always be pulled a couple feet out of water when they are beached. The paddleboards should be beached with the padded side facedown to prevent sun damage to the pads (parents please police).
- Please take turns using the watercraft and be mindful of others.
- Please try not to scrape up the watercraft on rocks, etc.
- Damage to these watercraft will be repaired at the expense of whomever was using them when they were damaged.
- Weather precautions:
- The houseboat should never be left without at least two adults on it.
- If windy or stormy conditions appear imminent everyone should return immediately to the houseboat.
- One jetski or the wakeboard boat should be left at (or within earshot) of the houseboat at all times (in case someone needs to be transported for emergency medical attention).
- In case of a severe storm (could be just intense wind) everyone should return inside the houseboat on the first or second floors, get out of the water, and make sure all watercraft are tied up and loose items are out of the water and firmly up on the shores. No one should be on the back or front decks during a severe storm and NEVER in the water.
- Family cleaning assignments:
- It’s everyone’s job to clean up after themselves (see rules above). In addition each area has one family responsible to doing a cleaning of it once a day (this does not mean it’s their job to keep it clean all day long or put other people’s stuff away)
- Each family is responsible to make sure the area assigned to them is vacuumed, swept, wiped down, and given a good daily clean up sometime between lunch and dinner everyday – (parents and kids)
- Main floor hallway, beach deck, and kitchen area: Hill
- Main floor family room, back deck, and beach area: Davis
- Second floor shared space (eating, couch area, deck): Larsen
- Top floor, both stairways, and 2nd floor bathroom: Everyone
- The back of the houseboat is often the messiest spot — each evening, every family can help tidy it up:
- Take your clothes back to your rooms
- Stack and organize gear — put fishing supplies in the corner
- Put away the bait
- Fold or stack the towels
- Throw away any trash
- When everyone pitches in, these busy areas stay so much nicer for all of us!
- The boats are always open to everyone — you’re constantly invited! Don’t wait to be asked; if you’d like to go out, just ask to jump on.
The main point is that we all need to clean up after ourselves and make sure we keep the boat as clean as possible since it’s a tight space for so many people for an extended period of time. This trip will be amazing! We’re so glad all of you are here.