The Pink Flamingo in Arizona

Feb 19, 2014 – Sorry to all of those looking for a Hobo but the Too Cute has been sold to some friends who are taking even better care of it than I did.  But I wanted to keep the memory of her alive for the future so I’m leaving the old post up.

Although she is hard to part with it looks like it’s time to let the Too Cute find a new home with someone who will utilize this awesome boat more.  With the move to Arizona we decided to take the Pink Flamingo and we do not get enough use out of that and Dixie’s Dinghy as it is to bring the Too Cute out also.   Although it would make a great little houseboat to leave up at Lake Powell to sneak away a few weekend out of the year but I just hate letting the little boat sit so much.  We used it extensively on the Chain O Lakes in Northern Illinois and it was the second of 3 boats out there.  Our friend Gary was given the first one that had sat at a friend’s marina for years and named it the Q-Tee since he also likes to golf.  I found mine a few years later and named it the Too Cute (2 Cute) for being the second.  Another friend Don then found one and named his the Cutie Pi for the third.

These Hobo mini trailerable houseboats were built in the 60’s through early 80’s I think.  There were several different manufacturers like Sea Camper and Land N’ Sea that made trailerable houseboats back in those days but the Hobo was probably the smallest and also the cutest I’ve always thought.   When out in it we are constantly being stopped and asked questions about it and told how cute the boats are.

At 18′ long it’s fairly easy to trailer with a normal size truck.  I’ve pulled it with my 1990 Dakota with a V8 for short distances but you probably want something a bit larger for longer trips.  The brochure says the boat was supposed to weigh 1900 lbs, another 300 for the engine, and a few hundred more for the contents.  Not sure on the weight of the trailer but all total you are probably looking at 3000 lbs or more.

It’s an 1975 18′ Hobo that I’m the 2nd owner of and bought it off Ebay in August of 2005.  Originally it had a 1975 3-cylinder 70 HP Johnson and had sat for years .  I had the transom replaced and mounted the 1986 90 HP Johnson on it that I had grown up skiing behind on our family’s boat.  The Johnson still runs awesome and the compression is between 118 and 122 on all cylinders last I checked it probably 3 years or so ago.  We had removed the oil injection years ago so you have to mix the oil now but it’s not a problem for me and everyone I talk to says it’s be the best way to go with these engines anyways.  It’s the fastest Hobo on the Chain as it beats Gary’s by about 1 or 2 MPH and will easily get on plane with 6 people in it.

After replacing the transom we mounted the composite wood under the sides with stainless screws and then screwed on a rubber handrail from an escalator with stainless screws. We did this first on our friend Gary’s Hobo and it’s really awesome both for looks and functionality.  Since the handrail is steel belted even you’re really going to have to hit something hard to do any damage compared to the cheap rubrail these originally had.

We also refinished the interior with new wood and relaminated the countertops in a nice blue and black color laminate.  There’s a small back table for the dinette that is not shown in the pictures also.

The inside besides the new paneling is pretty much original.  The front has an RV type flip sofa that can sleep 2 comfortably.  The back dinette can be put down to make another bed also.

The bottom sides are repainted in marine paint and are dark blue.  I had hoped to bottom paint the very bottom of it to make the algae easier to clean off but never got to that yet and haven’t really had too much of a problem with growth anyways.

It does have a small 120 volt fridge which did work although a bit noisy.  Never used it but we left it and the sink and the propane burner intact.  I would probably replace the regulator and hose for the stove on the back if I were to ever use the burner.

The trailer is a bit rusty but still very solid.  When I bought it I had a dealership in Ohio wire it with all new lights, put all new tires on it, and replaced all the bearings.  It did originally have brakes on it but they removed those as they were shot from sitting for so long.  I pulled it back from Ohio with our friends Escalade and it pulled great.

The topside needs some minor bodywork and paint someday.  The inside still has the original cushions and carpeting which I’m sure the new owner will want to replace also.

So if someone who is a bit handy wants to tackle the rest of it (the hard parts are done) this is a really solid boat and although I’m going to miss it I just have too many projects and boats to begin with.

Sold As-Is of coarse.  If travailing any distance you probably want to have the trailer bearings and tires checked as you should with any used boat.  We’ve maybe put 100 miles on the trailer after the big trip back from Ohio in 2005.

Here’s some pictures from the years.

PDF of Brochure Pages for Download