[luxury houseboats] well no, thank you

Having only just this morning finished my latest design for an outrigger long range cruiser and feeling quite pleased about it, I clicked on The Age to see what was going on and came up with this:

The Perfect River Houseboat

Travelling on the world's great waterways is always an evocative experience. From the endless rice paddies that frame the mighty Mekong to the rugged grandeur of the Yangtze and the Mississippi's river boat gamblers, river voyages induce thoughts of romance, history, culture and commerce.

As one of Australia's greatest rivers, and the fourth longest navigable waterway in the world, the Murray River is awash with a past that resonates of trade and early settlements.

In the open-plan kitchen of our five-star houseboat, the espresso machine silently brews cappuccinos and there's the unmistakable pop of a champagne cork from the rear deck. It seems that going with the flow on the Murray River is an inevitability as we prepare to literally cruise through the day.

Now I have never been one for paying exorbitant money to fly into a "resort area" and stay at some 4 or 5 star cloned hotel, along with the whole tourist populace. Nor will I stay at a 2 or 3 star, as you can have that at home. You want something different on holiday.

A slow safari/cruise in some sort of comfort is nice. But here's the thing - the houseboat in the picture above is way over the top, far too much at odds with its surroundings, sticking out like a sore thumb.

An old style paddle steamer in wood, low, river hugging, gently chugging along - that's a thousand times more preferable than crisp linen sheets and silver service.

Each to his or her own though.