Ray's house boat is a beautiful space to stay. The interior space is newly renovated, tastefully decorated, and well maintained. The bed is extremely comfortable, and the a/c in the bedroom keeps the room at your perfect sleeping temp. The living/dining/kitchen doesn't have a/c and can get warm (the high temps when I was there were in the upper 60's to low 70's so it doesn't take much to warm the place up), but once you're home and open the sliding glass door, it's get comfortable quickly. The place has everything a real home needs to be a home, a fully stocked kitchen, a great sound system, great bathroom, and a full-sized washer/dryer.
Ray is a terrific host. He greeted me when I arrived, and showed me around the house boat. He gave me a few books on Amsterdam sights to see, and one book with hidden Amsterdam items. That's the one I used the most to find places to eat or have coffee. All of the places I tried from the book were terrific.
Ray's boat is next to the quay, so you have direct access from the boat to the street. However, there are 3 boats in front of Ray's boat between it and the canal, so there isn't really canal views from inside the boat. You can view the canal from the boat's deck. Even though the boat is surrounded by neighbors, it was quiet. There is no noise from the neighbors' boats, even when the neighbors are there. It's a really quiet spot in the center of Amsterdam.
The boat is centrally located. I never used the metro or a tram the 8 days I stayed in Amsterdam. The best part was its location in relation to Centraal Station, where the trains to/from the airport (and other cities in The Netherlands) come in to. The boat is 600 meters from the station, so it's an easy walk when you arrive and leave, or take a day trip.
I'd definitely stay at Ray's again. He's a super friendly and helpful guy, the boat is a modern space, that felt like home, in a quiet section of central Amsterdam, and the location was perfect for walking off all the Stroopwafels and Dutch pancakes I ate. Staying on a house boat in Amsterdam is a unique experience, and Ray's boat is a well decorated house, that happens to be a boat.