Any aussies in this thread?

[rhino]

how ya all giong? are there any aussies in this forum?
im looking into desiging/building a housebout but what i need first is some australian design standards to get the ball rolling. can anyone help me?

rhino

[hansp77]

Plenty of Aussies,
well at least a few,
but sorry I can't help you.

Hans.

[SeaSpark]

And some of them are looking for houseboat (pontoonboat) plans.

http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=11195

http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7851

http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3897

You can try to contact one of the above builders to ask about regulations.

[SeaSpark]

From the first thread:

The rules on building houseboats in Australia (new south wales-my state) states the pontoon must be made up of seperate 1.200mm sections and that each section can hold 3kpa,s of compressed airthere way of testing the poontoons for structual soundness.

To me these rules seem a bit strange but this is known to be the case more often with rules.

[waikikin]

Rhino, you could have a look at uniform shipping laws code - pretty sure you can view online or get from government book store- may be superceded soon by new documents, or standards Australia have a fibreglass standard & an aluminium one plus a design loading standard possibly- these can be bought or if you attend a tech, access may be inclusive with your fees. If your building for hire & drive(charter) you've pretty much gotta engage a NA for your submission to pass state regulatory requirements. Some stock plan agencys such as Bodens/Buildaboat etc may have something already drawn that suits you.Regards from Jeff.

[raw]

Rhino,

What is this houseboat going to do? How big is it? What material? Best Bet is to engage a NA for help as the standards listed are not exactly easy reading, plus have a number of follow on effects that would need to be considered.

If you get stuck, ask here again.

[MikeJohns]

Originally Posted by rhino

how ya all giong? are there any aussies in this forum?
im looking into desiging/building a housebout but what i need first is some australian design standards to get the ball rolling. can anyone help me?

rhino

Yes
I am a Prof Eng in Hobart. I suspect you will have some local restrictions on houseboats in NSW but if it is within a certain size and not commercial you will not need USL compliance. Go and talk to waterways and ask them what they require. Don't just build any design, you need something stable and strong enough.
We have designed pontoon based lifting barges to USL and there is no pressure requirement, usually we use 2-3 psi (no more than 20 pascals) to test them, the 20kpsi is a folly.

cheers

[waikikin]

Rhino, consider that even if your not considering a for hire type vessel, that a structurally compliant vessel for smooth water survey should be a goal as a good starting point & that every thing gets sold one day & all the better for you that income potential enhances resale substantially if constructed & finished nicely, note however that post build surveys can be destructive & difficult for vessels not inspected during construction esp' for some materials. Any well built vessel will cost some "real" money to construct so a bit extra for some good engineering & application can result in benifits of income, resale & of coarse the very important, pride of ownership.All the best in your endeavours, from Jeff.

[safewalrus]

'dunnys' tend to be waterproof - that gives you a standard to build to! Sorry Mike couldn't resist it! Probably lost me couple of points but what the heck!

[MikeJohns]

Mike
Ha ha...

By he way I have never taken points of anyone yet, prefer to talk directly !

Dunnys need to be waterproof at the storage end too, composting toilets work well on houseboats too in a warmer climate. Always tempted to design one for a yacht for in-harbour use, we'll save that for a new thread.

A lot of houseboats are just an extension of the rafts we tried to build as kids, there's a few huts on plastic oil drums floating around.

Cheers

[longliner45]

Aussies are ok with me not like them shitters from cornwall,,,,,,,,,,longliner

[longliner45]

just a cheap shot at walrus,,,,simmerdown ya ll

[rhino]

first of all, thankyou for all of your replies.

the craft i want to build will be used on weekends, and i want it to house about 8 people. thinking along the lines of aluminium for making a hull.

RAW: "What material? Best Bet is to engage a NA for help as the standards listed are not exactly easy reading, plus have a number of follow on effects that would need to be considered." not really up to the lingo, what is meant by a "NA"?

back to it, how do i design a stable hull? is there any formulae or general rule of thumb in regards to hull design that i should know about?

please be patient guys, before ii jump in the deep end i want to be certain that its feasible to take on aa project like this, as im not a boat builder just a fitter by trade with some ambitions.

thanks guys.

rhino.

[rhino]

Originally Posted by SeaSpark

And some of them are looking for houseboat (pontoonboat) plans.

http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=11195

http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7851

http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3897

You can try to contact one of the above builders to ask about regulations.

just read the above threads, the bottom link iis kinda something i would like to build. but atleast another 3 meters wider. does anyone know where one can pick up plans for a pontoon(i think thats what you call them) around that size?

[Poida]

G'day Rhino

Don't try to re-invent the wheel mate.

I reckon where you live there would be plenty of pontoons used for entertainment, we have them here.

Hire a bugger if you want to, take to her with a tape measure and measure her up. Also what people use around these parts are surf cats. Put an ali deck on them a canvas cover a barbie and an esky.

Ive got a surf cat I was going to use for that purpose but the price of an outboard was about the price of a complete boat.

Hence I bought a boat.

I was also thinking of making up a frame I could strap some 44s into. Strap them in with luggage hold down straps. When they rust out replace them.

Drums usually cost about $5 each. Plastic ones would be good.

Each drum will support about 150 Kgs but you would only want 50% under water so say 75Kgs. Pontoons are not generally high speed or dynamic just a platform for a few beers and a barbie.

Check the price of outboards B4 U start.

C Ya