Building a "houseboat"

[Bruce 01]

Hi, and thanks for a very informative website! I'm pushing 58, expect to retire by 65, and would like to build a "boat" meantime. More on that in a moment.

I've been a toolmaker all my life, self-employed for the last 23 years, and my shop is in my backyard. I know carpentry, basic plumbing and wiring, and have access to TIG and MIG welders. What I do NOT have is any boat-building experience. And my boating experience itself is limited to a small jet boat I bought 6 years ago. I never thought I would like boating that much, but the older I get the more I like it, and the less I tend to ride my relatively dangerous motorcycle, which I've been doing since I was 19.

I've been Googling around for some time now, checking out books, forums, whatever I can find, and this seems to be the best place to ask questions.

What I want to build is a simple, inexpensive, quasi "houseboat" from a used pontoon boat, which has yet to be aquired. Not really a houseboat, but just something for, say, two couples to spend overnight on. An enclosed cabin, a small room with chemical toilet, some sort of auxilliary power for lighting, radio, etc., a simple gravity feed faucet and sink for hand washing, etc. I do not want to build an ugly, amateurish-looking wooden shanty on floats.

I live in the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York, south of Rochester, and the boat will have to be trailerable. I may or may not leave it in the water for the summer, depending on a lot of things. The Barge Canal is only 20-30 miles away from me, and the ultimate goal is to travel on that for some weeks during the summer after I retire. That would likely just be me and my girlfriend, and the canal being dotted with towns, we would probably rent a room and eat at diners a lot, so it's not like we would be stuck on the boat for days on end.

The canal is an international waterway, so aside from construction tips and ideas, I need some good advice on what I can and cannot do as far as altering an existing boat, weight limits, other requirements, etc.

Any and all advice is welcomed, and thanks in advance.

[rasorinc]

Go to Glen L boat designs. They have 2-3 houseboat plans that can be towed. The forum there is mostly wood boat builders although we have steel and aluninum + fiberglass also. Everyone is very helpful and wants every newcomer to succeed. You will feel right at home and your skills and knowledge will be welcome. I was just looking over the houseboat plans for the dinette sizes--you will find one you like and most can be made longer. they also have trailer plans you can weld or bolt up.

I welcome you in advance, Stan Rasor (rasorinc)

[the1much]

i dont know how much work you WANT to do,,,,but i've seen vinyl walls and so on, for "party barges" (pontoon) and they looked really cool and FAST,,you can have walls all around ya,,and rooms for each couple,,,and they have shower add ons,,,then in morning,,unzip everything and ya ready to cruise,,,,thats just 1 fast and simple option ;)

[SamSam]

Here's what you want...
http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=18963&highlight=houseboat

[PAR]

Pontoons aren't the best way to get a fairly good size houseboat. They seem initially an easy way to provide floatation, but there are other issues to consider, such as the mechanicals all have to be on or above the weather decks, usual sharing living spaces.

http://www.boatdesign.net/gallery/data/521/medium/RYD-47.jpg

This may be bigger then you desire (50' LOD, 16' beam), but is one of my designs. I have smaller houseboats as well, including a number that can be trailered back to the house and parked, saving storage fees. My houseboat designs represent more of a ship like attitude then floating Winnebago, which unfortunately many seem to appear.

Drop me an email (click on my name) if interested in Belle or one of my other houseboat designs.

[Bruce 01]

Go to Glen L boat designs. They have 2-3 houseboat plans that can be towed. The forum there is mostly wood boat builders although we have steel and aluninum + fiberglass also. Everyone is very helpful and wants every newcomer to succeed. You will feel right at home and your skills and knowledge will be welcome. I was just looking over the houseboat plans for the dinette sizes--you will find one you like and most can be made longer. they also have trailer plans you can weld or bolt up.

I welcome you in advance, Stan Rasor (rasorinc)Thanks for the reply, Stan.

I looked that site over and it is way more complicated than what I want to do. I maybe should have made this point in my original post, but I have been making a living with my hands for 40 years, and believe me I get no real thrill out of it anymore, and in my spare time I usually do something other than create things with my hands.

The only reason I want to build this thing is because I don't have the money to spend to just go out and buy it. And I'm not sure there even is anything out there like I want: not really a houseboat, just an enclosed party boat, no more than 20 or so feet long, with a few creature comforts to spend a few days on. Probably the most important thing is the ability to sleep out of the weather.

I basically just want to build a simple floating cabin, using a purchased pontoon boat for a base. I don't need plans, just ideas as how this pertains to a boat, things to watch out for, and information about what I can or cannot alter so I am legal as far as the Coast Guard requires.

[the1much]

hahahaha,,,SamSam,,,that looks more like a "houseraft" hehe,,,,and i was Thinking of yours Par ;) ,,but Dam,,them things are biggones hehe,,i want 2 ,,i promise if you make me 1 i'll buy the other in a few years are so,,or so,, hehe ;)

[Bruce 01]

hahahaha,,,SamSam,,,that looks more like a "houseraft" hehe,,,,and i was Thinking of yours Par ;) ,,but Dam,,them things are biggones hehe,,i want 2 ,,i promise if you make me 1 i'll buy the other in a few years are so,,or so,, hehe ;)

LOL, I have to agree that boat is a bit ugly, BUT, after looking at the interior, it is exactly what I'm looking for -- maybe even a bit TOO fancy. But I would make some attempt to make the outside more appealing. But all in all, functionality is my main concern.

[Bruce 01]

Pontoons aren't the best way to get a fairly good size houseboat. They seem initially an easy way to provide floatation, but there are other issues to consider, such as the mechanicals all have to be on or above the weather decks, usual sharing living spaces.

http://www.boatdesign.net/gallery/data/521/medium/RYD-47.jpg

This may be bigger then you desire (50' LOD, 16' beam), but is one of my designs. I have smaller houseboats as well, including a number that can be trailered back to the house and parked, saving storage fees. My houseboat designs represent more of a ship like attitude then floating Winnebago, which unfortunately many seem to appear.

Drop me an email (click on my name) if interested in Belle or one of my other houseboat designs.

Nice looking boat! But way too big, too much work, and too expensive for what I want.

[tinhorn]

Search out "project boats" on eBay. I've seen a few dandies in the past few months. My own design is not nearly as fancy as PAR's:

[PAR]

A smaller houseboat (33' LOD, 9' beam) with a similar theme as Belle. This is "Floom" and a narrower version is available, for trailering without special permit.

[lazeyjack]

bruce , your user cp , does not allow emails or PM,s if you revise those preferences I can send you a houseboat which, at this stage I do not want made public

[alan white]

I have a dream to one day explore the American canal system. In fact, I am constantly working with a design, one that can sail or motor or even pole at times. Narrowness (8 1/2 ft), shoal draft (2 ft), and a structure that will drop to 5 1/2 ft above the waterline are the limitations.
The basis is a St Pierre dory with a lot of cockpit and a small cabin. The idea is one is going to be spending time on deck most of the time, so most of the accomodations are a large tent with roll-up sides.
This boat could take side trips onto lakes or even go a ways offshore and sail (if modestly).
A canal boat should be versatile, I think. Otherwise venturing out onto bigger water could be chancy. Canals also happen to have low bridges (in the old days on the Erie, the lowest-paying customers rode on top of the roof. It was not uncommon for an unwary passenger to be injured or even killed because they didn't duck in time.
To get under bridges, the sailing rig has to be struck.
The dory isn't everyone's cup of tea. While it is incredibly seaworthy, even a 28 footer will respond to ones movement about the boat by heeling due to its narrow bottom. It is exactly this quality that allows the dory to shrug off big rollers at sea, where its narrow bottom isn't as prone to being tripped as a flat and wide bottom might. That, lightness, and high ends are reasons that particular dory type is probably the most trusted simple boat ever designed (or maybe evolved).
The pontoon concept puts bouyancy way out to each side, and so it's assumed the platform is practically uncapsizable. In reality, however, the design is severely comprimised anywhere except in relatively calm water.
For one thing, tippiness from human movement is far different from instability when water conditions act on a hull.
Add to this the fact that pontoon boats carry their weight high up, and you can see why they would be real death traps if one were caught out in a squall (this can happen anywhere---- imagine adding a 6 ft box to the basic pontoon boat platform. Scary!
At least consider a boat-shaped hull, one that would allow your feet to be below the waterline, with a roof no more than 5 ft off the water, and with much of the accomodations having no headroom if not necessary---- berths, storage, eating area.
Get the weight down low. Make a snug and safe water camper, not a clumsy and unsafe box on tubes.

Alan

[Bruce 01]

bruce , your user cp , does not allow emails or PM,s if you revise those preferences I can send you a houseboat which, at this stage I do not want made public

Jack, I turned email on, but I cannot find any info about PMing. This format is used by nearly all forums now and they're nothing new to me, but usually the PM options are under "Messaging and Notification" but I don't see anything at all about it there or anywhere else under the user CP.

??

[Bruce 01]

I have a dream to one day explore the American canal system. In fact, I am constantly working with a design, one that can sail or motor or even pole at times. Narrowness (8 1/2 ft), shoal draft (2 ft), and a structure that will drop to 5 1/2 ft above the waterline are the limitations.
The basis is a St Pierre dory with a lot of cockpit and a small cabin. The idea is one is going to be spending time on deck most of the time, so most of the accomodations are a large tent with roll-up sides.
This boat could take side trips onto lakes or even go a ways offshore and sail (if modestly).
A canal boat should be versatile, I think. Otherwise venturing out onto bigger water could be chancy. Canals also happen to have low bridges (in the old days on the Erie, the lowest-paying customers rode on top of the roof. It was not uncommon for an unwary passenger to be injured or even killed because they didn't duck in time.
To get under bridges, the sailing rig has to be struck.
The dory isn't everyone's cup of tea. While it is incredibly seaworthy, even a 28 footer will respond to ones movement about the boat by heeling due to its narrow bottom. It is exactly this quality that allows the dory to shrug off big rollers at sea, where its narrow bottom isn't as prone to being tripped as a flat and wide bottom might. That, lightness, and high ends are reasons that particular dory type is probably the most trusted simple boat ever designed (or maybe evolved).
The pontoon concept puts bouyancy way out to each side, and so it's assumed the platform is practically uncapsizable. In reality, however, the design is severely comprimised anywhere except in relatively calm water.
For one thing, tippiness from human movement is far different from instability when water conditions act on a hull.
Add to this the fact that pontoon boats carry their weight high up, and you can see why they would be real death traps if one were caught out in a squall (this can happen anywhere---- imagine adding a 6 ft box to the basic pontoon boat platform. Scary!
At least consider a boat-shaped hull, one that would allow your feet to be below the waterline, with a roof no more than 5 ft off the water, and with much of the accomodations having no headroom if not necessary---- berths, storage, eating area.
Get the weight down low. Make a snug and safe water camper, not a clumsy and unsafe box on tubes.

Alan

Alan, thanks for your thoughts, they are good ones.

My original idea a few years ago was to buy the smallest cuddy cabin I could get, around 20 feet. But they all come with big motors and I am not interested in going 30-40 mph, with all the gas-sucking to boot (canal limit is 10 mph). And there really is no "living" space on a small cuddy anyway.

I want something simple, cheap (everything used except probably the motor), cheap to run, easy to maintain (no wood hulls) and I can't spend years making it.

The only big water around here is Lake Ontario, and I have no interest in going there.

[the1much]

o.k.,,,if i help ya,,you cant tell people im a computer guru,,hehe ;),,,under user cp,,,once you go there,,look at the list on the left,,bout 3' down,,theres a "edit options" click that,,,,then bout9 ' down,,hehe,,,theres all ya private messaging options,,
and i dont blame ya for not going to lake ontario,,,what a waste of water,,,bunch of "go fasts" and dirty.
need any more help,,,jus pm or email me hehehehhe ;)

[the1much]

and PPPSSSssssssst,,,lazy,,,,,,email them plans to me,,,ill explain them as well as i can to him hehehe ;) ,,over the phone of course hehe ;)

[alan white]

Alan, thanks for your thoughts, they are good ones.

My original idea a few years ago was to buy the smallest cuddy cabin I could get, around 20 feet. But they all come with big motors and I am not interested in going 30-40 mph, with all the gas-sucking to boot (canal limit is 10 mph). And there really is no "living" space on a small cuddy anyway.

I want something simple, cheap (everything used except probably the motor), cheap to run, easy to maintain (no wood hulls) and I can't spend years making it.

The only big water around here is Lake Ontario, and I have no interest in going there.

You need a displacement hull, one that is not designed to plane, but which is very efficient at low speeds. Not so common any more, but you could easily build one. The most easily driven hulls are sailboat hulls. If you found a hull designed to be (initially) stable without a ballast keel (a "centerboarder"), the hull, even if stripped of its sailing parts, would make a good platform for canal-boating.
In fact, there are many boats out there whose hulls are fine, but can be had for cheap because of damage to the rig, deck, etc..
A 25 ft hull about 8 ft wide would make a good candidate for conversion.
It would have an engine installation (preferrably inboard diesel or outboard four-stroke), water tankage, fuel tankage, stove, toilet, etc., etc., to salvage, not to mention cleats, lines, fasteners, and so forth.
You could get such a boat for $2k if you shop around.

A.

[Bruce 01]

You need a displacement hull, one that is not designed to plane, but which is very efficient at low speeds. . .
A 25 ft hull about 8 ft wide would make a good candidate for conversion.
It would have an engine installation (preferrably inboard diesel or outboard four-stroke), water tankage, fuel tankage, stove, toilet, etc., etc., to salvage, not to mention cleats, lines, fasteners, and so forth.
You could get such a boat for $2k if you shop around.

A.Well now we're getting somewhere! The sailboat hull is a very good idea and I am going to seriously consider it. There are zillions of sailboats in my area. Thank you!

[the1much]

my "retirement" house and my "perfect" boat,,is gonna be me, on my sailboat,,(with no sails) on my private pond (less then 50 acres) hehe ;)

[PAR]

I have a design for a 28' LOD, 7' 6" beam houseboat that was intended to work the narrow and shallow waters of south Florida. It's light weight, very trailerable and super easy to build, using mostly Home Depot/Lowe's building materials.

It's flat bottomed with a little rocker, has a flat transom, though could wear an elliptical transom for some style. It's powered by a 30 HP outboard, travels at displacement speeds only and sips fuel like a bird (about a gallon per hour).

The house structure is straight sided, the roof is a simple, common crown all made glue and screw, so epoxy and fiberglass work is minimized. It has no side decks along the cabin, but does have a fore and aft deck area for berthing and getting a tan or fishing. Flip down side decks could be arranged while at dock or on a mooring, but folded up for transport.

[rwatson]

Have a look at the Fast Motor Sailer - info at
http://www.ace.net.au/schooner/fms.htm

this is a Bolger design - this owner used a large motor, but you can put smaller ones on it. Being plywood, not rocket science either but will outlast most builders with little maintenance. The sailing rig is minimal, and optional.

The plans are only $US300 - if you can get in touch with Mr Bolger (slow replying to letters, but wont use email)

Phil Bolger, P.O. Box 1209 Gloucester MA 01930

I think it is a great size for towing, efficient accomodation layout, and simple to build.

Might suit.

[Bruce 01]

Thanks for your replies, PAR and rwatson, but I have no interest in building an entire boat.

[mucco99]

Looking for plans to incorporate 80 55 gal plastic barrels to build a float that i could build a house on

[partgypsy]

If you don't know anything about boat building, find a project hull and build whatever suits your fancy on top.
Try Scruton Marine in Ontario. They have lots of funky boats and they may have one to suit you. If you scrounge around just about any marina, they usually have something "interesting" in the weeds. Good luck.