where do you start?

I have just started to design my houseboat. However no one seems to know
the regulations for my state, dealing with a item. I really need help, this is my
dream house or boat. I all ways wanted one since I saw houseboat, where do
I go for any and all info on regulations on wiring, plumbing, just the spects.
thanks.

 

First check with your state dept of natural resources (or the equivalant) regarding their rules for houseboats and live-aboards. Some states are getting pretty tight about liveaboards.

Wastewater treatment and disposal is often an issue for houseboats. If it will be "permanently" moored in a marina, talk to your local city building department - city building codes for things like fire code may apply.

Check out the Coast Guard for general safety requirements for a boat of the size you're looking at.

 

www.uscgboating.org look into the section-----boatbuilders handbook. It has all you need to do it legal and with some pictures and wiring diagrams. You can print out the sections that you need as you read them.

 

Joyce, are you interested in designing your house boat or finding a design you can build?

The reasons I ask are many, but most importantly your understanding of certain engineering principles and disciplines are required in most states, before a local or state regulations office can sign off on such an undertaking.

This is much like designing a custom house (one that floats) and requirements covering several issues need be met. The easiest way to do this (from the regulator's perspective) is through a licensed architect. This saves them the bother of dotting each "I" and crossing each "T" because the architect can be held responsible, allowing them to wash their hands.

What kind of skills do you have in regard to structure design?

 

Check wih your Marine Police, or even the state police will steer you right. In New Jersey the standards to follow are all USCG. State Inspector does a inspection to make sure I did. Done, and can be fully Insured.

 

abyc.com will get you started. The CFR has all the rest of the regulations. The Federal website is very user friendly.

 

Hi Joyce,

I am doing the same thing here in Florida. You did not say where you live. I have a client for whom I am designing a series of floating homes. We do not call them houseboats because they do not have installed power and cannot navigate on their own. But they do float, of course, and they seem to fall between the cracks of many regulations, so we are having to pave the way a little bit.

First of all, the USCG regulations should be considered, but when it comes to wind pressure on the side of the house and stability, the USCG regulations are not too specific in some areas. These are covered on 46 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Subchapter S, and a qualified naval architect will know what that is and what it covers.

Also, you should look at the ABYC standards from the American Boat and Yacht Council. These are voluntary boat construction standards that cover many aspects of boat construction that can be used for houseboats or floating homes.

What we are doing is building a home on top of a barge, and the home is built to Florida state home building standards and codes. The barge we are building to marine standards, and meeting or exceeding the USCG stability standards. But since the USCG does not cover hurricane force winds such as we get here in Florida, we are having to blaze the way a little and make sure the home has the stability we need to withstand hurricane force winds.

For sewage treatment, we have a dedicated holding tank on board, and it will be pumped from the dock by an integrated pump out system built into the marina. This dumps the holding tanks into the city sewer system.

These floating homes are for a marina on the Intracoastal Waterway, and we do expect that we will have to have them inspected by certified building inspectors.

Eric

 

The first of the houseboats that I designed for the marina here in Florida is in the water now, and you can see some photos and the floor plans on my website. The link is:

http://www.sponbergyachtdesign.com/FlaglerNews.htm

Eric

 

Joyce,
This is some time in coming, but doing further research on our Flagler Floating Homes, I finally found some building codes for floating homes around the country. The one for Marin County, California, seems to be the most complete. You can see it on line at the following link.

http://municipalcodes.lexisnexis.co...A/TITLE19/Chapter_19_18_REGULATION_OF_TH.html

I also found a code for Alameda, CA, and for Ft. Lauderdale, but they are not as comprehensive as the Marin County code. Vancouver, British Columbia also has a code, but it is much looser than this one.

I hope that helps.

Eric