Small, independant living units, on water ? - Possible ?

Anyone wanting NO DISCHARGE has been able to purchase a Composting Toilet -for many decades.

A composting toilet is a dry toilet that uses a predominantly aerobic processing system that treats excreta, typically with no water or small volumes of flush water,
Fairly expensive for just a plastic head , but legal for no discharge zones.

A supply of peat moss would be about $10 per year.

Getting away from yachty Marine big $$$ items ,the alt energy folks have efficient refrigeration freezers that could work off solar,,,

,.sundanzer.com for a smaller unit

or for big requirements www.sunfrost.com/refrigerator_models.html‎.


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Just happened to see this ...

http://www.gizmag.com/port-x-atelier-sad/31526/

 

How does the price of Euro 181.000 / $ 286.000,- compare with the cost of making it yourself? If the difference is very small, the question then will be, what would be the cost to have it shipped to your home town? It is indeed a very good quality looking dwelling on water. Bert

 

Sorry about yesterday's posts: I spent Sunday with a libertarian friend after his church and I needed to vent! Kudos to those who realized it was satire...... Reductio ad absurdam rocks!

 

SunFrost Products

Interesting posting there Fred, but the link did not work for me. Here is another attempt
http://www.sunfrost.com/index.html

They make both efficient refrigeration units and compositing toilets

 

Thats a very attractive unit. One that would enhance the neighbourhood.

It occurs to me that you could moor it with the covered side towards prevailing weather

 

That design looks like it should be modular as well.

 

Tent Stuctures

Just looking back thru this subject thread for the mention(s) of tent structures.

Have a look here:
http://www.tomahouse.com/ProjectArea/Monserrat/monserrat.htm

 

....'some sort of specialized water and sewer hull'.....I think that is what these 'odd hulls' are utilized for on these floating entertainment rafts and houses I took some photos of recently in Thailand

 

BTW, those 'floats' and extra 'containment floats' belong to some of these houseboats I posted a few photos of over on this other subject thread.
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-design/retirement-houseboat-floating-home-23987-11.html#post679692

I have some more, including 'under construction'. just have to wait until after the weekend.

 

On the Water Experiences

These guys make the 'on water' experience look easy.

While the story is about football (soccer) , check out the environment and creativity of these guys.

Every little bit of water is used.

 

Propane IN the boat-no thanks. On the boat-fine.

I was nine: dad and I were on the fly bridge of a family friend's cabin cruiser when a big whump hit our feet and I saw the windows shatter out into the ocean. Was impressed by the mess it made of the interior.
Something propane,don't know/remember the cause.

Was in the UK 13 years ago,saw from a short distance what I took to be a 35' barge that had been molested by an excavator and filled with construction trash.
On closer look,it ended up being a 35' boat of which the entire superstructure had been blown clear off-and the "construction trash" was the remains of the furniture,bulkheads,belongings.etc that had been turned to matchsticks and stayed in the hull.
The engine had been shifted,stern tube cracked,the hull split and she had sunk in shallow water.
Don't know if anyone was aboard or survived when the propane problem occurred.


I have propane aboard in a BBQ with burner,a pressure cooker,and a portable hot water heater on my aft deck.
They are turned on at the tank and turned off at the tank when finished with them...in their externally mounted and with no-way-to-get-inside ventilation.

With LEDS and modern efficient DC fridges- as stated solar will carry the load in the right area,but for me my little Kubota that runs silently at half throttle and gives me all my hot water and power for a buck or two a day...suits me fine. And with 2000 litres aboard- if I don't move it'd last for years.

I can see propane fridges etc on a seldom moving houseboat with no collection points,but for me any propane lines within the hull of a well used vessel in any way is a big no-go.

 

Houseboat built using shipping containers, afloat in the marina at Belfast, Maine.

http://weeklypacket.com/news/2013/o...ner-to-living-space-houseboat-t/#.U0mjM6JOWUk
http://weeklypacket.com/multimedia/gallery/2013/oct/24/houseboat-in-brooklin/#.U0mjMKJOWUk
http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Shipping-containers-used-in-floating-house/15729​

Steve White, the builder and owner of the houseboat is part owner of Front Street Shipyard in Belfast where the houseboat is moored. He also owns Brooklin Boat yard in Brooklin, Maine where the houseboat was built.

Image from Working Waterfront article, link above

 

Containers are not good to make living areas out of in my area of the world. A beat up 20 footer retails for about $2000. The floor is seldom usable, and it has a flat roof, and is non insulated.

Thats 5.8 metres long x 2.3 metres wide x 2.4 metres high inside.

For 22 sheets of 15mm structural plywood, you would have $700 left over for windows, doors and pine framing and a metal roof.

This gives you more internal volume, better insulation and more weather proof.

 

>I can see propane fridges etc on a seldom moving houseboat with no collection points,but for me any propane lines within the hull of a well used vessel in any way is a big no-go.<


About every sail boat that is big enough for a galley would disagree. Most have Propane hobs, ranges or stoves..

No question a Kerosene Primus is far cheaper to operate , but the ladies dont like the pre heat requirement.

Any system can be created fool proof ,

but the requirements for DAMN FOOL PROOF are difficult as the damn fools experiment a lot and are very creative in their attempts to kill themselves.