Houseboat pontoon

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Hi TED 655
The reason i wanted to use steel barrels was that they are cheap here ($5 each), but after talking to you guys, i think i will have to go back to the drawing board.

jansenpg1

 

Poly pipes will not be a good solution - no structural strength to speak of, and subject to UV degradation, especially for the cheaper ones.
Steel tubes are very expensive - for some reason.
The steel will be very expensive, and building a frame to hold drums is the least efficient way of using steel.

 

New thread is posted

"Houseboat 60" Matt. D"

have a look.
Matt

 

The hulls r in one peice , continualy welded. heres how i transported it no worries mate !!!
Im wondering Dave what r u going to do with 40cm dia pvc?

Oh ,thats me in red ! as u can see there was a few tence moments but a big relief in the end. I had to build the top on latter as it would not fit under the bridge !

 

I designed and built a houseboat many years ago using plastic sewer pipe 2 foot diameter. It will draw about a foot with 180 pounds load. In other words a 35 foot pontoon will support 35 x 180 lbs. If you require to increase the weight simply bolt another length on top or side by side. Fill the pipe with foam and you'll sleep like a log in your floating single wide.

 

Check my Math
Plastic Pipe Radius say = .5 metre
Area of Pipe = .75 metre
Length = 10 metres (35 feet)
Total Volume = 7.8 cubic metres
x two pontoons = say 16 cubic metres .... of foam is needed

Plenty of volume (displacement) at 17,000 + pounds ( 8 tonne ?)

Pontoon Costs -
Cost of polystyrene foam
say $200 per cubic metre (16) = $4000
+ the cost of the sewer pipe, ($au75 per meter) = $1500
plus the cost of the structure to keep the pipe together and rigid. say
steel = $1000 + decking say $1000 (10 plywood sheets @ $100)
Approx Total = $7,000, and still with no accomodation.

How does that compare to the cost of a 30 foot plywood hull you can sleep in ?

Say 8 x 4 panels of exterior plywood
Say 40 ( makes a square 8 x 8 ft x 30 long) with ends
40 x $AU100, plus say $au2000 for epoxy joins, framing, paint etc.
say $AU6000 for a 30 ft wooden barge, with a roof, plenty of storage room and painted against water and sun

Very rough calculations, and no labour estimates, but thats my guess as to why there are very few plastic sewer pipe pontoons.

Food for thought ?

 

I have no idea of todays costs but I bought my pipes from a contractor who had over estimated but I paid pennies for them. The houseboat was still in reasonable condition after 30 years although this is in England where UV is not a big problem. I made the mistake of using plywood on my Ground Effect cat. it was BS 1088 but was starting to rot after 9 years despite many coats of paint so exterior ply would be a waste of labour, just my opinion you understand.

 

Hi Matt
I am still searching for ways to build a pontoon for a proposed houseboat.
I saw your comments re building pontoon for cost of $22,000. Can you give me more details re this and perhaps give me your email address so that i can contact you direct.
Regards, Peter email address:- jansen-pg@hotmail.com

 

Hi Peter
duncan4370@hotmail.com