Could a paddlewheel be placed at the front?

djwkd,

Most boats above a certain size have a remote cockpit. Not only can it be done, there are standard ways to do it.

I still think that before you go any further with your computer drawings, you need to go out and get some experience with a real boat. You need to get out on one and play with it for awhile. I guarantee that as soon as you actually use real boats, especially if you own one for awhile, your entire drawing will change shape and your questions will be completely different.

I'm not disrespecting you or your dream. Lots of people have house boats, lots more want them. You just need to see how real boats work.

 

Ok. As I said (or thought...not quite sure) - I will experiment with smaller rafts and stuff (have one in the backyard but need to get a lifejacket before taking it anywhere) before building this, and will hopefully gain a better understanding of boats.

 

That would be a Axiometer steering (as it is named in Germany) do´nt know a translation.

Pretty easy, reliable and common on old vessels.

Another question:

Why must the complication of pontoons be? A hull shape like the ones I linked to are much easier to build and provide interior volume where you would need it!

Regards
Richard

 

What you should do is go down to a marina and look around, ask questions. Just tell people you don't know anything about boats but you are really interested. Ask questions, people will more than likely gladly try to explain stuff.

With an outboard motor, you don't have a rudder, the whole motor and propeller turn this way or the other depending which way you want to go.

 

@SamSam - I know, but I don't want to be rigging that for remote use as it would be way more difficult than just to fit a rudder.

A rudder would still work though, right?

 

No, it would not work in the center of your boat. Rigging for remote use is a standard way to do it, there are various ways to do it, all tried and tested and as inexpensive as competition or ingenuity can make them. And swiveling the outboard for steering would work much better than a rudder, it would be much more maneuverable at slow speeds.

I looked at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne on google satellite last night, it looks to be a very nice place.

 

Ok - thanks again for the info

 

There is no reason to be insulting.

Your recent comments on several threads are not only offensive but also neither helpful nor pertinent. People come to this forum with serious questions and expect serious answers. The people who courteously and respectfully ask questions deserve courtesy even if you can't find a reason to respect them. They are here to educate themselves, which is a noble enterprise no matter what their current level of knowledge on the subject.

 

You never know. Most of us have hidden talents that we try to discover every day. Maybe you will be the first that gets sent up

If a rudder is in the middle of the boat it will only make drag without actually steering. A rudder will only steer when it pushes the (front or) rear of the boat in a direction so the boat would try to proceed in it's length direcion.

You should get some war boats to play in the bath with. My wife is so childish, when she comes in the bathroom she sinks them

There is nothing that says you cannot have a paddle boat while still having outboards as well. If you paddle, trim the outboard up and let the rudders down. If you get lazy (or tired ) then put the outboards back down.

Half the fun is to play with the different things and try new ones out, but firstly make sure if the results are not so hot as expected you have alternative propulsion. So far just about every one mentioned the wind - it is a ******* and a serious threat.

Personally I'm a bit scared of your design. I think Richard posted some pretty nice house boat pictures. It's not a matter of shooting your design down, but there was a heck of a lot of people before you that improved all this over a long time, so you can really benefit from their experience.

If I remember right, the plans are free, at least study them and figger out why they are like they are.

 

Unfortunately not. They're cheap, but not free. I'm not dead keen on paying the price they are for something I might build, however.

Have found a website which is about houseboating and a reasonable amount is about building - so am studying that quite a bit.

Have been looking around for free houseboat plans but haven't got very far.

If it's the raft part that is so amusing, check out the Floating Neutrinos. And the Miss Rockaway Armada. And JUNK. And the Plastiki. And many others that I can't be bothered to think about.

 

djwkd,

Just remember one thing about plans. Generally you get what you pay for. There might be a really good plan set for some boat that's free, but if that's the case then expect to find hundreds of happy builders on any given forum who can and will help you get through it.

I've tried to build things without plans, and I've built things with plans. And I've tried to modify plans and build. The amount of money you spend on a good, tested plan set will be incredibly small compared to the amount of money you spend on materials that will go in the trash bin when you figure out you did it wrong. Personal experience there. I threw away a nearly complete 15 foot long hovercraft hull because I thought I could modify the plans just a bit and make it work better.

 

Well,

when Atkin plans are too expensive, the whole project is not worth talking a single word any further! The study plans are 15$ the full set 150$, for a proven design of a 44´ houseboat....................

 

I did. And I appreciate the fun-idea behind. I am the last who would not enjoy a big laugh.
I am only a little concerned of how this website may mutate.
What comes next here: Children discussing the 'design' of paper toys?

As a professional, I see the benefit of amateur's contributions; it brings new impulses. But it should make some sense.

I just returned from an employment in Thailand, where a S/African dreamer and idiot had raised a 'boat building factory'; such ****** risk the life of people!
If I can assist to save a life by tearing apart a dangerous idea, it was worth while

 

HakimKlunker,

I find it alarming that you could call yourself a professional the way you've been behaving on this forum. Whatever country you're from is not at all like the USA.

The OP here had an idea and posted here to get input. Ridicule and insults are in no way helpful. Other professionals on this site behave with a bit more decorum, and get the same results across. If you were in my industry there would be one word to describe your situation: Unemployed. For no other reason than being ridiculously rude to somebody who is trying to learn something.

There is an extremely clear difference between somebody with a dream and somebody who is trying to sell copies of his dream to innocent third parties.

 

Hi Kroberts,

I have positive motivations and only wrap them with sarcasm; this is a linguistic element.
This reply does actually not belong here, but it requires to be dealt with:

You may have noticed that there is a whole world outside of the USA, and that some people have different opinions. Often based on longer history and tradition (that was a sarcastic element )
Indeed, I am not American and do not find it to be a disadvantage.

Firstly, I was not at all thinking to insult someone. If I have done so, please accept my apologies.
To discourage someone from entering a dead-end is rather helpful. If you had a son of 5 years, and he would try to jump from a cliff with self-made wings, intending to fly: would you let him do it? Or would you try to divert his energy into a direction with successful results?

After all: An abandoned idea is a success, because we find at least one solution that does NOT work. This gets one closer to the one solution that DOES work. And there I think I contribute to help someone to learn something.
Da Vinci knew it as well - he did not proceed with ideas where they did not work.

We are definitely not learning by investigating impossible things like "How many angels can dance on the tip of a needle?", or 'submersible sailboats'.

How many prodessional seamen have already died in the attempt of rescuing amateurs on their ventures (i.e. Chichester)? How much debris pollutes our planet, because 'inventions' broke in pieces?

If other 'professionals' act different: chaqu'un son facon
To return your provocation (as one other stilistic element ): I do not know which industry YOU are in. But I pray for plenty of 'unemployed' people contributing to your own issues...

I suggest: Let us not start a feud here. I am sure that we all have no negative intentions.