First time houseboat builder looking for advice

Look..Pyro-they're not picking on you but trying to save you time,money and anguish.

I've seen it many times,and I'm sure PAR has seen it much more than me-unfinished and finished boat projects sold for a fraction of the money spent-not including work hours.Home built very poor resale value. Sickness,divorce,etc etc.
I wonder how many unfinished boat projects lay rotting in the storage yards and back yards of the world.

If you have the time and money and it's what you've always wanted to do-then do it,if it makes you happy.

I know the building area doesn't apply to you,but the same point is made here:
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/multihulls/what-drives-cost-multihull-44810.html

Manie's done it. And also I've been to the UK a few times,and always notice the 27' to 35' boats that are canal capable yet can do the rivers and calm oceans..They usually have aft cabins and are designed to maximise space.
And often can be had for 5 to 10,000 pounds.

Have you thought about a scow?
Google Glen-L

 

I asked the designer of my boat how long it'd take him to build one.

Then I multiplied that number by 3 and added on another 'bugger factor' just for good measure, applying the same rules I used to use for software development project management.

So far I'm more or less on my timeline.

The other thing many people lose sight of is the difference between working hours and elapsed calendar time - as you allude to above. If you take 4 months off, guess what? Your spent time budget doesn't change but your projected completion date sure does, probably by 5 months while you get back up to speed.

As for designing etc yourself because you're a bright guy and have a degree in chemical engineering/science, hah. That's the height of arrogance. But, good luck with it all, you can hardly do worse than say goodwilltoall and his interpretation of a boat....

PDW