Houseboat design...

Anybody have any comments on the separate pull-behind craft containing the generator and batteries? Pros, cons?

 

Yeah, one:

leave it.

 

Compartmentalizing is good, just be sure you cap off the tops (unlike the Titanic).

-Tom

 

I hate to mention it because to me there is a big problem with cutting and welding on them as far as explosions, but I have seen a big houseboat that used a bunch of 500 or 1000 gallon propane tanks for pontoons. There was a commercial party barge down at the marina for awhile that used fiberglass tanks of about the same size as the propane tanks above. They were those kind of tanks that are made like these...

If you could find a manufacturer of fiberglass pressure tanks, I imagine you could get reject tanks pretty cheap as you can't recycle fiberglass like you could a reject steel tank.

A problem with thin steel like in most houseboats is rust pits. Each pit can easily rust 1/2 way through the thickness and continued pitting leaves you with bunches of pinholes. Of course every material has it's own problems and a continual application of preventive maintenance promises longevity.

As for pontoons being watertight compartmentalized, sometimes they are, sometimes they're not.

 

....as in..."Leave it out"...or...."Leave it in"?

 

My money's on "Leave it out" as being what Apex meant.

-Tom

 

Right Tom,

when you have some experience with a dhingy in tow, you´ll know why.

And then it is probably more costly to build a second boat than to add another ft. on the houseboat.
It can easily be stolen (like dhingies), and it is another thingy to maintain.

Though having the sound and vibration separated, may sound attractive.

Regards
Richard

 

Hi guys. I'm a new guy here and was just reading this thread and thinking that a house boat would be really cool to live in. However you would be well served to go visit a place that makes pontoon boats to get an idea of how that all goes together. I think 5 pontoons would be damned near impossible to control even with the twin engines on them. Just too many hulls in the water to steer.
The exterior aluminum sheathing is a good idea. Easy to take care of butyou will have to have a foam liner inside and a plywood sheath inside of that to finish off your walls for the living area. Remember the aluminum will condense moistue on it with any change in temperature and you would want to air condition and heat the inside for sure. Aluminum inside probably wouldn't be a good idea.
Which brings me to the clear roof. I think you will find that the clear roof would heat up your living area to the point where you would not be able to sit inside. I can see temps of 100 to 125 easily in any normal sunlight. If you lived here in Florida you would be able to cook your meals on that roof with no trouble at all. A few skylights with shades on them would give you a similar effect but the all clear roof would be extremly expensive and hard to live with. It would be very difficult to maintain too.
Remember that no matter how strong you build the base the whole deck will bend and twist in the waves to some extent. Two large pontoons will be much better than three or five.
An interesting project to say the least and i for one hope you will post plans or drawings as you go along. The whole thing sounds like a lot of fun. Pete

 

Sounds like towing a dinghy might suck.

That's the primary motivation. Like I said the plan for all this is to live un-attached to land (no shore power).

 

The motivation was clear right from the beginning.
But you can achieve that with a well designed insulation too. At lower cost and less hassle to maintain.

my2c

Regards
Richard

 

Interesting. So you think multiple hulls would cause handling issues? I'm assuming mostly of it not wanting to turn? This craft would never be trying to set any records (except for slowest maybe). I don't ever envision being in a hurry to get it somewhere.

I was thinking (dangerous I know ) of a single, or at least very few, large pieces of tempered safety glass (like a car windshield) formed to rest over the roof supports with a very slight slope. Inside I was thinking some rails with a cloth cover that could easily be slid forward to block the light. Maybe have a reflective coating on one side of the cloth. My hope would be that if you could get a single big piece of glass that you wouldn't ever have to worry about it. It would be protected above by the sundeck grating, and being tempered glass would be very resistant to damage/scratches. The top would get cleaned every time it rained.

I'm still in the gross concept stage now. I just got a lukewarm green light from my better half so that's positive. I'll definitely update here when/if it comes to fruition.

 

Well the "glass roof" is not the best idea, I agree. And there is no need to do that. A horizontal opening lets three times the light in, than a vertical of the same size, so go for simple hatches.
No need for expensive glass, every simple standard yacht hatch will do the trick. You do´nt cross oceans. (but they could)

The "sundeck" should have a canopy / bimini of course. But I assume you will use it as a sun lounge anyway, so that will be part of your concept.

The fifth pontoon, that one in the middle, is not sensible, right. But would not change much in maneuverability.

Regards
Richard

 

Duns227 The glass roof is a problem for me but if it's what you want then you should have it. Design it in and you can always remove it later if it proves to be a problem. Also a half a green light is way better than a solid red one so count ya blessings and proceed.
The multipal hulls will give you steering problems and they will present a much larger and heavier surface to the wind and tide but will ride a lot more stable. You can over come that with more power and keels under the pontoons and maybe even rudders linked with the engines but that will up the budget some.
I still think a trip to a place that makes pontoon boats would be very beneficial to you. A 50 foot pontoon boat is a very long boat and at 10 feet wide will be very narrow. I'd go for a minumum of 12 feet wide on something that long.
Anyway just go for what you want to start out. You can always change the design down the road and even as you build. Very few things actually get built the way they are put on paper. Pete

 

Not really,

the three pontoons will probably have a larger wetted surface than two, therefore slow it down a bit, but steering will not be the problem. Neither the windage or resistance.

The recommended width at this size would be closer to 14ft and above, rather than 12, if there was´nt the plan with the outriggers.

Regards
Richard

 

The outriggers are superflous. Make the hull 14 feet and forget them. Leave a 18" walkway down the sides of the cabin with handrails along the cabin sides. IMO Pete