I am considering the construction of a simple houseboat scow for use on inland rivers in the U.S. Think of the Ohio River. No rough water beyond the wakes of the towboats and their barges (which can approach the footprint of, say, an Essex-class aircraft carrier. Much less draft, but you've gotta stay out of their way). I am thinking along the lines of a Phillip Thiel Escargot, except maybe a little longer and wider with a forward pilot house having standing head room. Oh, and I would reverse the accommodation plan back-to-front, so that berths were in the stern. The pilot house would be long enough that it would extend at least partially over the galley/head area for standing headroom there, but the aft sleeping cabin would be lower. Thinking along the lines of a single old feller as a live-aboard. I have in mind 21' LOD, 18' WL, and 7' Beam. The cross-section form would be a box. It really would be a dolled-up shanty boat.
Aesthetically I am thinking in terms a river tugboat, or towboat as they call them here on the river. The pilot house is a necessity, as I am troubled with skin cancer, and would need to be mainly under roof, so the forward pilot house would fit that style. I also have this idea, borrowed from a web log of a guy building a camping trailer, who used salvaged windows from a school bus, of all things. Might be just the thing for the pilot house and cabin if one were building on a budget. The standing head room in the pilot house, with sitting head room aft, would mean that the view aft from the pilot house would be unobstructed.
The philosophy of use for this boat would be that it be towable behind a V6-powered compact pickup or SUV (my Ranger is rated to pull 5000 pounds), and while on the trailer could double as a camper. Power would be an outboard in the 5 to 10 HP range, possibly in a well for security, protection, and aesthetics.
I am thinking about a tiller-bar for steering, kind of like the big boys, and the tiller-bar would would naturally indicate the direction of thrust of the outboard. But this arrangement would mean that the throttle and gearshift controls would have to be pretty long, though, and I'm not sure what the max limit would be for this.
I envision a flat bottom center section with an upswept bow and stern a la the Escargot. I realize that the Escargot was, at heart, a canal boat, but on the river one may have to contend with some wind. I was thinking about possibly an offset center board or lee board to prevent the boat handling like a hockey puck.
Question 1: At displacement speeds of 5 to 6 knots max, how much speed/efficiency/fuel economy does one give up with the scow bow vs. what, back in the riverboat days, they termed a "model" bow?
Question 2: What is entailed in rigging a long engine remote control of, maybe 15 feet or so?
Aesthetically I am thinking in terms a river tugboat, or towboat as they call them here on the river. The pilot house is a necessity, as I am troubled with skin cancer, and would need to be mainly under roof, so the forward pilot house would fit that style. I also have this idea, borrowed from a web log of a guy building a camping trailer, who used salvaged windows from a school bus, of all things. Might be just the thing for the pilot house and cabin if one were building on a budget. The standing head room in the pilot house, with sitting head room aft, would mean that the view aft from the pilot house would be unobstructed.
The philosophy of use for this boat would be that it be towable behind a V6-powered compact pickup or SUV (my Ranger is rated to pull 5000 pounds), and while on the trailer could double as a camper. Power would be an outboard in the 5 to 10 HP range, possibly in a well for security, protection, and aesthetics.
I am thinking about a tiller-bar for steering, kind of like the big boys, and the tiller-bar would would naturally indicate the direction of thrust of the outboard. But this arrangement would mean that the throttle and gearshift controls would have to be pretty long, though, and I'm not sure what the max limit would be for this.
I envision a flat bottom center section with an upswept bow and stern a la the Escargot. I realize that the Escargot was, at heart, a canal boat, but on the river one may have to contend with some wind. I was thinking about possibly an offset center board or lee board to prevent the boat handling like a hockey puck.
Question 1: At displacement speeds of 5 to 6 knots max, how much speed/efficiency/fuel economy does one give up with the scow bow vs. what, back in the riverboat days, they termed a "model" bow?
Question 2: What is entailed in rigging a long engine remote control of, maybe 15 feet or so?
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