This hull design VS ..... ?

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by parkland, Aug 28, 2012.

  1. parkland
    Joined: Jul 2012
    Posts: 700
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    Location: canada

    parkland Senior Member

    I noticed this hull style the other day, and really liked the look:
    The hull picture is near the bottom.

    http://www.sponbergyachtdesign.com/FlaglerHouseboats.htm

    Simple, yet looks like it would slip through the water nice.
    If the rear had the same angle as the front, would it assume and act as a full displacement hull?

    Or, being flat, will it act like a barge and push a pile of water and only make a few miles per hour tops?

    Another thought.... would it be better to start considering a catamaran style hull, so there can be a square deck area, with 2 long skinny hulls ?
     
  2. Eric Sponberg
    Joined: Dec 2001
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    Location: On board Corroboree

    Eric Sponberg Senior Member

    Parkland,

    Thank you for noticing. Note to readers: The images that Parkland refers to are at the very end of the article.

    That hullform was a trial design for fiberglass construction that was never built. Yes, if you wanted to slope the stern as well, that could be done. We chose a monohull hullform because the inside of the barge has room for lots of stuff like water tanks (fresh, gray, and black), fuel tanks if you have an engine, and batteries and ballast.

    I continue to propose ideas for houseboat designs, and I continue to get inquiries from potential customers, but few inquiries succeed, and that is because of a few reasons:

    1. People don't have enough money.
    2. People don't have any place to put the houseboat, and this is because most marinas that they are familiar with will not accept houseboats. Or if they own some waterfront property, it is unsuitable for the wind and tides. Or if they are protected, the local ordinances won't allow houseboats to be placed within their boundaries.
    3. People do not have the wherewithal to build the houseboats themselves, nor do I. I am a designer, not a builder. So a builder has to be found. Should it be a wood builder, an aluminum builder, a steel builder, or a fiberglass builder? All are possible, but to find out which will be the best and how much it will cost, a preliminary design has to be made. No one has the wherewithal or the interest to commission a preliminary design.
    4. If one is lucky enough to find a builder, usually the builder is far away from where the houseboat is going to be, and not connected by waterway. And a monohull barge like the one in the pictures can't really be transported long distances over the road--too wide, way too expensive.

    So that is where the catamaran hull can be an effective solution. Last year at IBEX, I made a presentation for a catamaran houseboat that solves a lot of these problems. You can download a copy of it here: http://www.sponbergyachtdesign.com/ModCatHouseboatNews.htm. Go to the bottom and click on "Modular Catamaran Houseboat" to download and start the presentation. You may save it and pass it around.

    Thanks again for your interest, Parkland.

    Eric
     
  3. parkland
    Joined: Jul 2012
    Posts: 700
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    Location: canada

    parkland Senior Member

    Wow, very cool idea.
    I can't download the movie, cause I'm at work and internet is slow as hell.

    If I was a millionaire,

    I'd build a catamaran with 4x4x36 pontoons, and some type of mechanisms to spread it apart in the water, to get 4' - 6' of space in between, and somehow a deck over the gap, and a loading ramp on front to winch a camper trailer onto it.

    It could sit 36 x 12 or so in the water, be the size of a houseboat, and be pulled with a pickup truck. Unfotunately in 2 loads, but still, I think it would be awesome.

    Could even have a fold up console from the pontoon with window, steering, dash etc.

    In the pontoons, engines, generator, sewage, water pumps, just hook up the camper.
     
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