Total noob wants to build a floating home / house boat, looking for any and all advice

Hi all

For years I've had a dream of building a tiny home (on a trailer) and done lots of research into using shipping containers as a structural shell. As background I've spent the last 20+ years in construction management and construction support roles (estimating, procurement, site management, project management) and I would consider myself handy with home maintenance and DIY projects though I do not have a trade that I'm qualified in.
Recently I came across and have since landed on the idea of a floating tiny home or houseboat, and there are a few, but not many that I can see, that are essentially fitted out shipping containers on floating pontoon hulls.
Has anybody on the forum seen these, or know where I can find some more information ? Plans or blueprints ?

Or does anyone else have any other practical advice for me regarding construction materials (in particular for the hull) ? I am very comfortable working with timber but wonder if a welded steel or aluminium hull may be better. I can happily work with metal (cutting / grinding) though only have limited experience welding. I have a Cigweld 3-in-1 (MIG/TIG/STICK) which was a nice little pick-up from a previous employer that closed up shop, but like I said, limited experience using it.
Or have even thought about modular HDPE pontoons with a surround and deck over (similar to what many residential marinas use as their jetty systems is what comes to mind, just wider), with the cabin / house structure connected to the deck.

General idea would be to utilise a 40' HC container for a lower level with a 20' HC container for an upper story bedroom. A small deck at the stern would be nice.
I'm not fussed on whether the build is motorised or not, I plan on living on the vessel in the river of my town (a very sheltered and winding creek system in far north Queensland), and once it is in place at it's mooring it likely won't need to move except if needed to come out of the water for maintenance.

FYI, in Queensland, Australia there are no rules governing design of a houseboat if it is NOT used for commercial purposes, ie hired to other people or taking paying customers on overnight river-cruises, and there are no rules what-so-ever for privately owned pontoons (non-motorised).
For commercial houseboats there was a bunch of marine / boat rules that I'm not familiar with regarding the hull design, and the top structure needed to adhere to the same rules that apply to Class 1 building (typical stand-alone house) under the NCC (National Construction Code) which I'm fine to interpret.
As I understand it I would essentially be able to build any kind of shanty-float that I wanted to as I am not going to use the vessel for any commercial purposes, and other research indicates that I also don't need to have an Australian Builders Plate fitted UNLESS I wish to sell the boat to someone else (either for commercial or recreational use). However, I think I would like to adhere to whatever boat building standards or guidelines are in force at the moment, firstly so that I know that what I'm building is going to keep floating! And secondly, so that if I do want to on-sell the boat in the future, it should already meet the requirements to be certified (?).

OK, hit me with all you've got, advice, photos, plans, experiences!

 

Welcome to the forum

Good initial investigation. Also check if your intended location will allow permanent floating homes.
Almost any place you park a vessel will require insurance of that vessel. So check the requirements set by insurance companies. In many places they have become the defacto regulators.

Shipping containers may be convenient but are definitely heavy.
Draw up your arrangement including appliances and furniture to get accurate total weight and weight distribution.

It is highly recommended that the floats provide more than double the displacement in buoyancy.

Post your drawings and weights here. Members are willing to help you calculate whether it will float right-side up or not.

Hint
Heavy second levels tend to float inverted.

Good luck

 

Hi Ange, and welcome. Cyclones and croc's in FNQ were my first thoughts, then insects ! You may get away with a 40 footer on a broad pontoon setup, but a second story of steel would be pushing it, and I'd suggest wood fabrication or something else for the upper story. Shipping containers don't rust quickly because of the good paint used inside and out, but scratched, and weld burnt painted steel will start to rust, possibly out of sight. Some containers have been used to transport toxic stuff, so be sure your pick is not contaminated inside. Modular HDPE pontoons might be the most maintenance free, and you may have a supplier relatively close to you, or at least in QLD. You could see what they have been used for in many marinas, before finalising your designs. Is there a big tidal range in your creek, are the banks firm enough to anchor securely in a storm surge and cyclone ? Welding: check the duty cycle of your welder; 100% duty cycle means you can blast away all day, 50% means you will need to give it a rest regularly, any less, and its a hobby welder not suitable for big jobs. Good luck, and keep researching.
I include my favourite micro house boat pic, I can't remember where it came from; North America somewhere I think.

 

Thanks Blue, a few things you've noted here that I haven't checked into;

The local authorities absolutely allow permanently moored boats for residential living in the creeks, but I'm not sure if they have a distinction between a boat (ie with a motor) and a floating home (without a motor), definatley something I should confirm.
I do know that the 2 non-commercial marinas close-by impose limits on how many nights in a 28-day period that you may reside on the boat in the marina for, before needing to depart the marina for a minimum number of nights before being allowed to return but both of these are privately owned facilities which don't fit with my plan.
Insurance requirements are another matter that I haven't considered yet either.

Noted about weight distribution, the buoyancy recommendation and the potential for um ... inversion due to too much weight located up top! I had been hoping for a rather 'streamlined' footprint but issues resulting from a high centre of gravity and a narrow base without a stable founding, such as the ground, should have been obvious from attempting surfing in the past.
It's still early days at the moment but I'll be sure to start posting up sketches and ideas for feedback.

 

Hi SeaSquirt

Thanks for your hints too. Crocodiles are of course in the back of the mind of everyone living in the top third of Australia but they definitely don't deter use of the water. Unfortunately I won't be able to have a swim net hanging off the back though! I spent a decade living in Broome, followed by 6 years in Darwin and there wasn't much interest in creek living in either of those places but around Port Douglas and Cairns it seems to be quite common, most of the pile moorings seam to be owned and controlled by the local councils. Insects is just something you learn to live with up here, and they are everywhere, maybe a little bit worse close to / on the water but even in my 3rd floor apartment, several km's from the coast I'm still not safe from the little bities.
Tidal range in the region isn't huge with the highest tide on record being +3.4 meters, though when I say not huge I say that comparative to Broome and Darwin, where the tidal range is +9.5 and +8.1 meters respectively. The banks are typically very silty, soft and muddy so I wouldn't think they could be relied on for additional anchorage, as above all moorings that I have seen are timber piles, I don't recall seeing any bouy moorings in the creeks (plenty out on the reef but not in the inlets).

Cyclones are absolutely something to consider, initially my builder's brain had been thinking about the structural integrity of the boat but your comment has prompted me to think a bit deep about the location of the vessel during a cyclone or high wind event. A real quick google search and I've come across this doc, from the Transport Dept indicating that all vessels need to move further up stream to the designated cyclone mooring areas. This flags that maybe I need to re-think my design requirements and ensure that I am motorised, or otherwise able to get myself upstream if needed, rather than having to rely on barges / emergency services.
https://www.publications.qld.gov.au...new.pdf?ETag=03309856014a87e468700ec95aa42f30

You make a good point about the weight of the shipping containers. Perhaps a construction style similar to what is used in the Kimberly region uses steel columns and a steel ring beam to the perimeter of each level, and then use light weight infill panels in between the structural steel supports to affix cladding materials too. These designs are able to withstand cyclonic conditions in C3 & C4 regions so may provide a solid, yet light design ?

Yes I do like the idea of HDPE pontoons, one of the last construction projects that I was project manager of before leaving Darwin was 2 floating pontoon jetties for recreational boaters on Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island. The challenge we had was the tidal range could move from +0.5 to +8.0 and as such there could be times during the day when the tide dropped below a certain height where the pontoons would actually rest on the exposed beach / sea floor so we needed to really shorten everything up and ensure all of the connections allowed the modules to be hinged so that it could articulate up and down with the tide. I ended up importing the pontoons and the decks from a company in China as even with international freight was about 35% of the price that we could source locally. I had them manufacture all the components and then fully assemble everything in their workshop to ensure everything went together and was going to work, got them to then mark up all matching connections (A-A, B-B style) then they took it all apart, and flat-packed everything into a shipping container and then our team re-assembled it (on the beach) again once the container landed on the islands. Sorry, I digress, it was just a really interesting thing to be involved in after so many years of building buildings! Long story short - I'd be happy to work with the same marine engineer that I had on the project and potentially the same suppliers too, and it seams to make a lot of sense to me, as opposed to me spending a really long time to fabricate a hull from timber or aluminium.

I'll have a look at the welder once it gets a bit closer - my step dad was a boilermaker before he retired and has said that "it's a beauty! better than my last welder" which sounds good but I will definitely check this out if a welded steel structure is the way I go.

 

Love that photo too, super super cute !

 

Containers are heavy and will increase the cost and size of the hull. HDPE floats made for docks are the easiest and durable. However, if you plan on mooring it for a long time, buying a powerboat with bad engines/transmissions if often the fastest the cheapest. The empty engineroom makes of a nice storage area, all the interior etc. is already built and all you have to do is tow it to the mooring.

 

Thanks for explaining in brief.