Trailerable houseboat on pontoons

Discussion in 'Stability' started by Big Aussie, Jul 7, 2021.


  1. fallguy
    Joined: Dec 2016
    Posts: 7,598
    Likes: 1,674, Points: 123, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: usa

    fallguy Senior Member

    go back and read my post on displacement

    the barge displaces 3x more than the cat and the reason you see them with heavy loads is capacity, but you won't see a barge traversing the ocean...anecdotal for sure on the latter, but with good reason, heavy loads raise the center of mass

    Heimfried's excellent contributions are comparing to similar hull shapes, but only ito how they heel.

    We have had some posters here with big houseboats that suffer from too much immersion. That is, the hulls are too deep. The vessels don't perform. Additionally, your hull designs don't account for any change in the front for entry which will result in greater immersion.

    The other thing..I have been on houseboats and have never been on one with a flat bottom toon. They are always veed forward. This will also result in more immersion.

    For a small, 24' houseboat, I would never consider the cat hulls. For a faster fishing boat 24' long, a cat may be my first choice. The big difference for me would be speed.

    A barge hull is not going to go much faster than hull speed unless it gets up on plane some.

    Here is a link to Huck Finn, a design with more vee forward. You can see the rated capacities are far lower than the 4000# you cited. Sadly, there are no lines, but I expect it to flatten to zero deadrise aft.

    Huck Finn trailerable pontoon boat plans https://www.glen-l.com/designs/house/huckfinn.html

    So, the cat hulls are going to offer a small measure of greater stability, but you can't build them as drawn. And when you change them, they will be more immersed.

    Here is another houseboat, a 23' with a modified barge(like)hull, but planing. Not steel. This is ply s&g, but offers a glimpse of possibilities.

    https://www.boatbuildercentral.com/StudyPlans/GT23_STUDY.pdf

    Personally, I think you need to refine your requirements a bit.

    Speed
    Power
    Water and waste onboard and where? A cat form does require one side if you want waste tanks in the hulls..etc

    There are more things to consider than stability..
     
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