Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

wildmaninal

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Just when I thought I seen it all, I know you could make a house boat out of a pontoon boat but this takes the cake at least to me. I admit it is sort of neat but sort of ugly. I know you woudln't be allowed to have this boat in the lake I fish in. I guess the reason he is selling so cheap is because it would cost an arm and a leg to have it moved. I have the picture's saved just in case the ad gets deleted. Anybody seen this boat before?
http://huntsville.craigslist.org/boa/916629212.html
 

tashasdaddy

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

actually when finished it could be a very nice boat and place to live. google Sausalito, California, have the people there live on boats like that. here are some, they have come up in the world since i was there.

http://www.come2marin.com/floatinghomes.html
 

45Auto

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

Wildmanimal said:
I know you woudln't be allowed to have this boat in the lake I fish in.

Is there some kind of law against "ugly boats" on your lake or is it just because of it's size? Don't want to get arrested, so I guess I'll have to make sure I stay away if ugly boats aren't allowed!! :)
 

Chris1956

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

Years ago there was a similar boat under construction on the bank of a river in NJ. It became a two story house on pontoons. When it was launched, it floated very low in the water and needed a very strong bilge pump to keep it afloat, due to a crack in one of the pontoons. I got a tour of it just before it sunk in the Raritan River. It was all 2X4 construction, with sheetrock walls and home-type appliances. It had stereos and TVs everywhere. It was quite nice, like a luxury condo.

After it sunk, I think it was a total loss, since the water was brackish.
 

Dave K.

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

those homes in sausolito are beautiful!! a little expensive for me though, mid six to seven figures! a middle school principal where i taught many years ago was retiring to a community down in florida w/ the same type of set up. he said that outside of slip costs, their was no property taxes, and that he would need a po box for mail. i often wonder how he made out.

i've never owned a home and at my age and location (the northeast) & nearing retirement, i don't see any reason to buy one. however, i would like to relocate south in several years & want to look into living on the water or close. a dream i've had for many years now.
 

marquette

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

there are many big pontoon style houseboats here in minnesota that people live in 6-7 months a year. there used to be a couple of marinas that used aireators to keep the water open year around and people lived year around on them. the advantage was no property taxes and you were on the water. most of them never did or couldn't leave the dock in the marina. most of them the engines were removed and if they needed moved they were towed. most of the communities now have zoning laws that prevent year round living. but these boats are pretty much like living in a big apartment with a deck. the Mpls Star tribune did a big artical in the sunday paper about them a few years ago. as i recall though most of the boats were pretty expensive and with marina fees, septic pumping, electric, maintiance,ect it was not as cheap of living as you would expect. kind of those old wharehouse's they convert into "lofts" to live in that cost as much as a small house.
 

wildmaninal

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

Is there some kind of law against "ugly boats" on your lake or is it just because of it's size?

Nothing over 25ft, I believe they band any other house boats from being put on the lake, what house boats that are on the lake have been grandfathered in.

For $250 a month just for that boat to sit at the marina I would be living in it, unfinished or not. What I can't get over is he surely has more then $1500 in that rig, yet he's letting it go for that.

I imagine the upkeep/maintiance, on those boats would be pretty expensive. Now there is a couple of house boats on the lake I fish, they are pretty neat, one is like a camper or really more like a shed built on top of a pontoon boat, it was damaged a few months ago due to a strong storm and had to be taken out for repair.

That top home TD isn't a bad little place if you like pink :D. The second one down on that site is awesome.
 

45Auto

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

Wow, didn't even notice the price on it! Like you say, he's got WAY more than $1500 in it, either he needs the money real bad or it's about to sink!!

If I was in Tennessee it sure would be tempting ..... :)
 

wildmaninal

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

I've been thinking all along that that price has to be a misprint or mistype, but it must be the real price.

Don't get me wrong you can have some nice homemade things. I've been toying around with the idea of building a cabover truck camper for my short wheel base F-150. My smart arse brother thinks that just because it will be homemade that it won't look good and won't be worth a flip :rolleyes::mad:.
 

sickwilly

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

It was listed in Nashville for $2500 one week ago.
 

oops!

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

hmmmmmm.....

current costs of (new home) construction are $150. sq foot up and 75$ a foot down.......because there is no concrete or driveways...ect ect....

you could probably build one of those thingys for around 200k.....

so if a person was able to get acess to land and build a special marina......

you might be able to double on every house.....the slip moorage would pay any taxes........

just a small community of say 20 homes......

hmmmmmm......
 

scoutabout

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

Those are some cool homes, TD. Myself if I was going to sink (ha!) that kinda dough I'd buy me an old Elco launch and live on that. At least I'd have a nice old boat to motor around if I wanted a change of scenery. Something like this I could bear I think...

lady_elin_2.jpg


And some places, water living is practically a necessity. My wife had a colleague who moved to Hong Kong because her hubby got a job flying with Cathay Pacific. They soon discovered that they could get a real nice, real big, liveaboard for much less than the price of even a small condo -- so they did
 

D.spencer

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

hmmmm...... Maybee turn it into a timeshare. < wrings hands in greedy capitalistic fashion :rolleyes: hmmmmm...... have a whole "fleet" ...bu wa hahaha :D
 

tashasdaddy

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

scoutabout, i'm in total agreement, would love to live on that. find a mooring, only go ashore once a week.
 

pine island fred

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

CHRIS1956, remember that boat well. Saw it daily when I drove to work. Was on the SOUTH RIVER close to the OLD BRIDGE/SAYREVILLE boarder. Was pretty impressive from the road. Dont know if it was true are not, heard the pontoons were made of concrete. Not that outlandish as there might still be the remains of a concrete ocean freighter sunk off CAPE MAY POINT that was over 300 ft. long. Was named ATLANTIS.
Dont know if it is true, heard the owner died from a heart attack shortly after it was launched. Last time I saw it, it was sunk at the RARITAN ARSENAL pier along with the E/L ferry boat ELMIRA. FRED
 

country_bumpkin

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

There's more to this than meets the eye. This guy advertised last year for lots more. (10x's?)

At that time he had links to more pictures too.

The boat was "leaning forward" at that time, the stern was almost out of the water.

Pretty wierd stuff though. I really don't think this dude has any idea of marine design, just a homemade project.
 

jay_merrill

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Re: Here's one for a laugh homemade houseboat

It was probably made of "ferro-cement," which is a boat construction method that involves spraying cement over a mesh frame. I have seen them before, but just googled the construction method to refresh my memory. In doing so, I learned something that I didn't know - apparently it has been used since the 1850s!
 
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