Houseboat Build - In Progress

[HotTommy]

For the upper deck, perhaps you could mount the railings or lifeline supports to the sides of the cabin rather than the top.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

Been preoccupied this last week. Had a visit from my little sister, retired Navy Commander, who brought along her friend, an astronaut! So, you'll forgive me for being focused elsewhere as I showed the ladies the sights in the lower keys.

Back to work, I wanted to give the roof (forgive me for using the common word as opposed to a nautical one, but since this is a HOUSEboat...), I wanted to give the roof a sort of drip edge. In the pics you see I took a piece of 5/8' PT (cut from dogeared fence panels), and added a 4" strip of wood, and used my router the round off the plywood edge. Screwed it on with part of the fiberglass mat behind it to hold it and then resined it up and around to finish the roof edge.

 

[MRS]

Did it sink already no updates?

 

[Jim Hawkins]

OK, most of you already know this but for those hardheads like myself, When sanding or using VOC's WEAR YOUR RESPIRATOR! I almost never get sick, but this winter, because I didn't wear my respirator until well into the project, I have inflicted my self with several spells of bronchitis as well as numerous colds. For Dog's sake, 20 bucks for a 3M respirator is caution well taken.

That said, I have been sanding, laying glass and gelcoating and here is your progress pic. The best compliment I got so far was "Yup, looks like a houseboat"

The rear sides look sparse right now but I plan to add a nice round porthole-ish style window once I'm set on the interior setup.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I wear a half-faced respirator at a minimum. your life is worth more than the cost of PPE

 

[redneck joe]

Didn't forget eyeballs

 

[Jim Hawkins]

Finally finished gelcoat on the roof and back wall and set the sliding glass door and AC

 

[redneck joe]

cool.

how is the waterline thus far?

what are the large circle things?

 

[AlexeyUax]

And what is the protection against water at the bottom of the door?

 

[Jim Hawkins]

cool.

how is the waterline thus far?

what are the large circle things?

I have 5 or 6 inches of hull submerged and can go another 1 1/2 inches, or, I can still add 1000 to 1500 pounds. I anticipate adding another 5 or 6 hundred.
The round things are concrete pavers I use to account for weight not yet added, water fuel etc. In the photo they are holding down the bottom of the sliding door track after I set it with caulking and until the caulk is set.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

And what is the protection against water at the bottom of the door?

The door is protected the same as it would be installed in a house. The frame is set in a bet of waterproof sealant. When at anchor rain either falls straight down or blows toward the stern and away from the screen door. As of now in a heavy rain I have to shut the door. I am working on laying out a framework above the doors and back deck that will accommodate PV panels and also help divert rain.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

Scenes from right before my first overnighter on Cudjoe Bay.

 

[redneck joe]

The round things are concrete pavers I use to account for weight not yet added, water fuel etc. In the photo they are holding down the bottom of the sliding door track after I set it with caulking and until the caulk is set.

cool.

 

[redneck joe]

The door is protected the same as it would be installed in a house. The frame is set in a bet of waterproof sealant. When at anchor rain either falls straight down or blows toward the stern and away from the screen door. As of now in a heavy rain I have to shut the door. I am working on laying out a framework above the doors and back deck that will accommodate PV panels and also help divert rain.

when i set doors in any application i use some soffit metal to create an l shape channel that, if any water does get inside up top it will flow to the metal and underneath. and out

 

[Jim Hawkins]

OK, when last I wrote, I was about to overnight on Cudjoe bay...

It was late afternoon and the skies were grey and had been raining on and off all day. The winds were 15 to 20 and the bay choppy. At first I thought I would go for another day and then I thought, "what better time to test things then under adverse conditions?"
So I did. I anchored and worrying about dragging I used a plow anchor with 35 feet of chain, more than enough for only 8' of water. Everything was going good, lots of rain and lightning and no leaks. Then we went to bed. All night long the boat oscillated and every 30 or 45 seconds there was a loud wave slap on the front of the pontoon. We didn't sleep all night for more than very short intervals. In the morning I was ready to sell the boat.

Once I calmed down, I made a bridle and attached it to two U bolts on the forward corners. Using this to anchor stopped a good bit of the oscillating. As for hull slap, everything I read said mostly it's about where you anchor so instead of anchoring in the middle of a bay I would look to hide behind a key or closer to shore. I also want to try anchoring from the stern. I would never do that on a normal boat for fear of taking a wave over the stern but with these big arse pontoons I would not worry. So I will try it someday.

So this was the beginning of the disillusioned stage of this project, the part where things just aren't quite what you hope for. I was finding all my mistakes and really did think I needed to sell. Everyone told me not to worry about the things that kept me up all night, that you get used to them. Maybe I will. A couple weeks later we took the boat to Picnic Island for 4th of July and were out 3 days and two nights. We slept good both nights. I'm set on working out all the problems and am finishing the interior so more pictures to come.

 

[HotTommy]

Nearly every Hollywood movie has a moment about 3/4s through where the protagonist faces such a low point that they are ready to give up. But they always push through it and discover the strength to earn a happy ending. Some evening when you are lounging on your boat in a quiet cove with a stunning sunset sliding beneath the water, perhaps you'll see the film credits listing you as producer, director and star.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

Thanks Tommy, I know your right but it was nice to hear.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

So I've been working on the ceiling. I got 1" foam insulation and cut it to fit between the rafters. Then I cut 1/4" plywood to cover the foam and secured it with two 1/4" X 3/4" wood strips. If I ever want to get into the ceiling to through bolt stanchions or the like I can just pry off the trim held with brad nails and drop the plywood and foam.

 

[HotTommy]

Beautiful job.

 

[redneck joe]

Nice