Friday 24 September 2021

Houseboats .... another option for dwelling

 If you bought some land here in the Tantramar and you created a very large pond you could build a unique dwelling with a boardwalk to enter your home .... this would please the wetlands enthusiastic cult here known as "Ducks Unlimited" ... imagine that? [attempts at humour]



Stunning Houseboats for Aquatic Living (decoist.com)

Houseboats have a certain kind of appeal....

some books on the subject:

Designing and building a houseboat: Huebbe, M.E. Stefan: 9781693267628: Amazon.com: Books

Stefan Huebbe is a professional designer, builder and owner of an internationally-renown houseboat company. In this book, he guides the technically-minded reader through the entire design and building process so that you are able to realize even the most complex houseboat project.

Detailed design recommendations for small, mid-sized and large stationary or mobile houseboats are included throughout the book, as well as equations and guidelines, so that you can alter the designs according to your individual needs - or even create your own unique concept.

In 340 pages, with over 450 detailed diagrams, illustrations, photos and equations, you will learn everything you need to know about designing and building a houseboat, including topics such as:

  • Investment and running costs
  • Hull designs, materials, buoyancy and heeling stability
  • Superstructure incl. structural and insulation calculations
  • Floor plans
  • Electricity incl. energy demand calculations
  • Fresh water incl. design of a watermaker
  • Waste water
  • Heating solutions based on calculated heat losses
  • Propulsion and steering
  • Control and diagnostic requirements
  • Safety requirements and features
  • Maintenance and inspection
  • Legal framework around houseboats and moorings
  • Project management incl. budgeting, scheduling and tendering
  • Construction site and management
  • Environmental considerations and zero-emission houseboat
  • How to use and apply complex equations
  • Tips and lessons learned over 14 years in the industry

Huebbe introduces all your options with regards to design, parts, materials and equipment, the advantages and disadvantages of each, as well as how to choose or calculate the most suitable solution for your project.

This book is a comprehensive and detailed source of technical knowledge for anyone interested in houseboats. Whether you want to learn more about them, plan to build or buy one, or even if you own a houseboat already, this book provides an invaluable insight into the amazing world of floating living spaces.



My Cool Houseboat: An Inspirational Guide to Stylish Houseboats: Field-Lewis, Jane: 9781909108868: Amazon.com: Books

About 15,000 people live permanently afloat on canals, rivers and coasts in Great Britain alone, but thousands more enjoy holidaying on boats or own them as weekend retreats in the UK and abroad. This book will feature not only static residential boats and floating dwellings but also those used as holiday homes and funky modern businesses – houseboats can range from canal boats, riverboats, narrow and wide beam boats, barges, Dutch barges, static houseboats and even seaworthy cruisers moored in marina. The book will cover stylish boats from the UK, North America, Europe and Australia. The houseboats engage the reader through their history and owners’ stories, which are told in lively text and colourful images. People fall in love with boats and own them for a variety of reasons: out of affordability and necessity; a love of the water; closeness to nature and the environment; or just because they yearn for a different and more relaxed style of living/working space. This book shows how houseboats can offer an attractive, practical and alternative solution, as well as amazing and often idiosyncratic solutions to living successfully in a small space.My cool houseboat covers the following themes: stylish architectural, from San Francisco to Prague; thrifty and eclectic, as an affordable solution to conventional city dwelling; businesses, using houseboats as unusual workspaces, from a book barge to an allotment; modernist, from a Finnish floating office to an Amsterdam watervilla; recycled, ranging from an Ellis Island ferry houseboat to a converted minesweeper; and soulful, covering alternative ways of life, relaxation and recreation, from a New York City houseboat to a stylish Paris home.