Handmade Houseboats: Independent Living Afloat [Paperback]

Russell Conder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1992

Water-loving people of modest means have lived aboard houseboats for centuries, and why not? Unlike expensive, cramped, and hard-to-build liveaboard cruising boats, spacious, homey houseboats are easily and economically constructed from commmon lumberyard materials. And unlike those high-priced waterfront cottages, there's no lawn to mow and often no property taxes. And if you don't like the new neighbors, just up anchor and be off.

This book tells those who would live afloat how to design and build their own place on the water. There are detailed plans and building instructions for sample houseboats; help with designing a personalized houseboat from scratch; resource-stingy contrivances for easing life aboard, including a solar oven, a windmill-powered washing machine, and innovative power-, water-, and waste-management systems; and more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

``Clearly written, easy to understand, and very nicely illustrated. . .For anyone attempting to build a floating home, this book would be of immense help.'' (Heartland Boating )

``If you want to give the idea [of a houseboat] a serious think for a relatively modest cost, Handmade Houseboats is the best way I know to get there.'' (Sail )

``Every[one's] Huckleberry Finnian dream: a house on a scow or raft; the hows and wheres, with plans and technical details.'' (WoodenBoat )

From the Back Cover

People seem inexorably drawn to live near water, but rising prices for waterfront land have made that an impossible dream for most. There is an alternative.

Water-loving people of modest means have lived aboard houseboats for centuries, and why not? Unlike expensive, cramped, and hard-to-build liveaboard cruising boats, spacious, homey houseboats are easily and economically constructed from commmon lumberyard materials. And unlike those high-priced waterfront cottages, there's no lawn to mow and often no property taxes. And if you don't like the new neighbors, just up anchor and be off.

This book tells those who would live afloat how to design and build their own place on the water. There are detailed plans and building instructions for sample houseboats; help with designing a personalized houseboat from scratch; resource-stingy contrivances for easing life aboard, including a solar oven, a windmill-powered washing machine, and innovative power-, water-, and waste-management systems; and more.

Handmade Houseboats will help you build a self-sufficient and economical floating home that generates its own power, deals with its own waste, and leaves no scar upon the Earth.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1 edition (June 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071580220
• ISBN-13: 978-0071580229
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,145,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Professional & Technical > Transportation > Ships > Boat Building

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handmade Houseboats, January 14, 2002

By 

Dennis Crabtrey (Dothan, AL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handmade Houseboats: Independent Living Afloat (Paperback)

I decided to build my own houseboat. I found little on the subject untill I read this book. It gives construction information, suggests floorplans, and is a great guide for the uninformed. It is filled with practical information about houseboats, electrical information (including 110 vac, 12 vdc, generators and even solar) plumbing, and waste disposal. All in all, the best book on the subject I've found to date. I just returned this book to the Library and have just bought it through Amazon.com. I think that says it all. A must have for anyone thinking about building a houseboat.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars some corrections, April 30, 2002

By 

gary on the noosa river - (australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handmade Houseboats: Independent Living Afloat (Paperback)

I enjoyed the book as it was very informative, but it needs revising in some important areas.

1. namely the barrels - never use steel as they will rust out in under a year. Furthermore, plastic barrels can be bought for under ${a few dollars} each. Black barrels are the best as they won't split under pressure like the blue ones sometimes do. All bungs must be siliconed on the thread and on top of the bung and under the bung. This is very important, as many bungs have a nodule in the middle which houses a pin-prick pressure release valve - which will blow under waves or pressure, letting water in. The silicon can be an expensive marine grade,(a cheaper waterproof silicon used in aquariums might be ok), but never use marine 'Sicaflex' as it's as good as using chewing-gum!

2. The flat-roof waterproofing ideas quoted have been superceded by fantastic super stretchy waterproof rubberised paint which has a 20 year guarantee. Available from building waterproof specialists.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book., August 15, 2005

By 

Edward Askew - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handmade Houseboats: Independent Living Afloat (Paperback)

I read this book, and in August 2005 built a floating 10x12' shed housing a 12kw generator on a 12'x20' barge floating on 34 plastic 55 gallon drums using the methods described in this book. I bought those drums for $11 a piece, and found out later they can be had for $8 or maybe even for free. Yeah, the information may be old, but it's still good. It's a way to get yourself out on the water for pennies on the dollar of what you'd have to pay to buy a used commercially built houseboat, and it'll be new and things inside it will work, and not need constant fixing. I had the barge itself built in 3 days, helped mostly by an unruley 12 year old. It could have easily been 36 x 12' and had a nice little house on it. One caveat: You won't be able to insure a craft built using this method. Even if you don't build using the barrel raft method, there's lots of other good information in the book about houseboats, and I like the Jimmy Buffetesque attitude that the author seems to have.