I was thinking of putting together a houseboat, when you've been considering something for a couple of years, it's time to let it go or tackle it. I have some questions:
I was thinking of using some formplywood I have lying around among the clutter, it's about 10 square meters. The sketch I have now is 3m x 1.5 m with a total area of approximately 22 square meters, floor, walls, and sloping roof.
Just the paneling will weigh 150 Kg with this model if I use 12 mm formplywood for water resistance.
I'm aiming for the absolute lowest possible weight with these criteria: Resistant to moisture and water splashes, cheapest possible, sufficiently strong.
Don't ask about the floating tanks, I'll figure that out later. They will likely be 40-60 liter plastic jugs built in some designed way.
I'm planning to build the frame with narrow and tall timber that I'll screw together to form L-beams for strength, I haven't gotten that far yet. My main question is if something else can be used besides formplywood? For the roof, I thought of using something else, and then patio roofing on top, but the walls need to withstand water. Are there thinner panels with wax coating? Oil-treated masonite that would work? I've considered canvas but still want solid walls.
The boat will be on a small inland lake and should only serve for fishing and the occasional overnight stay on the lake in calm weather, so it's not a battleship that's being built. Just a nice little shed on the water... I won't have insulation. The reason I want to save as much weight as possible is not only for buoyancy but also to be able to pull it ashore in winter without needing a tractor and five men's help. For a motor, I was thinking of a small electric boat motor and oars mounted on brackets on the sides in case of engine failure.
Anyway, it was mostly the panels I was wondering about. If you have other comments, feel free to shout.
I was thinking of using some formplywood I have lying around among the clutter, it's about 10 square meters. The sketch I have now is 3m x 1.5 m with a total area of approximately 22 square meters, floor, walls, and sloping roof.
Just the paneling will weigh 150 Kg with this model if I use 12 mm formplywood for water resistance.
I'm aiming for the absolute lowest possible weight with these criteria: Resistant to moisture and water splashes, cheapest possible, sufficiently strong.Don't ask about the floating tanks, I'll figure that out later.
They will likely be 40-60 liter plastic jugs built in some designed way.I'm planning to build the frame with narrow and tall timber that I'll screw together to form L-beams for strength, I haven't gotten that far yet. My main question is if something else can be used besides formplywood? For the roof, I thought of using something else, and then patio roofing on top, but the walls need to withstand water. Are there thinner panels with wax coating? Oil-treated masonite that would work? I've considered canvas but still want solid walls.
The boat will be on a small inland lake and should only serve for fishing and the occasional overnight stay on the lake in calm weather, so it's not a battleship that's being built. Just a nice little shed on the water... I won't have insulation. The reason I want to save as much weight as possible is not only for buoyancy but also to be able to pull it ashore in winter without needing a tractor and five men's help. For a motor, I was thinking of a small electric boat motor and oars mounted on brackets on the sides in case of engine failure.
Anyway, it was mostly the panels I was wondering about. If you have other comments, feel free to shout.
If I understand correctly, it's not an Atlantic steamer you want, but it should be watertight.
Why not use plywood, and then apply fiberglass cloth, a few layers, with Araldite glue.
Cheapest to buy at Biltema, according to the boat builder guys.
Google boat builders.
The alternative might be thin ribs on frames. Then fiberglass. A lot of work.
Maybe you should fill the keel with stone, lead, or other heavy material, otherwise, it sounds a bit top-heavy.
But what do I know?
Sounds like a fun project in my ears! Go for it!
Johan
Why not use plywood, and then apply fiberglass cloth, a few layers, with Araldite glue.
Cheapest to buy at Biltema, according to the boat builder guys.
Google boat builders.
The alternative might be thin ribs on frames. Then fiberglass. A lot of work.
Maybe you should fill the keel with stone, lead, or other heavy material, otherwise, it sounds a bit top-heavy.
But what do I know?
Sounds like a fun project in my ears! Go for it!
Johan
I think you should have larger flotation elements. Maybe 200l plastic drums or similar. You can forget the electric motor. Keep in mind that your houseboat will have a lot of resistance in the water and even more above. The house will be a large wind catch. I believe you might get by with a 20hp under good conditions, and you won't achieve that with a small electric motor.
For the facade, I think oil-hardened masonite would work well. It's not very pretty, but that's probably your least problem.
If you want to fish properly from the float, it might be a good idea to make the float larger than the house so you don't have to fish from windows or the roof terrace.
For the facade, I think oil-hardened masonite would work well. It's not very pretty, but that's probably your least problem.
If you want to fish properly from the float, it might be a good idea to make the float larger than the house so you don't have to fish from windows or the roof terrace.
Such roofing sheet can otherwise be a good solution. It might be possible to get it for free when someone is replacing their old roof. The image is just illustrative, hardly the cheapest provider. http://byggpris.se/images/products/14_large.png
And I agree with the previous speaker, a small electric propeller will not be able to move such a construction unless it is completely windless or with a tailwind.
And I agree with the previous speaker, a small electric propeller will not be able to move such a construction unless it is completely windless or with a tailwind.
Thanks for the answers.
It feels like you could cut a lot of weight with some form of water-resistant masonite, it won't look nice, but maybe you could dress it up a bit with thin slats. I have actually considered roofing sheet metal, but I thought it would be even uglier. Like a shed on the edge of an Italian landfill full of boat migrants, sort of.
The thing with masonite is that if it gets wet, it swells and warps, which isn't ideal, so maybe some form of metal or plastic is still the way to go.
Good point about the engine... I now remember that my friend had a boat like this when we were kids, and it had a small gasoline engine, but it was troublesome out on open water when it was windy, moving at a snail's pace against the wind. I can easily borrow a decent boat motor now, so maybe start with that before finding something more suitable.
In the basic sketch, I have a "cabin" that's 2 m long and a deck outside that's 1 x 1.5 m with a low railing and fold-up benches on the short sides where I thought two people could sit. I'm calculating for a maximum of three men on board plus 50 kilos of gear = 320 kilos. The weight of the construction will be clearer once I've worked out more about how it should be built.
The reason I was considering 40-liter drums was that I might be able to get some for free, not water drums but solid durable containers, but maybe that was optimistic since I'll need 20 of them to get 800 kilos of buoyancy and that's not much. You're probably right, I need to find significantly larger containers. Where do people usually find such things without buying new from a factory? I'm not using oil drums because of rust; when you least expect it, they can rust through from the inside no matter how nice they look outside.
Korp-johan described something more like a boat construction (houseboat is, of course, the right thread title), which isn't interesting; this isn't a super-serious build, and I'm not taking on the task of assembling a seaworthy boat hull.
It feels like you could cut a lot of weight with some form of water-resistant masonite, it won't look nice, but maybe you could dress it up a bit with thin slats. I have actually considered roofing sheet metal, but I thought it would be even uglier. Like a shed on the edge of an Italian landfill full of boat migrants, sort of.
The thing with masonite is that if it gets wet, it swells and warps, which isn't ideal, so maybe some form of metal or plastic is still the way to go.
Good point about the engine... I now remember that my friend had a boat like this when we were kids, and it had a small gasoline engine, but it was troublesome out on open water when it was windy, moving at a snail's pace against the wind. I can easily borrow a decent boat motor now, so maybe start with that before finding something more suitable.
In the basic sketch, I have a "cabin" that's 2 m long and a deck outside that's 1 x 1.5 m with a low railing and fold-up benches on the short sides where I thought two people could sit. I'm calculating for a maximum of three men on board plus 50 kilos of gear = 320 kilos. The weight of the construction will be clearer once I've worked out more about how it should be built.
The reason I was considering 40-liter drums was that I might be able to get some for free, not water drums but solid durable containers, but maybe that was optimistic since I'll need 20 of them to get 800 kilos of buoyancy and that's not much. You're probably right, I need to find significantly larger containers. Where do people usually find such things without buying new from a factory? I'm not using oil drums because of rust; when you least expect it, they can rust through from the inside no matter how nice they look outside.
Korp-johan described something more like a boat construction (houseboat is, of course, the right thread title), which isn't interesting; this isn't a super-serious build, and I'm not taking on the task of assembling a seaworthy boat hull.