houseboat foundation

[husbåt]

hi

I'm planning to start a project by summer. The project is to build a houseboat. I've just started and am currently downloading SolidWorks where I plan to design the boat. Is it the optimal program for house construction, or is there something better?

So now I've made a little sketch on paper of how the boat should look (I'll upload it later). I'm planning to use 10 200-liter barrels so that 4 form the right side and 4 the left, then 1 at the bow and one at the back to make it stable. I plan for the boat to be 8x3.5m and want it to look very modern =D. But I'm wondering how much a 200-liter barrel filled with air can support?

Once I've put the barrels together, I don't know what to use to join them into a platform. Can I use light concrete or something else? I don't want to use wood because it's not that durable q(;^p

And if you have any opinions, please share

 

[cheetah1]

200 liters of water weighs 200 kilos, so 200 kilos minus the weight of the barrel. Then maybe you don't want them to sink more than halfway, so 100 kilos minus the weight of the barrel then...

 

[husbåt]

so I need to stay under 2 tons to prevent it from sinking??

that doesn't sound like much can you fill it with pure oxygen or hydrogen (something cheap) to lift more?

 

[cheetah1]

Absolutely right, and no, it probably won't work, hydrogen is indeed lighter than oxygen, but the weight of the liquid the container displaces that constitutes the buoyancy and filling with hydrogen might possibly give a little more weight per barrel. Additionally, you need to keep the hydrogen in the barrel.

If I were you (although I don't know what your financial situation is..), I would buy a smaller old ship and convert it into a living space. But prepare yourself to always smell like diesel and lubricating oil afterwards.

 

[cem77]

If you are going to build a house of 8 * 3.5 meters, you need a better foundation. For example, a concrete floating dock or an old barge that you can renovate and build the house on.

 

[husbåt]

Hehe, I think I have found the solution to my problem =D

The float system

The float system consists of a galvanized steel structure as a base plate that floats on PVC pontoons filled with styrofoam. The pontoons are 4 meters long with a diameter of 1.1 m and a total of 16 pieces, which gives a total buoyancy of about 63 tons. The float bodies are strapped with stainless steel bands against the galvanized steel structure.

Seems really promising =D

 

[husbåt]

found this too
http://www.marinetek.net/se/p_house.html

seems to be really good but I wonder what kind of motor I need to be able to move 25 tons + the house?

 

[John J]

found this too
[link]

seems to be really good but I wonder what kind of engine I need to be able to move 25 tons + the house?

It completely depends on how fast you want it to go and move it, as well as the construction of the barge and the type of sea it will be used in, but you need at least 30-50 Hp. Preferably 2 engines if it should be steerable.

 

[husbåt]

I have found the perfect material to build with =D

http://www.euromac.ie/
how it works =D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcCm_HMya9Q

what do you think??

 

[cheetah1]

Polystyrene is indeed an excellent flotation material, as it does not absorb water.

Two Volvo B18s you can probably find at a random scrapyard, and converting them to fresh water usually can be arranged quite easily.

 

[Mäster]

If you're passing by Slagsta marina, behind Netonnet, where you head down to the Ekerö ferry, you should pop in and check out a houseboat construction of note. It looks like a gigantic white Skogaholm loaf, or like an airplane, 8x20 meters. Steel pontoons, superstructure in birch plywood and epoxy, truly an eternal project. I usually drop by every other year and admire the determination of this life artist.

 

[husbåt]

so what do you think it will cost??
I'm thinking like this
the foundation will probably cost 30-60k (meaning the pontoons and a steel frame)
then the styrofoam plates and concrete about 100k
then a few cheap 2 25hp engines
then all the glass etc., and electricity, water 100k
=300k does that sound reasonable?? without interior like sofa etc. just the kitchen and bathroom should be finished and the rest of the rooms I'll buy when the money starts coming in =D

 

[Immobil]

It looks like a gigantic white Skogaholmslimpa, or like an airplane, 8x20 meters
steel pontoons, superstructure in birch plywood and epoxy, a real eternity project.

Do you, or anyone else, have a picture of the project?

 

[Mäster]

I had a picture in the old phone... but it's gone.
It's not a beauty, he's messed a bit with the color around the windows, which I think comes from a bus or an airplane, and it's very different in design,
But somehow it still gives a rather well-built impression...
At the stern, the last time I saw it, he had moved the wall in, creating a small "patio" with a roof over it.
I think he's planning for a truck/bus diesel in each pontoon,

 

[yens]

So what do you think it will cost??
I'm thinking like this
the foundation will probably cost 30-60k (meaning the pontoons and a steel frame)
then the styrofoam plates and concrete about 100k
then some cheap 2 25hp motors
then all the glass etc. and electricity, water 100k
=300k does that sound reasonable?? without furniture like a sofa etc. only the kitchen and bathroom should be finished and I'll buy the rest of the rooms when the money starts coming in =D

That sounds like a huge optimistic estimate... I would guess that if you are extremely economical, maybe you can build it for double, but triple is probably more likely. There must be a reason why not everyone lives in houseboats, if it had cost as little as 300k to build a livable boat, our harbors would probably be packed...