For purposes of this design
exercise I'm going to make a couple of assumptions. First, the "few
thousand dollars" in the bank that you mention means an upper limit of
perhaps $6000.00. More than this would surely stretch that particular
figure of speech.
Second, I'm going to assume that "personal energy conservation" is always
important; that is, building/hassle time should be kept to a minimum (this
in fact brings up redneck corollary #l: "take it easy, who likes to work?
Have another beer.").
Third, recycling is righteous (restated as redneck corollary #2 we get:
"Never buy nothing new; it's cheaper to reuse or fix than to make all that
extra money"—see corollary # 1).
Given the above observations, it seems to me that the simplest and most
obvious solution to our mutual friend's houseboat idea is to buy an older
18 to 20 foot travel trailer and park it on a quickly built 24 to 28 foot
barge, and Presto! you have a floating home . The advantages to this
scheme are: 1) you start with a fully self-contained vehicle with fresh
water tankage, complete electrical, sewage, propane and maybe even air
conditioning built in 2) A pre-built interior complete with all appliances
designed by a "professional" who can do at least as good a job as you
could do, complete with a convertible dinette! (See fig. I for plan view
of a typical new 20 footer). 3) Pre-owned trailers are relatively cheap. A
quick look at my local want ads convinced me that appropriate units can be
purchased for anywhere from $500 to $2500 (an old Airstream-probably with
that cool real wood paneling!). 4) The self- assured smugness that comes
from having come up with a simple cheap solution.
The disadvantages of this idea are: 1) You still have to make the barge
(details follow); 2 ) What you've got here looks like a old house trailer
parked on a barge and it won't impress your ex-wife-at least not mine!
(See fig. 2)- so therefore you need to do a little camouflage to make it
more acceptable to potential girlfriends, the marina management, your
liveaboard neighbors, and the ex.— in that order! (Please see fig. 3); 3)
Loading and unloading would require a good paved launch ramp, a
substantial purpose-built ramp, patience and a little reassembling of the
foredeck "trellis." It would probably take the better part of a day with a
little bit of help and a couple of beer breaks. Luckily/presumably it
would not be done often.
The barge itself would probably be most easily and cheaply built of 1/8
inch mild steel (especially if Kenny down at the muffler shop will help
out for $15 bucks an hour plus beer, like he said when he thought you were
joking). At 10x28 with 2 foot sides, and I foot frames, the materials list
comes to approx 12- 4x10 foot sheets of 1/8, perhaps 160 feet of angle
iron and less than 200 feet of 1x6 T and G "cardecking" (see fig.4).
The side- framing, roof, trellises and sheathing are standard house
construction/lumberyard materials and are overbuilt (2x2 framing would
probably work fine instead of 2x4). I'd be surprised if you spent more
than $1000 on the wood. The whole project would probably take two
experienced welder/builders a month of strenuous weekends.
As for mobility, an outboard bracket could be easily welded to the
transom, but I would be more inclined to raft up the 12- foot aluminum
skiff at the aft "corner." With a large prop and a windless day 15 hp
ought to do it. lf Luann and her fancy lawyer call too often, unhook and
anchor up the lake. If they still wont go away, offload the trailer, hook
it up to the Chevy and take off for the Mountains. The empty barge would
make a damn fine beer garden back at the marina if rented to the right
folks, and generate a few bucks a month rent too!
Drawings:
Bio:
I live on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound where my wife Jill and I
are at the tail end of raising our two sons Haven 22, and Harte 17. These
days I teach at a alternative high school 2 days a week, do a little art
and build small boats. Once upon a time we lived for approx. 6 years on a
50 foot planked housebarge
that I designed and we built. I still have study plans if anybody's
interested. |
