..seems you are real landlubbers... ..third highest value of boats per inhabitants...
Hope all these boats do not sail Lac Léman at the same time...
where, btw, did you come across this statistic, do you mean owned or registered?Agree with VeroniQ. Interesting project, with nice interior solutions. Was not planning to comment, but after a day out at sea yesterday (actually, most days since May, now that I think about it). Nice day, sheltered waters, 10 m/s wind. Passed several (moored) houseboats. many of which have similarities to your project. I have been on board a couple of them. Your concept is certainly feasible, but comparing with the real life ones, a couple of questions spring to mind - not least VeroniQ's point about containers.
..modular pontoon system with a steal frame on it
...
house consists of two sea containers...
Steel frame + two freight containers (?). You may have considered this, but I admit to some doubts:...
house consists of two sea containers...
- Condensation: some clever insulation might be needed to avoid moisture.
- Corrosion: in salt water steel is pretty high maintenance. And I fear in freshwater too.
- Height: a freight container is some 2,6 m high. More than needed on a boat. The height increases air draught, for bridge clearance, but equally important, windage. Maneuverability will suffer (bow, and possibly stern, thruster will be needed, and more engine power too), as will stability (higher centre of gravity).
- Weight: If I remember correctly, an ISO 668 40' freight container weighs just short of 4 tonnes and a 'normal' pontoon floats < 200 kg/metre length.
However, this does not make much difference to your design as such, but gut feeling is that it would be easier with an aluminium structure with light sidings, without - I think - significant cost increase.
..electric propulsion and all the electric energy you will ever need on this houseboat is generated by the pv system and two wind turbines
...
bathroom with shower, bathtube, toilet, sink and a towel heater.
In the big kitchen you will find all the space you need to cook a good meal, a fridge-freezer, a dishwasher, a inductive stove an a big workplate for preparing the fishes you cathed...
Hmmm. Both propulsion and all your electric stuff? Quick, off the top-of-the-head calculation: 35m² of pv (<7kW with good sun?), two wind turbines (<500W at >8ms?), my marina has a max of 750W for each boat. If you go with a - probably too weak - 80 hp/60 kw electric outboard, it will still suck 60 kWh worth of battery dry in one hour at full throttle. But you could prepare sushi on the induction cook-top, of course. Electric is great, but I suspect you may need to consider hybrid if you wish to leave the dock. Prices for electric marine engines + batteries are currently prohibitively expensive, but that may change....
bathroom with shower, bathtube, toilet, sink and a towel heater.
In the big kitchen you will find all the space you need to cook a good meal, a fridge-freezer, a dishwasher, a inductive stove an a big workplate for preparing the fishes you cathed...
.. freshwater (1000l) and you have to pump out the black (500l) and grey (500l) water tanks...
Do inland sewage stations distinguish between grey- and black-water - EU has some rules on this, I think? Anyway, I would seriously consider a marine toilet that flushes a fraction of the water compared to landlubber ones. And if you have kids, choose the electric/grinder ones. A clogged manual one is a pain - no fun in open waters. And a (marine) shower will save you a lot of water and electricity compared to a bathtub. Please keep posting. While there are only few treads on houseboats, that does not mean the project is not interesting and a good match for SH3D.
If anyone wants to attempt a (pontoon) houseboat project - there are some manufacturers that sell pontoon structures. I got a quote from a German manufacturer for the tests in thread 6956 - models shared in SF 3D models 397. Note that this was a random choice never investigated further, so no opinion on different manufacturers. Also, there are several used (pontoon) houseboats for sale. Often at reasonable prices if you are willing to refurbish.
