July, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



267 



House-Boating 



in 



America 



Albert Bradlee Hunt 



JMERICANS have during recent years ac- 

 quired a new regard for almost every 

 branch of outdoor life, sport and recrea- 

 tion. House-boating has found many ad- 

 mirers in this country, and each year the 

 ranks are augmented by hundreds of re- 

 cruits; for perhaps nothing else combines 

 so well the attractions of a recreation and the solution of the 

 summer problem. 



In increasing numbers families leave their city homes for 

 the country or shore during the hot months of the year. But 

 most of the desirable resorts within commuting distance of 

 large centers are ex- 

 pensive ; and the 

 man of moderate 

 means frequently is 

 forced to send his 

 family to some place 

 a long distance from 

 town, at a point so 

 remote that he him- 

 self can not join his 

 family except per- 

 haps for an occa- 

 s i o n a 1 week-end. 

 This, of course, is a 

 hardship for all con- 

 cerned; but the chil- 

 dren must be in the 

 country. Yet there 

 obstacles may be 

 easily overcome ; 

 and if they did but 

 know it, the solution 

 is ready waiting for 

 the puzzled ones to 

 take advantage of. 

 The house -boat 

 solves the problem 

 for those who enjoy 

 life on the water, 

 and there are few 

 who do not. The 

 house-boat can be 

 built to fit almost 

 any purse; and there 

 are few cities which 

 have not, within an 

 hour by rail or boat, 



A House-boat on the Indian River 



a suitable lake or river or bay where a house-boat may be 

 moored; the business man may go back and forth each day, 

 and every night may be spent with his family. A mode of 

 living is thus made possible that adds materially to the health 

 and happiness of all. 



The great majority of us are "hewers of wood and drawers 

 of water," and it is to such that house-boating should have 

 its strongest appeal. The leisure class have already given 

 this recreation their stamp of approval. 



There are many types of house-boats, but in this article I 

 shall deal specifically with but one, the only true type, known 

 variously as the stationary scow or immobile house-boat. 



This type of boat 

 has no means of pro- 

 pulsion; to move it 

 from one place to 

 another it is nec- 

 essary to call into 

 requisition a launch 

 or tug. As a matter 

 of fact, however, 

 this is rather more 

 of an advantage 

 than otherwise; for 

 in actual practice 

 house-boats exhibit 

 a tendency to remain 

 in one place, when a 

 location has been 

 found that combines 

 a good base for sup- 

 plies, clean water, 

 sheltered anchorage 

 and convenience of 

 access to town. 

 Then, too, one elim- 

 inates from the boat 

 the gasoline engine, 

 which means a sav- 

 ing of room, no 

 small factor in a 

 boat of moderate 

 size, and a saving of 

 expense, for the 

 house -boat pro- 

 pelled with a gaso- 

 line engine means a 

 more expensively 

 constructed hull to 



