July, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



269 



ceries can be had for the same price one pays in town, while 

 green vegetables, milk, cream, etc., should be cheap when 

 they are to be had from farms adjacent to the anchorage. 



To suggest anchorages and mooring places where house- 

 boats may be best enjoyed would be an almost endless and 

 futile task, for our country is a network of rivers and streams. 

 Besides the numberless inland waters there are the coast 

 lines with the indentations and bays, suitable for house-boat 

 moorings. 



There are certain things to bear in mind when picking out 

 an anchorage, wherever it may be. Be sure that it is per- 

 fectly sheltered from every quarter, anchor as near the shore 



entirely new; that is, the scows were specially built to take 

 the house, which insures a tight and clean hull. Taking an 

 old scow or hull and building a house on it is a questionable 

 operation, for the converted hulls are generally leaky and 

 frequently are infested with vermin. The building of an 

 entirely new boat may mean a greater outlay at first, but 

 she will be far more satisfactory and in the long run the cost 

 for repairs will be less. 



"Hostess," the smallest of the quartet, was designed for 

 his own use by Mr. Charles D. Mower, a well-known naval 

 architect practicing in New York City. She was built at 

 College Point, L. I., under the designer's supervision. 



as you can, and still avoid mosquitoes and noises from shore 

 resorts or other objectionable places. A mushroom anchor 

 (shaped as its name indicates) and a chain cable are always 

 good investments. If they are large enough they afford the 

 best sort of insurance, and on stormy nights one need never 

 sit up and worry and wonder if the boat is dragging. 



To give a full and practical idea of the immobile house- 

 boat, I have selected four craft, all of which are built within 

 a short distance of New York City. These boats have been 

 taken not alone because they are representative craft of their 

 type, but because they were built where labor and material 

 are higher than elsewhere in this country, and boats that can 

 be built for the figures mentioned in this locality could be 

 constructed for less money elsewhere. All four boats were 



"Hostess" was intended for a bachelor's quarters afloat, and 

 while Mr. Mower has lived alone on the boat for the past 

 three seasons, there is ample room to put up a guest for a 

 night or longer. She is twenty-six feet long over all and 

 ten feet wide. The bottom is flat, and is of i i-^-inch yellow 

 pine planked athwart-ships. Three fore-and-aft stringers, 

 3 by 4 inches, give additional stiffness. All the seams are 

 well caulked with oakum. Yellow pine, il'j inches thick, is 

 also used on the sides of the scow, which are stiffened by the 

 studs that run down to the stringers on each side. Weather- 

 boarding, }i inch thick, covers the sides and end of the 

 house, the top of which is planked with % inch tongue and 

 grooved pine. The entire roof is covered with painted 

 canvas. Spruce beams, 1I/4. Inches thick, support the roof; 



