AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



July, 1907 



July, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



begin with, and while the initial cost is greater all the way 

 through, it is also far more expensive to maintain. 



A small gasoline launch, which will serve for tender, ex- 

 press and market boat, will be found a great convenience 

 and an almost indispensable adjunct to the house-boat. Aside 

 from its great usefulness, it enables the owner, the family 

 and guests, to make frequent excursions and to visit and ex- 

 plore all the nearby places. The advantages of the marine 

 gasoline motor need not be extolled here, but suffice to say 

 that these handy and simple little machines have now been 

 brought to a very high point of perfection. The aim of 

 nearly all manufacturers has been to make them "fool- 



pose, unless, of course, one insists on having a maid. If the 

 boat is large enough and the owner desires to keep a servant, 

 a man will prove far more satisfactory. Chinese are by far 

 the best; but few are to be had. Swedes and Norwegians 

 come next, and they are Invariably good boatmen; they till 

 the requirements very nicely. They are generally clean, and 

 most of them can cook sufficiently well to prepare in a palat- 

 able way the simple fare one demands when living afloat. 



West Indian negroes have been tried by many with ex- 

 cellent results. Those bred in the British possessions make 

 the best servants. Most of them can cook, and besides being 

 reasonably clean, are usually good swimmers and watermen. 



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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 net^'ork 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. 



The Galley Is Conveniently Ananged for Cooking Purposes 



The Duan ProMdes L\tra Sleeping Accomodation (or a Gui 



proof," and anyone with ordinary intelligence can handle 

 the motor with ease and safety. 



Power tenders can be had at moderate figures, some good 

 ones can be bought as low as $150. The modified dory and 

 sharpie make admirable launches, and have the great ad- 

 vantage of being most inexpensive. The cost of the engine 

 itself is very much the same, no matter in what type of hull 

 it may be installed. 



A sailing dory makes a handy tender, for it can be easily 

 propelled with either oars or sails. A canoe adds to the com- 

 pleteness of one's fleet; it is cheap, is easily paddled, and 

 may be readily lifted out of the water and put on the upper 

 deck out of the way. 



The servant question is not as vexatious as one might sup- 



When one IS fortunate enough to secure a good Jap he will 

 prove to be all that could be desired. But in general the 

 Japanese are hardly to be recommended, for they are con- 

 stantly changing, and many are careless and dirty. The 

 good ones command a high wage, and the poor ones are not 

 wanted at any price. 



For the children one should, of course, select a servant 

 who can swim and handle a boat well, for he can teach the 

 young folks to swim and sail and row; and one may go to 

 town in the morning with the satisfaction of knowing that 

 the little ones are in good hands. 



The cost of living on a house-boat should average a little 

 less than it does in town. Meats will cost a little more, but 

 under some conditions fish and shell fish may cost less. Gro- 



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, I'i 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, ^'4 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, 1^4 inches thick, support the roof; 



