634 
FOREST AND STREAM 
May i8, 1912 
The barrels are not nailed to the foundation 
of the houseboat, but float loose in a sort of 
frame provided for them. Ihey cannot work 
loose or get out unless they get filled with water 
and sink below the level of the surface. An old 
one is thus easily removed and a new one put 
in place by filling it part full of water. With 
a boat hook it can be shoved in place, and then 
the water pumped out with an ordinary hand 
bilge pump. Calked up then the barrel is ready 
to do its work indefinitely. 
The average cider or oil barrel holding fifty 
gallons has enormous buoyancy. It will take 
over 400 pounds to sink it below the surface. 
Half this weight, or approximately 200 pounds, 
has been found to be what is called a safe load. 
It will float 200 pounds easily. This fact will 
enable one to work out the problem of building 
his houseboat. Allowing 200 pounds approxi- 
matelj' for every barrel, it is possible to decide 
about how many will be needed for a houseboat 
of any desired size. In estimating the weight 
the furnishings of the houseboat and the weight 
of the people living on it must be taken into 
consideration. 
A small houseboat 12 by 20 feet will accom¬ 
modate from two to four people comfortably. 
Twenty barrels will support a houseboat of this 
size easily and leave sufficient allowance for half 
a dozen people aboard at any one time. For ten 
dollars the barrels can be obtained, and the rest 
consists of lumber, nails, paint and furnishings. 
The cradle or the foundation, which rests on 
top of the barrels, is really the only difficult part 
of construction that may require the serv.ces of 
a carpenter. 
The cradles are made of wooden joists run¬ 
ning lengthw'ise of the boat in two sections, and 
nailed together so as to fit the chime of the bar¬ 
rels. When the barrels are placed beneath the 
cradle, they float there and hold the boat up. 
When the cradles are finished and placed over 
the barrels, they are securely fastened together, 
and then the planking or flooring of the house¬ 
boat is laid on top. This flooring can be made 
of second hand lumber and covered with matting 
or canvas. 
Before the floor boards are laid down, the up¬ 
right posts for carrying the sides and roof must 
be put in place. These corner and side posts 
must be nailed to the cradles so that the weight 
of the roof will fall on them. The sides of the 
house can be covered with ordinary clap-boards 
laid lengthwise and overlapping, or shingles may 
be used. That is merely a matter of preference. 
The roof, however, should be made of boards 
similar to the flooring, for the roof of the house¬ 
boat is the summer garden or roof garden of the 
home. An awning or tent placed up here will 
double the space of the houseboat and furnish 
a fine place for lounging on hot days. The lower 
part of the house is the living quarters. In 
making a flat roof there is always the danger of 
leaks. There is one sure way to overcome this. 
When the boards have been laid, cover the top 
with canvas, paint it or cover it with pure lin¬ 
seed oil. This will make it watertight. Another 
way is to use thick, heavy building paper, but 
the canvas is better. If this is repainted each 
spring, no leaks will develop. 
There should be a platform on either end of 
the houseboat, and the inside should be divided 
up with a view to making work aboard comfort¬ 
able and convenient. A boat of this size should 
have a kitchen and dining room and one or two 
bed rooms. A sink should be provided in the 
kitchen, with a few closets for dishes. An oil 
stove is better than a coal or wood stove. It is 
lighter and more convenient. Double doors 
should open at either end of the houseboat so 
that the whole Interior can be aired out at any 
time. 
Bed rooms should have corner locations so 
that each can have two windows opening on the 
two sides. This will furnish an abundance of 
used for towing the houseboat to a new position 
on the lake or river. 
There are hundreds of small and large lakes 
and quiet streams where such a houseboat would 
prove a blessing and a permanent investment for 
thousands of people anxious to spend their sum¬ 
mer days out in the open. There is no charge 
for land sites, and if one does not like neighbors 
or the neighborhood, the home is easily moved 
to another place. If one has a small launch, the 
attractions of the houseboat are increased. The 
ventilation. From the diagrams it is easy to 
see how this can be arranged. Moreover, the 
whole construction of the houseboat can be un¬ 
derstood from the diagrams so that any one 
could build the craft or instruct a carpenter how 
to do it. 
A houseboat of this size and general style can 
be built for about $100, if one performs most 
of his own labor. If a carpenter is hired to do 
all of the work, it may cost $25 more. Here 
are the figures and itemized cost: 
Lumber .$5000 
Twenty barrels at 50 cents.... 10.00 
Roofing canvas . 10.00 
Nails and spikes. 2.00 
Paint and stain. 10.00 
Extra help and labor. 12.00 
launch will tow the houseboat quickly from place 
to place, and in the course of a summer one may 
change the residence a dozen times. 
Near many of our large towns and cities 
colonies of houseboats are rapidly springing into 
existence—not colonies of expensive and elabor¬ 
ate houseboats, but inexpensive ones such as de¬ 
scribed. Tied down to business the owners can 
go back and forth to the city and still enjoy all 
the comforts of a home. In prolonged rainy 
weather life under a tent is not always the most 
enjoyable experience, but a watertight house¬ 
boat offers all the protection and comforts of 
a cottage. An ordinary small oil-heating stove 
added to the equipment will then keep out damp¬ 
ness and chilly winds, so that existence is made 
doubly comfortable. 
Total .$94.00 
These figures are approximately correct for 
almost any part of the country, but if second 
hand lumber can be obtained, the cost will be 
less. In hiring labor for this work a man who 
works for $1.50 a day is often as satisfactory 
as a high priced carpenter who may charge four 
or five dollars. If one has the design and plans 
well in hand, it is a simple matter to direct a 
hired man in his work. 
The interior of the houseboat is not finished 
off at this price, but that is a matter that can 
be taken up later. Houseboats of this char¬ 
acter can be finished off inside by cutting strips 
of birch bark and nailing them to the studding 
or plain canvas or curtains can be used. None 
of these are really necessary, for if the sides 
are properly put together, the walls are not un¬ 
pleasant looking. 
The equipment of a small houseboat should 
not cost much more than that for a camp, al¬ 
though one is apt to install in it a few more 
luxuries. These can be shipped down as needed. 
If one wants an awning for the roof garden of 
the houseboat, an extra allowance must be made 
for the canvas. A good canvas for an awning 
can be purchased from $8 to $10, and if it is 
painted before being put up with linseed oil, it 
will last for years without rotting. Untreated 
canvas is apt to get mildewed and develop rot. 
When we consider the cost of board and camp¬ 
ing outfits, it will not require much figuring to 
show that a homemade houseboat is after all the 
cheapest investment. If two or three join to¬ 
gether in sharing the expenses, the cost is very 
small. For less than the rent of a house or 
bungalow one can own a houseboat and have 
the freedom of its occupancy year after year. 
In the fall of the year the houseboat is drawn 
upon shore or anchored in some quiet nook 
until needed another season. 
A houseboat needs a rowboat to make the life 
complete. The rowboat is the carry-all for the 
family. It brings the provisions, and can be 
Ticks from the Ship’s Clock. 
Mr. Hollis Burgess, the Boston yachtsman, 
has purchased the 21-foot waterline centerbopd 
sloop yacht Little Haste from A. D. Cum nins, 
of Philadelphia. She left Philadelphia lastTuesday 
on deck of the barge Ruth, and has just arrived 
in Boston. Little Haste was built for Ihornton 
K. Lothrop, Jr., of Boston, and won the cham¬ 
pionship of the 21-foot Massachusetts Bay cabin 
class in 1902. She is 39 feet 10 inches over all, 
10 feet 6 inches beam and 3 feet 6 inches draft, 
and has a heavy-weighted centerboard. She 
was afterward purchased by Fred. B. Thurber, 
of Providence, R. L, and was raced by him on 
Narragansett Bay. In 1909 she was bought by 
A. D. Cummins, of Philadelphia, who used her 
at Atlantic City, N. J. Mr. Burgess will race 
Little Haste in class A, of the Interclub Yacht 
Racing Association of Massachusetts, and it 
will be interesting to see how she performs 
against keel boats, as keel boats have hereto¬ 
fore shown a marked superiority over the 
centerboard boats. 
The Eau Gallie Y. C., of Eau Gallic, Fla., 
have elected the following officers for the com¬ 
ing year: Commodore, J. A. Carr; Vice-Com¬ 
modore, C. C. Booth, M.D.; Fleet Captain, W. 
J. Redington; Secretary, J. E. M. Hodgson. 
Orders for two new Speedway gasolene 
marine engines have been received for export 
CAINVAS e-UVCKEU CANUKS 
Canoeing season is almost here. Write at once for our illustrated 
cataloe. Kennebec means perfection of design, best finish, lirht 
weight combined with strength. Our special type of sponsons (air 
chambers) make paddling, sailing or motor canoes absolutely safe. 
KENNEBEC CANOE CO. • - 10 R. R. Square, Waterville, Maine 
ARTHUR BINNEY 
(Formerly Stewa*t &. Binnev) 
Naval Architect and Yacht Broker 
Mkson Building, Kilby St., BOSTON, MASS. 
Cable Address, ‘'Designer,” Boston 
COX STEVENS 
Yacht Brokers and Naval Architects 
15 William Street - New York 
Telephones 1375 and 1376 Broad 
