A SERVICEABLE HOUSE¬ 
BOAT 
O be a -whole, all-around success, a 
house-boat must be relatively inex¬ 
pensive and it must contain room for 
actual living conditions of from two to 
four or six persons. Moreover, the joy 
and thrill to be obtained from the craft 
will be immensely increased if all of the 
work can be clone by the hands of the 
owner. Human nature calls for pride in 
one’s own doings. 
The house-boat which is herewith de¬ 
scribed and illustrated by means of 
working drawings, meets these condi¬ 
tions. It is compact and inexpensive 
and contains a “garage” for the small 
motor-boat or speed launch, which 
makes it possible to use the boat, in its 
mooring, as the power unit for propel¬ 
ling the whole craft. It is roofed and 
has two large rooms which may be of 
equal size, each ten and one-half by 
eleven and one half feet, affording 
plenty of room for actual living for long 
periods of time. There is a deck at the 
forward end which is eight feet wide 
and twelve feet long, while at the rear, 
beneath the floor of the two rooms, and 
centrally located, is the space for the 
boat. The framework is so constructed 
that when the motor-boat is set in mo¬ 
tion, the whole craft will be propelled 
along without undue strain on any of 
the parts. Buoyancy is maintained by 
a number of water-tight galvanized iron 
tanks, all of a size, which can be pro¬ 
cured in quantities for almost nothing, 
at any plumbing establishment. These 
tanks are held within the lower frame¬ 
work, and there is room for the addition 
of others should unequal weights over¬ 
head in the rooms warrant their addi¬ 
tion. The framing is simple and can be 
accomplished by anyone familiar with 
the use of tools. The exterior, both 
above and below the water-line, is of 
Page 184 
E are depending upon the friends 
and, admirers of our old corre¬ 
spondent Nessmuk to make this de¬ 
partment worthy of his name. No man 
knew the woods better than Nessmuk 
or wrote of them with quainter charm. 
Many of his practical ideas on camp¬ 
ing and “going light ” have been adopted 
by the United States Army; his canoe 
has been preserved in the Smithsonian 
Institution; and we hope that all good 
woodsmen will contribute to this de¬ 
partment their Hints and Kinks and 
Trail-tested Contrivances .—[ Editor.] 
matched lumber, though the kind and 
style will be governed by the amount of 
cash available and by the taste of the 
owner. The roof is either shingle or 
prepared roofing. The deck is enclosed 
by a railing and steps lead up to the door 
in the forward end. And there are two 
trap-doors over the boat compartment 
which are raised and lowered when put¬ 
ting up the boat for the night or for 
making repairs. 
T HE house-boat shown is thirty feet 
long and twelve feet wide over all. 
The first step will be to build the bed, 
up to and including the water-line. The 
work will need to be started upon horses 
to permit easy access to the under side. 
The outside pieces are two by six inch 
timbers while the cross pieces are either 
two by six or two by four. In the plan 
of the framing it will be noted that the 
stringers are tied every four feet by the 
cross pieces, except the extreme rear 
which is tied at two feet. The two by 
sixes are steamed to permit the bend at 
the forward end. 
The compartment for the boat is 
shown as exactly four feet. Since the 
fit should not be tight, there should be 
just enough clearance between the hous¬ 
ing and the boat to admit bumpers to 
prevent marring of the paint. If the 
boat to be used varies from four feet in 
width, then the stringers should be set 
accordingly. If the boat is too long to 
be accommodated within the space al- 
loted, then the inside forward end must 
be extended far enough so that all of 
the boat will be enclosed. Then, if you 
so desire, the opening at the rear can be 
enclosed 'by two doors above the water¬ 
line, the latch and lock working from the 
inside. Beside the use of two-inch ma¬ 
terial, ties of one-inch boards should be 
extended in somewhat the manner indi¬ 
cated to lessen the tendency to work out 
of plumb. Another factor which will 
govern the building of the bed will be 
the size of the tanks to be used. Assum¬ 
ing that each is just under four feet 
in" length and ten or eleven inches in 
diameter, then four will fit into each 
compartment, except the two extreme 
spaces which will hold only two. Fifty 
tanks of this size will float the boat ad¬ 
mirably. But should there be need of 
more they can be added for the depth 
of these compartments is two feet. 
While discussing the floats, it should 
be said that if tight and sound barrels 
are more readily procurable and cheaper, 
then these can be substituted for the 
tanks. In this case the compartments 
should be built to hold only one barrel. 
It might be well to arrange each, if the 
barrels are used, with the bungs well 
plugged but on the top side so that if 
any should spring a leak they can be 
pumped out without much trouble. For 
the tops of the tanks, whether of iron or 
barrels, will be above water. 
To the corners of the bed are then 
nailed the corner posts and the studding 
for the sides. This step needs no de¬ 
tailed comment since it involves straight 
carpentering methods. The doors and 
windows are, of course, pre-determined 
and laid out accordingly. 
In fact, from here on the structure is 
• JN ) e , ar'- • CM 
built much as one would set about to 
erect a small garage. The forward end 
may be covered with wainscoting if de¬ 
sired, and the corner boards, while add¬ 
ing much to the appearance of the build¬ 
ing, are not essential to its welfare. 
Once the outside structure is com¬ 
pleted, the interior will need some atten¬ 
tion to make it homelike. Composition 
board, when used to cover the walls, will 
cover the studding and provide an in- 
