Tips on How to Build a Houseboat

A houseboat can be good alternative to a vacation or cabin house. Learning how to build a houseboat can make it even more extra special as it allow for customization.

The simplest way I can describe a houseboat is that it is a house structure on top of a flat boat. The house structure itself can of course vary. It may have the semblance of a shed or a mansion. And its interior can be as simple as minimalist as a one room flat or as elaborate as a real house with bedrooms, toilets and kitchen. That, of course is all up to you.

One major consideration in building a houseboat is the weight. Sure, you can have everything inside the houseboat and you can decorate and arrange it the way you please but keep in mind to calculate everything. The cabinetry, the furniture - anything that goes into the houseboat with substantial weight should be taken into account so you can build a boat structure that can support that weight.

Another thing you need to set before anything else is the budget. How much you are willing to spend into the project will determine the materials you are going to use as well as the design and size of the houseboat.

Next, you need to decide which type of materials you're going to use to construct the boat. Aluminum is personal favorite as it is very sturdy but you can also use other materials like wood or polyethylene for example. Fiberglass is also avery good choice though it certainly isn't cheap. What's important is that you choose the materials based on your own requirements. With budget and design coming into play.

Furthermore, building a houseboat would require carpentry skills and tools. Using aluminum would require some welding involved. Make sure you're up to the job entailed in building a houseboat yourself.


And lastly, you must have a very workable design in mind beforehand. The design must include elaborate additions to the interior parts of the houseboat to calculate the entire weight of the structure.

To achieve this, you must have a very workable houseboat plan complete with the exact dimension and measurements. A very good houseboat plan would also allow even the newbies armed with just the basic woodworking skills to build a their own houseboat as it is very elaborate with its step-by-step instructions.