Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 05-19-2013, 06:15 AM   #1
Member
 
City: Belgium
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 7
Looking for European houseboat in North America

Hi all,

I've been looking for information regarding my plans below. I spend some time searching the internet and your lovely forum popped up. I apologise if this is not the right place to ask.

Here goes. I currently live in Europe and will be moving in Canada sometime next year (if all the visa stuff goes well, *cross fingers*). Anyway, where I live, there are a lot of houseboats/liveaboards/.. like this: Woonboot Spits - www.boten.be - Andere boot Staal - Diesel

These are built from old steel barges 40 meters long (132 feet) and 5 meters wide (16 feet). You can generally buy and old barge in good condition for +- 80 000 $, and convert them for an additional 60 000 - 250 000 $, depending on how crazy you want to be. They offer a lot of space, and you can basically live in them like in a normal house, with the big advantage of not being stuck to one place. They are not meant to travel with regularly (although most of them have working engines).

I have been looking on Canadian and US websites/listings to find similar things. I looked for "barge" and "houseboats", but nothing similar turned up. Please note English is not my first language, and I am quite unfamiliar with the various terms regarding boats/ships/trawlers/barges etc. Which brings me to my first question: How would you describe a boat like this ?

Next, assume I find a boat like this. These are steel barges. I've read it's almost impossible to get steel boats insured. Is this correct ? These boats typically go in to the dock every 5 years to get corroded/rusted steel plates replaced if necessary.

If the above boats are non-existent in North America, are there alternatives for my wishes ? I am looking for:
- a boat with lots of room, comparable to a normal house
- I do not intend to use it as a boat often, only when I need to move for longer periods of time, eg for my job
- to keep the price low, I want to buy the basic boat, and then transform it into a housing boat myself or with the help of others. Are there any companies that have experience doing such things? There probably are, but I have no idea where to start looking or for what to search.

Thank you very much for any information you are willing or able to share !

Kind regards,
Digits
digits is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2013, 07:23 AM   #2
Guru
 
swampu's Avatar


 
City: Biloxi, MS
Vessel Name: Cajun Rose
Vessel Model: Biloxi Lugger
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,384
Man that is one cool looking house boat. Welcome to the forum. Most conversions here in the South are Fishboats being turned into Live abord trawlers. Same concept but I would think the old shrimp boats would be easier to handle than a barge. Good luck with your visa. Paul
swampu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2013, 10:38 AM   #3
Guru
 
O C Diver's Avatar
 
City: Fort Myers, FL... Summers in the Great Lakes
Vessel Name: Slow Hand
Vessel Model: Cherubini Independence 45
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 12,834
You may want to investigate the laws where you plan to live in Canada. There may be restrictions on where you could moor a vessel such as this (outside of a marina). Also Canada has very strict laws regarding discharge of human waste on inland waters.

I have always liked the canal boats / barges of Europe and wondered why there weren't similar vessels on the inland waters of North America. Maybe something larger but along these lines.

Erie Canal Boats


Ted
__________________
Blog: mvslowhand.com
I'm tired of fast moves, I've got a slow groove, on my mind.....
I want to spend some time, Not come and go in a heated rush.....
"Slow Hand" by The Pointer Sisters
O C Diver is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2013, 11:50 AM   #4
Veteran Member
 
weebobby's Avatar
 
City: Cochrane, Alberta
Vessel Name: Painters Cove
Vessel Model: 1997 Bayliner 5788
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 88
Canada is a big country

What part of it will you live in?? Relatively temperate coasts or hard freezing Great lakes?

Bob
weebobby is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2013, 02:51 PM   #5
Member
 
City: Belgium
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by weebobby View Post
What part of it will you live in?? Relatively temperate coasts or hard freezing Great lakes?

Bob
Ah yes, good that you mention it. It will be in Manitoba, so the hard freezing areas. My goal is to live it all the time, so also in the winter, which means the boat itself will be heated.

I have no idea yet what else to do to make sure it survives the extreme temperatures/ice. I haven't done research in that area.
digits is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2013, 03:42 PM   #6
Guru
 
Tad Roberts's Avatar
 
City: Flattop Islands
Vessel Name: Blackfish
Vessel Model: custom
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 724
Unfortunately the North American equivalent of a European Canal Barge does not exist. The barges you can find are typically 120' by 40' flat deck or hopper barges. These would be more-or-less impossible to get to Manitoba. What are available though are steel sectional barges, intended to be trucked to the inland location and assembled.

See Barges
Tad Roberts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2013, 03:47 PM   #7
Dauntless Award
 
Wxx3's Avatar
 
City: Wrangell, Alaska
Vessel Name: Dauntless
Vessel Model: Kadey Krogen 42 - 148
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,820
Welcome,

having lived in Europe, (the Netherlands, Germany and Italy) for years, there are a number of issues you may want to consider:
1. live-aboards that don't move very much, like houseboats, have not the best reputation in many cities. That is cities are tolerating the ones already there, but don't want any more.
2. If the boat is older than 25 years (steel or fiberglass), you may have problems with insurance. Wood is out of the question.
3. The Erie Canal boats mentioned are an option, but since we never really developed a narrow canal system, most of our barges were made for places like the great lakes and the Mississippi River.. Very different than the sedate canals of the UK, France or the Low Countries.
4. Manitoba winters are closer to Siberia than Belgium! Certainly closer Moscow than Brugges.

If you know for sure you may be in the plains of Canada, then investigate what boats are actually in the water (frozen in during the winter) year around.

Also, lastly, If in Manitoba, where can you do by water in any case?? They may have millions of lakes, but not much navigable rivers.

good Luck and keep us informed.

Richard
__________________
Richard on Dauntless,
New York

a Kadey Krogen 42 currently: https://share.garmin.com/dauntless
Blog:
https://dauntlessatsea.com
Wxx3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2013, 04:19 AM   #8
Member
 
City: Belgium
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wxx3 View Post

Also, lastly, If in Manitoba, where can you do by water in any case?? They may have millions of lakes, but not much navigable rivers.
Thank you Richard, a lot of good points. Especially the one above. I assumed all lakes were interconnected with each other. Apparantly I was wrong.

I am trying to find a map now of the navigable waterways in Manitoba and Canada.
digits is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2013, 04:25 AM   #9
FF
Guru
 
FF's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 22,553
Might be time to find a Plan B instead of a map.
FF is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2013, 06:38 AM   #10
123
Member
 
City: ---
Vessel Name: ---
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 379
Hi Digits,

Why not ship a Laser Cutted Steel Plate Kit to Canada and weld it there together?

Ships easy in a container and might be the cheapest solution i know dutch people who did the same to Suriname.

Link: Euro Ship Services, 15 meter Barge
Attached Thumbnails
Luxemotor-casco.jpg   Luxemotor.jpg  
123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2013, 06:46 AM   #11
Member
 
City: Belgium
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 7
Hi Reiziger,

it looks cool, but I am looking for a bigger one: 40 meters long (132 feet) and 5 meters wide (16 feet)

There are already similar boats as the one you mentioned located in Canada itself, so that would save me the hassle. However, since I am getting used to seeing these big houseboats here in Europe, I am first trying to find something similar in North America.

I'll put it on the plan B list

Groeten,
Digits

Quote:
Originally Posted by Reiziger View Post
Hi Digits,

Why not ship a Laser Cutted Steel Plate Kit to Canada and weld it there together?

Ships easy in a container and might be the cheapest solution i know dutch people who did the same to Suriname.

Link: Euro Ship Services, 15 meter Barge
digits is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2013, 06:50 AM   #12
123
Member
 
City: ---
Vessel Name: ---
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 379
Quote:
Originally Posted by digits View Post
Hi Reiziger,

it looks cool, but I am looking for a bigger one: 40 meters long (132 feet) and 5 meters wide (16 feet)

There are already similar boats as the one you mentioned located in Canada itself, so that would save me the hassle. However, since I am getting used to seeing these big houseboats here in Europe, I am first trying to find something similar in North America.

I'll put it on the plan B list

Groeten,
Digits
Look at their website they can design and Laser Cut all you want, next link is a 20 meter barge;

Link: Euro Ship Services 20 meter Barge
Attached Thumbnails
lux-20-shr-13.jpg   lux-20-shr-15.jpg  
123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2013, 10:56 AM   #13
Veteran Member
 
weebobby's Avatar
 
City: Cochrane, Alberta
Vessel Name: Painters Cove
Vessel Model: 1997 Bayliner 5788
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 88
Manitoba "Praire schooner"

weebobby is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2013, 11:09 AM   #14
Guru
 
Tad Roberts's Avatar
 
City: Flattop Islands
Vessel Name: Blackfish
Vessel Model: custom
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 724
Quote:
Originally Posted by digits View Post
I am trying to find a map now of the navigable waterways in Manitoba and Canada.
Lake Winnipeg is 258 miles long and up to 60 miles wide, a fair sized body of water........

Lake Winnipeg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tad Roberts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2013, 11:22 AM   #15
Member
 
City: Belgium
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tad Roberts View Post
Lake Winnipeg is 258 miles long and up to 60 miles wide, a fair sized body of water........

Lake Winnipeg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yes, quite big indeed. I am not looking for a detailed map, more something that would show which lakes are connected with each other by boat.

On Google maps I can see the Red river flowing through Manitoba, with pictures of boats on them.
digits is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2013, 11:27 AM   #16
Scraping Paint
 
City: Fort Lauderdale
Vessel Model: CHB 48 Zodiac YL 4.2
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,804
The Canadian government publishes maps of navigable waterways. Might be a good place to start ...
RickB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2013, 11:29 AM   #17
Member
 
City: Belgium
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by RickB View Post
The Canadian government publishes maps of navigable waterways. Might be a good place to start ...
Indeed, but they are very detailed, and -as far as I can see- only published for the lakes themselves. Nothing in between.

This might mean that the lakes are not connected at all, or that there is simply not much demand for charts of those waterways.

//edit:
This is the link with their chart index:
http://www.fedpubs.com/mpchrt/charts/chartind.htm
digits is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2013, 12:50 PM   #18
Veteran Member
 
weebobby's Avatar
 
City: Cochrane, Alberta
Vessel Name: Painters Cove
Vessel Model: 1997 Bayliner 5788
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 88
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tad Roberts View Post
Lake Winnipeg is 258 miles long and up to 60 miles wide, a fair sized body of water........

Lake Winnipeg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It also freezes solid for several months of the year and temperatures of minus 45c are fairly normal.
Try living aboard in that!

Bob
weebobby is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 12:36 AM   #19
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 132
also take a look at some Canadian boating magazines, pacific yachting is the first to come to mind, dont think I have haerd a request like yours before, to cold for 6+ monthsof the year.
expat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 12:18 PM   #20
FF
Guru
 
FF's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 22,553
Why not ship a Laser Cutted Steel Plate Kit to Canada and weld it there together?

Especially if the boat is large , getting a boat with a 16 ft beam delivered down most roads would be very costly.

So build it lakeside and keep it there.
FF is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:01 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012