Tiny Home Tuesday ~ Houseboat Update

For some reason, the phrase 'Occam's razor' has been coming into my reading life on a weirdly regular basis in the last few weeks. I knew the basics, but it was becoming so prevalent I needed to look it up and find out more. There is way the hell too much for barely a sentence a lot written about Occam's razor, the original statement being "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily." Isaac Newton rephrased it "We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances."

No one seems to agree on exactly
what was said by William of Ockham

My favorite (if you exclude the KISS option) is a quote sometimes thought to have come from Einstein, but no one knows for sure - "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." 

And away we stray from Occam's razor! But I've thought a lot about it in terms of tiny homes, mainly about making them work. In this case, about making the renovation and repairs on the houseboat. Constrained by time and finances, simple, well done, just works. But not simpler, meaning, not sacrificing integrity for either time or money. It doesn't bode well for much of anything, but particularly if you plan on living in a home on the water, rather than a home in water. It has taken longer, way longer, but in exactly the right time. Funny how that works.

I hope that makes some sense, because being simple without being too simple was and is a constant in this rebuilding of what is basically an unarchitecturally-graced-with-flourishes box into a home. 

Let the update begin!

After a priming, the entire boat is painted in elastomeric.
It will get another coat when this one totally dries.

Pan came up with the window surrounds, that serve a few purposes. They keep out the weather, which is the biggest purpose. Window, set in holes in whatever the structure , any windows but especially on boats, draw rot like, well, I was going to use a pretty gross analogy, never mind that. Point being, this boat is made of wood with fiberglass over it on the outside. Wood + water = bad wood. The rebuild, both inside and out, was mainly because of water damage, a long boring story that I will spare you.

Hence, anything that keeps water out is good. And if it can soften up the boxiness of the shape, which the surrounds do, even better. I'm not sure if you can tell, but Pan added some cool little overlaps at the top. The theory (which he says he saw work in the rain) is that the windows can still be partially open while it is raining. Which will keep me from being shriveled in a steam bath. Good thinking, Pan!

Oh, by the way, the surrounds are made of a PVC type of material. Now painted with the elastomeric (and continually maintained for as long as I live aboard), they won't rot or crack in our very hot sun.

Oh, it is calling for color!
Blue doors? Red doors? Murals on the doors? Trim color? Oh my!
There will still be a lot of white for the cooling factor. 

The gap between the two doors is now covered in a metal sheathing. A little crude but it will do the job for now. Metal doesn't rot either. Well, it does, but not for awhile. Especially when coated. 

I could go into a long explanation about elastomeric because truthfully, it's a learning curve as far as what kind to use and where to use it. After a lot of research, I picked the one that seemed the best and said, Screw it, let's cover the whole thing with the stuff. Sort of like shrink wrapping it. This one says it has a primer in it, but Pan insisted on using a primer first anyway. I like that, even if it does defy Occam's razor.

The elastomeric went on just like paint, I was happy to observe (hey, I don't do big painting anymore, if I did, I'd still be sailing). I've seen some brands that are much thicker and more difficult in application, and this type was exactly what I was hoping for, so hooray for research that sometimes works out right.

Back on the inside, I'm finally getting some order happening. 

Looking to the bow.

No, the floors aren't painted yet, the first step before some sort of wood flooring. Sure, I should have done that already. It will happen. I have the paint; that's half the battle around here.

Looking aft. What happened to the sweet little fridge? It's gone.
When the solar is hooked up, I'll need a different one anyway.
Some sanding, ospho and stove paint and it too will be new again.

I already know this is going to be a place I spend a good amount of time.
I could have had the option for this to turn into a bed, but chose not to. For now.

So happy with the galley split!
It is off center on purpose, to keep wind away from the flames, as well as leaving a space for a trash can, broom and mop between it and the hanging locker.

Hello world! Eventually there will be a futon there, but it's a wonderful perch for now
with plenty of storage while I sort out things into their new homes.

While this may not look pretty to some, any boater knows it is beautiful. A dry bilge. This one hasn't been dry in a long time, so I am thrilled. Pan drilled holes between the ribs to let any water that might accumulate (WHAT????) go to the lowest point, making pumping easier. The hatch cover is on now, but I forgot to take that photo. It has been reinforced, but still needs some attention. It's a heavy, strong piece though and does its job well. This is where the water tanks and eventually, the batteries for the solar panels (along with other stuff) will live.

And this is what its all about. Home. On the water. Yes, there are plans for a
sleeping area and small 'porch' on the roof. All in good time.

Leaving my oh so comfortable, full of mod cons, large caretaking digs, where I could almost fit the houseboat in the bedroom alone, as well the bedroom being bigger than my entire home when home was the shack, for this tiny space might seem like it would be confining, but after I got things put away (no sorting or decorating until I get back in the fall from Turtle time), it felt good. The spareness feels right and comfortable. Small inside spaces suit me when the outside is water.

(There aren't as many around who remember Nancy, who owned this houseboat before me - and Harold of course, but it was, as we know, Nancy's. I think of her often when I'm aboard and I know she is approving, feeling her over my shoulder on occasion, sometimes bitching, sometimes grinning, and best, sometimes a pat on the back when I least expect it. Thanks, Nancy and Harold, for helping this dream come to be my reality.)

2008, brand new to me

Next update on the as yet unnamed houseboat (shall we have a contest?) will be when I'm living aboard, which is an amazing sentence to write. I've been blessed in so many ways on this journey of life, it's almost time for this new adventure to begin. I'm ready. 

Well, after the Turtle road trip adventure. Then I'll be ready. 

Have a tried and true Tuesday. Do something tremulously tremendous.

Tiny Home Tuesday ~ Culebra and Beyond

We have a saying here, totally not in relation to homes, 'the odds are good, but the goods are odd'. Thinking about the houseboat, it came to mind as Phase 2 ends and Phase 3 is on the drawing board. Phase 1 was the initial gutting and new windows. The following photos show where Phase 2 ended, with Elijah working on it until dark the night before he headed back to California.

The couch/bed is a temporary thing and will be replaced with either a built in that will convert into a queen (benches on both sides with opening pieces that will connect in the middle) or a futon. But for now, it's a fun perch to look out the windows. 

The floor will be painted with deck/floor paint, eventually to be finished in bamboo. 

The head. Lots of work to do in there, the biggest being to put in a shower pan and install shower plumbing. 

For now, from rotting, torn up and unbalanced to functional, sound and painted up, I'm a happy, very happy houseboat person 

The next big work will be grinding down and fiberglassing the decks and reinforcing the giant hatch cover on the stern. Soon come!

If you are into the tiny house movement, you've probably heard of Deek Diedricksen from Relaxshacks.com. Innovative, funny and full of off the wall ideas and execution of same, his latest offering is what he calls the Glass House. Unless you live in year round warm places, it is only set up for warm weather seasons right now, but shows what you can do with imagination and access to a lot of recycled bits and pieces.

The Glass House was built in just four days, at a cost (sans labor of Deek and his crew) of about $10,000. How fun is this??

All photos courtesy of Deek Diedricksen.

The see through floor is over the stream flowing under the house. Nice touch, Deek!

For me, the point of this home, beside the fact that it is really cool, just shows that building a home can break rules of what a place 'should' be like. As I read the comments on the original article, among the many enchanted there were also people saying things like 'not for me'. Exactly! Then build something that IS for you. 

In the houseboat, literally cutting the galley in two halves and repositioning it to be on both sides of the boat transformed what was, to me, an irritating space that never felt right to a workable space that feels (and is) balanced, with plenty of room to work. The interior looks bigger, even though what was there before was a long bench facing the long galley, with a fairly useless hanging locker at the end of it. 

Was it a little scary to say, yes, cut it in half! without knowing how it would turn out and feel? Sure it was, but my gut said do it and I'm so glad we did. 

Remember this?

Have ideas to change things in your world? Turn your shed out back into a tiny home? Resize, downsize, free up time and money to have more time to play/work/discover? You really can. Because my income prevents getting everything done at once, should I be discouraged and just go the route of finding someplace I don't really want to live because the work is already done? No. Home is home, whether it is a shack or a floating home or a tiny home on wheels and I want to look at 'going home' as something that makes me grin each time I think about it. Some dreams take time to make reality and the fear factor is often a good sign to just jump in. Does a body (and soul) good.

Have a teach and tame your temptations Tuesday. Do something treasurable.

Tiny Home Tuesday ~ The Unnamed Project

The houseboat project continues! I was looking for some old photos from when I first got the houseboat but only managed to wade through a few hundred old photos for now. Once upon a time it was very different and very put together, though I wasn't ever really happy with the set up. Now it is coming together in the way I imagined it years ago. Hooray!

The day of a lot of seagulls and the deposits they left behind quite a few years back

Those windows were old and corroded when I first got the houseboat. Now they are replaced with a bit smaller jalousie type of storm proof windows. Way mo' bettah!

The way it looked once upon a time

The old doors on the bow 

Those doors blew out in storms while I was in the states and the interior weather destruction started. That happened two years in a row. Poor boat. It will be an exciting day when the new ones are wide open!

Before the bench was removed and the galley cut in half

Dusty new floor replacing the buckled delaminated wood with solid marine ply, as well as along the bottom of the walls where the old windows had allowed a lot of water to cause rot up to about, well, as high as that blue goes.

The old steps were pretty, curved pieces but very narrow and also rotten. The new steps are sturdy, deep and are hinged for storage and access to the stern lazarette. 

The new galley configuration. 

This adds another 5 feet on the starboard side for a table and chairs or whatever ends up being there. The shelves on the floor will hang on the empty wall space there, a great solid wood side of the road find that will be sanded and painted and provide a lot more storage. On the counter end, a hanging locker is yet to be built with the beautiful old doors that were on the space wasting original locker.

Dinette table re-installed. There will be a box shelf at the end, creating more storage space as well as a spot for plants under the window. 

The old damaged flooring is being removed and the underlying fiberglass sanded. For now it will be painted until some new flooring is installed. Bamboo? Tile? Not decided yet. 

There is plenty left to do, though so much has been done. But poco a poco wins the race. Ask any turtle.

Big props to my son Elijah, who is making this all happen, at long last. There might be faster ways to get this done, but not any way with more love and care built in. That will last forever.

Have a teachable Tuesday. Do something transformably traditional.