Houseboat Living: The Return of the Brandy Bar
(Page 2 of 5)
May/June 1989
By Richard Trachi
But there's really a lot more to recommend houseboat living than mere economics. Anyone familiar with boats knows how a well-designed vessel makes efficient use of space. This is not only because there's so little of it but also because being at sea requires that everything be securely stored. Safe and satisfying seamanship necessitates tidiness and organization-form must first follow function. Thus one of the beauties of calling a good boat home is the order it brings to daily routine. Though there is often little sense of being afloat at a calm moorage in a boat as stable as Brandy Bar, living aboard is still distinctly different from life in the usual home.
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The fact that I plan mainly to moor Brandy Bar and live aboard her should not dissuade others from considering building a houseboat like her to cruise sheltered waters. She's powered by a 28-horsepower outboard motor, which can push her 6,000 pounds at a cruising speed of over 7 mph-an adequate and pleasant rate in protected waters. Ordinarily, I favor inboard diesels, but an outboard is a good choice for a houseboat, since it takes up no interior space, gives good handling, and is simpler and less costly.
Perhaps Brandy Bar's greatest beauty is that she requires no boat-building skills to assemble. Her construction-which consists of plywood over standard framing-more closely resembles that of a house than a boat, so basic carpentry skills and tools are all that are needed. If you like, she can be finished as a yacht, with fine joiner work of teak and mahogany and beautiful fittings of polished brass, bronze and stainless steel. (I admit that my tastes run that way; for example, though my father specified marine aluminum windows, I chose instead to make my own double-hung units from Alaskan cedar and fir.) Or, if your time and budget are limited, you could finish her simply, with painted plywood surfaces and inexpensive recreational vehicle appliances, lights, plumbing and other fittings.
The completed houseboat is fully capable of cruising sheltered waters.
Since Brandy Bar is meant to be lived aboard mainly at a marina, she's wired for 110-volt household current. A special heavy shore-power cord connects her three 30-amp circuits to a dockside outlet. The circuit box is specifically designed for marine use but is similar to common household service panels. Even though a home-built boat for private use doesn't have to be wired to code in Oregon or many other areas, wiring is no place to cut corners. Brandy Bar meets all electrical code requirements. For electricity on the go, you can either use a 12-volt system and batteries or fit a gasoline-powered 110-volt generator, as I did. Bear in mind that 110-volt wiring must be kept separate from 12-volt circuits, which can complicate wiring. In general, electrical design is a good place to call in expert help if you're not sure of yourself.
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