Plans and drawing of a pontoon house boat

by Larry
(Tennessee River, Alabama)

Here are plans and a simple drawing of what I think the pontoon house boat will look like. The front and rear deck will be separated from the cabin in case there is a wave large enough to wash over the bow.

The roof will be plywood, strong enough to walk on (probably 1/2" or 5/8") with fiberglass matt and resin to seal and protect it. Sides will be prefinished aluminum or maybe vinyl siding. Will post anticipated floor plan later.

Am looking for ideas for some solar. Plan to use propane for cooking and water heater and maybe furnace, that way furnace would run off 12 volts. The refrigerator would be propane or electric.

Have thought about marine air/heat as I saw someone's unit advertised that a small one would run off an inverter. Don't know what it would cost for solar panels to run a small ac, but they advertised it as being possible.

Would like to be able to run off batteries as much as possible and only have to use a small generator for backup.

Well enough for now. Couldn't go to sleep for thinking about all of this, so I got up to work out a few thing on my drawings.

Larry.

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Reply - Answer
Well Larry, thanks again for an excellent post. I know the feeling of having "things on your mind" and having to jot them down before you forget.

I like your idea for the raised bow, since sometimes pontoons will suffer from "bow wash" because of passing cruiser waves washing the deck.

In regards to your solar power question, have a look at our articles on solar powered houseboats to point you in the right direction. You will want to calculate your power requirements, than purchase accordingly.

I agree with your decision on propane, since it can easily fulfill your cooking, hot water, heating and refrigeration needs. Our present houseboat has a three way fridge, 120v, 12v and propane, and my wife wouldn't want it any other way.

When it comes to marine ac/heat, you may find that it is a difficult option to do on solar power, unless you have Al Gores green solar houseboat.

Just a quick note, if you install a BBQ, I recommend that you install it on the stern since the wind is usually on the bow, and by mounting it on the stern, you always have access to a perfectly cooked BBQ dinner :) Plus a "smoking BBQ" that is upwind will cause the smoke detectors in your houseboat to be constantly going off.


Lastly, hopefully some of our readers will share and post comments about their pontoon houseboat designs and experiences. Feel free to use the "Click here to post comments." link found at the bottom of this page.


Thanks again for sharing, IAN from all-about-houseboats

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