LaoPo Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Please folks - I've been a boat owner for decades - I don't need lessons in seamanship or boat maintenance (not here anyway) - I suspect some of you don't really understand fully what a houseboat is.If you know where I could find one though, or a barge to convert I'd be very grateful. Convert one of those rice barges; you need a contact in BKK. Some of these old barges are made of teak. The Imperial Boathouse Hotel on Samui bought quite a few (34) of those authentic rice barges and converted them into hotel suites in the garden; very nice... Search!!...apart from asking on this forum http://www.imperialhotels.com/boathouse/index.html LaoPo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherlocke Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 THis is PARt of a general search - something like you have shown here is deffo an option Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinnieTheKhwai Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I would be interested to know which lake in CM, as That sounds like a fun thing to do on a weekend or more. any contact number/name?? Mae Ngat lake. Part of Sri Lanna Natinal Park. North of Town. To be honest, it's probably more hassle than it's worth. Keep in mind you can own a house just fine, just not the land it sits on. And when married the whole thing becomes moot anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatguy Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I know a Brit who lives on a floating cottage on a dammed lake in Chiang Mai and they rent half of the place to tourists - one the nicest places I have ever visited... however, he is married to a Thai lady... sorry, that kind of clears up the 'foreign ownership' issues doesn't it? It is very nice though I would be interested to know which lake in CM, as That sounds like a fun thing to do on a weekend or more. any contact number/name?? I'd be very interested to hear more about this vessel in Chiang Mai , as well as see some photos, as well pay a visit. After a previous trip to Thailand I posted this forum discussion on one of the boating forums in the USA: Bali or Thai Style Boathouse I'm looking into the prospect again, particularly as I read about the number of farangs that end up losing their investment in a house building exercise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ETC Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 What are the latest regs on a Farang owning a boat or houseboat in LOS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatguy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 What are the latest regs on a Farang owning a boat or houseboat in LOS? i don't know any details on the legalities,...and in what instances of lake or shoreside placement? But I'm going ahead with a few design ideas I have in mind (I do some designing) www.RunningTideYachts.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatguy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 .... It's weird, cuz the difference between stilts and a houseboat isn't very much, but the house boat ends up being what the farang can own in fee simple absolute (100%). Is this really true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatguy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Instead of renting / buying / building a house with no sound legal basis of ownership plus not wanting to commit myself to one location only I have been dreaming of a houseboat a long time ago.Dropping anchor or moving on wherever it pleases Just wondered if you ever pursued this idea any further/...or did you end up in a house? …excerpted from the preface of ‘The Proper Yacht’ Once upon a time I worried about whether my savings would not better be invested in a house than in a sailboat. Then I read certain magical words by Arthur Ransome, acquired the sailboat, and have lived happily ever after. The words are these, from Racundra’s First Cruise: “Houses are but badly built boats so firmly aground that you cannot think of moving them. They are definitely inferior things, belonging to the vegetable not the animal world, rooted and stationary, incapable of gay transition. The desire to build a house is the tired wish of a man content thenceforward with a single anchorage. The desire to build a boat is the desire of youth, unwilling yet to accept the idea of a final resting place…. When it comes, the desire to build a boat is one of those that cannot be resisted. It begins as a little cloud on a serene horizon. It ends by covering the whole sky, so that you can think of nothing else. You must build to regain your freedom.” Precisely so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatguy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Living on a houseboat is not as easy as it sounds. If you are inland, there is a major issue of the water level going up and down drastically during the rainy season (floods) and the dry season. Salt water causes maintenance problems with corrosion and fresh water supply. In either case, there are issues with electricity and sewage. If you have a spot at a full service marina, the charges will cost you as much or more than condo rent. Some of what you've said is true...the salt water (in the case of shoreside locations, but not lakes and ponds)....the marina charges, yes. But I believe the idea of a 'floatable house' that can rise and fall with the water level makes more sense than a house built on stilts...sometimes. The floating house does not necessarily mean it will float away when the water rises. Look at some of the floating docks in hi-tidal areas. Besides I would like my 'house/ cottage' down at water/lilly-pad pond level, yet capable of rising with the rising water level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livinginexile Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I was thinking of Amsterdam or part of the Netherlands where houseboats are very common in all sizes. Kanchanaburi e.g. may be good place. Keeping the houseboat here and there for a while, drifting away, changing scenery. At the coast is an option too, must think about it if the concept is viable. Never forgetting TIT, but i guess to write off a houseboat is less costly and more fun then a static house. There are hundreds of houseboats on the river Kwai - Kanchanaburi. Seen a few for sale too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzi850m2 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Please folks - I've been a boat owner for decades - I don't need lessons in seamanship or boat maintenance (not here anyway) - I suspect some of you don't really understand fully what a houseboat is. If you know where I could find one though, or a barge to convert I'd be very grateful. I have to agree as a marine engineer for over 20 years and sailing all my adult life in the merchant navy world wide and still do. Most house boats are not a type of vessel you can just go from place to place in. Most have none or very little propulsion system. Its basically a box with accommodation build in, or it can be a barge type. The box type especially is very very unsuitable to go to sea in but better stay in sheltered water at all times. I reckon a barge could be quite sea worthy as they got a more ship shape hull. Okay I never set foot on one, so I am no expert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatguy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Please folks - I've been a boat owner for decades - I don't need lessons in seamanship or boat maintenance (not here anyway) - I suspect some of you don't really understand fully what a houseboat is. If you know where I could find one though, or a barge to convert I'd be very grateful. I have to agree as a marine engineer for over 20 years and sailing all my adult life in the merchant navy world wide and still do. Most house boats are not a type of vessel you can just go from place to place in. Most have none or very little propulsion system. Its basically a box with accommodation build in, or it can be a barge type. The box type especially is very very unsuitable to go to sea in but better stay in sheltered water at all times. I reckon a barge could be quite sea worthy as they got a more ship shape hull. Okay I never set foot on one, so I am no expert. Perhaps it might better be termed a 'floating house' or cottage. We are not talking of the houseboats you might find marketed in the USA. Not Thai style, but you get the idea: http://www.boatdesign.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/20827 http://dornob.com/houseboat-hah-buy-a-full-floating-cabin-porch-garden/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzi850m2 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Perhaps it might better be termed a 'floating house' or cottage. We are not talking of the houseboats you might find marketed in the USA. Not Thai style, but you get the idea: http://www.boatdesig...php/photo/20827 http://dornob.com/ho...n-porch-garden/ Nice, I wouldn't mind having one of those if I had a place to park?? or moor?? it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatguy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) There are hundreds of houseboats on the river Kwai - Kanchanaburi. Seen a few for sale too. How many of them look like this !!!! WOW. This is what I had in mind ultimately Float House on the River Kwai http://www.thefloathouseriverkwai.com/ Edited February 6, 2012 by boatguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatguy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 BTW, how does one add an image to this forum?? i tried using the 'image' icon above but if wouldn't let me load either an image I had in one of my galleries, nor a jpg one?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damo Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 @ think_too_mut In Oz it is not illegal to live on a boat. Centrelink offer rent assistance to those paying mooring fees and boats that have living quaters are required to be grey and black water compliant so they can be lived aboard. I would carefully consider living on a boat before doing it, it's not easy, you can become very isolated and claustrophobic and just feeling trapped. But then everyone is different. Living on a boat can be a death trap and some very careful planning needs to be applied to the layout of a live aboard ie: proximity of gas cooking devices and exhaust from motors, eletrical systems, materials used in internal linings must be flame proof, multiple exits, the list of hazards and controls is exhaustive. Just rent a condo and book charters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damo Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Or if ya gotta few bux http://www.murrayriver.com.au/boats-for-sale/luxury-houseboat-in-your-dreams--178/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatguy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 On the plus side if they have all this global warming, rising sea levels thing right,.. you will be laughing as our homes flood!! How about this last year's flooding in Thailand? What if your small home or cottage could float up and down with the water level ....and still stay in place. Some stud barges and floating marina docks do just that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trawler Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 On the plus side if they have all this global warming, rising sea levels thing right,.. you will be laughing as our homes flood!! How about this last year's flooding in Thailand? What if your small home or cottage could float up and down with the water level ....and still stay in place. Some stud barges and floating marina docks do just that. Built A 55FT steel trawler and lived very happily on it for 4 years before selling it on.Fantastic lifestyle and the ability to throw off the dock lines and motor off to a beach for the weekend is unsurpassed.As my boat was steel the maintenance was realtively simple and a grinding wheel and welding kit were all one needed.Loads of space/great air con/all the convenience of a condo but none of the downsides(assume you can find a decent marina berth)Cruising around the coast would also be fun.ciao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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