“It must be so cool! You can just take off any time you like!”

Ah, if only that were true. Let’s put aside all practical matters of basic life such as jobs and school. I do have one child attending school (the other two are homeschooled) and up until recently, I held a regular 9-5 job, and, may again.

But the short reply is no. I don’t take my boat out.

Recently I had to move my boat due to harbor work being done. My houseboat is essentially a barge. There is no “helm”. I do have a small Johnson outboard that does run, but the logistics of just moving around at will are pretty substantial.

Above is the front of my boat. You can see right away how just hopping away from the dock isn’t as easy as one may think initially.

Visibility is nonexistent. It is not easily controlled if there is any real current or wind. Our solution was to run the outboard in reverse and that actually worked really well, but for just basic out and about boating, it just isn’t a safe option.

This is the stern of my boat. Again, you can see how moving it wouldn’t be practical too often.

In another post I mentioned that having a houseboat gave me options for mobility that something like a trailer house just doesn’t have. And I still think that’s true. I don’t need a bunch of permitting and groundwork to be done prior to or after moving like a trailer would. If I were to move to another community, I’d probably hire a barge mover to tow me. The other option is to build a steering station and install a motor that is powerful enough to overcome some of the wind challenges.

It’s not a zippy little boat. 😉