A guy down the dock recently got back from a trip
out west somewhere. He was talking about some
river--maybe up around Washington state--where
they do a lot of logging, and move logs with barges,
etc. He said there were houses built on logs out
there, some of them two and three story, and they
were linked together via docks like subdivisions.
Does anyone know what they are called, or/and
if there's a good place to see pics of such things
online?

I suspect the logs are on end, used as pilings. There used to be whole fishing
communities out in the bays, around here, on pilings.

wrote:

Does anyone know what they are called, or/and
if there's a good place to see pics of such things
online?

They are called housboats. Seattle's Lake Union is lined with them on
all sides. The use of large logs for flotation is an old technique and
many of the owners are replacing logs with more modern flotation as the
logs decay.

There are "subdivisions" of these houses here in Seattle. They used to
be where the lower income folks lived but are now very upscale in price
and quality. Look at the movie, "Sleepless in Seattle" to see a more or
less typical houseboat here on the lake.

Don't know if there are any pics online but if you are really in need of
one I can take a pic or two of the log flotation houses and send you.

Rick

Here it is 'Newfoundland' style after outports abandoned & people moved to
central locations
** http://www.canadafirst.net/our_heritage/newfoundland/

wrote:
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 17:32:54 GMT, wrote:

... houses built on logs out
there, some of them two and three story, and they
were linked together via docks like subdivisions.
Does anyone know what they are called, or/and
if there's a good place to see pics of such things
online?
a search on google for "sausalito houseboats"

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...ats%22&spell=1

The Tom Hanks character's home in "Sleepless in Seattle" was a floating
house...and there are also a number of 'em in FL...not on logs, but
supported by what amounts to floating docks. Key West is famous for
them. Most of the coastal ones are quite nice. But there are also
communities of them--some quite nice, some floating slums that make
trailer parks upscale in comparison, many in between--on inland rivers
and lakes all over the country...most of which are thorns in the sides
of the states they're in for a variety of reasons.

--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://69.20.93.241/store/customer/p...40&cat=&page=1

There are "subdivisions" of these houses here in Seattle. They used to
be where the lower income folks lived but are now very upscale in price
and quality. Look at the movie, "Sleepless in Seattle" to see a more or
less typical houseboat here on the lake.

Don't know if there are any pics online but if you are really in need of
one I can take a pic or two of the log flotation houses and send you.

Rick

Back in the 1960's, most of the houseboats in Portage Bay and Lake Union were
literally shacks built on log floats. They rented very cheaply. I have some
hazy memories of outrageous parties on houseboats around 1968, 1969.


Beginning in the early 1970's, houseboats had to connect to the city sewer
system, moorage rents started going up, and the shackiest dwellings got
displaced. These days you can spend 1/2 million or more for a Seattle
"houseboat" and own nothing but
2000 sq ft of floating building.

That "sleepless" pad is about average among the current crop of houseboats, but
it would have been the nicest one on the lake in the 60's.

There are a lot of houseboats along the river down in Portland. I think more of
them may still be on log floats.

Gould 0738 wrote:

There are a lot of houseboats along the river down in Portland. I think more of
them may still be on log floats.

The ones under the bridge at the south side of Jansen Beach are a great
remnant of the more relaxed days of houseboat dwellings. There are some
great ones there and also a couple of clusters along the Willamette.

Dinghy touring among the houseboats with out of town guests is a great
way to introduce them to Seattle's "back yard."

Rick

Dinghy touring among the houseboats with out of town guests is a great
way to introduce them to Seattle's "back yard."

Rick


Watch for more of those LU houseboats to
begin sprouting Duffy Electrics alongside.
New dealer in Seattle is a very nice guy, and with 7 kt speed limits for a
couple of miles in either direction, low speed, short range electrics make
great knock-around boats. I went out for a ride in one last week- very nice in
its own way and ideal for certain environments. Of the several boats the new
dealer has sold so far, at least a couple are to owners of LU houseboats.

:-)

I wrote a book "handmade houseboats" which might be worth checking
out. And here's a couple websites:

http://oasis.fortunecity.com/blackpool/218/houseboat/ for a fairly
good read.

www.waiheke.co.nz/boat with one - called Tsunami.

Cheers

Russell

We've checked them out on the Columbia here in Oregon. It may be the place
your friend had in mind. The homes here range from small boat house shacks
to massive multi-storied luxury home in gated marinas. The scenes are
usually quite peaceful and scenic.

The aspect that put us off them is the slip fees. Short of finding that rare
home that owns it's own slip, you can pay between $450 and $900 per month
for the slip fee. That's a fee that NEVER goes away. It isn't tax deducible,
you can't sell it and it doesn't gain equity. The homes start at 35k and
we've seen them in the mid 400's. There are a LOT of them for sale right
now.

wrote in message
...
A guy down the dock recently got back from a trip
out west somewhere. He was talking about some
river--maybe up around Washington state--where
they do a lot of logging, and move logs with barges,
etc. He said there were houses built on logs out
there, some of them two and three story, and they
were linked together via docks like subdivisions.
Does anyone know what they are called, or/and
if there's a good place to see pics of such things
online?