owning a houseboat?

[garman1]

My wife and I went to Bribie today, and sitting on the waters edge, we talked "again" about the possibility of living on a boat. We both think it would be great.......

but reality kicked in when you start thinking about getting from the houseboat to shore and what do you do with the tinnie while your off at work??? Bringing home the groceries? etc etc

So here is the question, has anyone done it/doing it or want to live on a boat and have they thought of the "interesting" problems with living on the water. We don't really want to simply have a birth in a marina as such, but we wanted to live on the water without marina fees etc......

Are there council requirements etc etc etc that you may face if you want to wake up on the water???????????

[Cammy]

Owning a house boat would be cool, but i dunno if i would like to live in it all the time, it would be a bit difficult living on water all the time. Mabye as a get away for a couple of months.

Cam

[tunaticer]

I think that a houseboat will require a permanent mooring fee to be abel top reside in any waterway. For instance if you had a houseboat that was going to spend the majority of the year in Pumicestone Passage, the local council would be wanting the mooring fees for it to remain within that councils boundaries for the majority of the year. Councils also take a dim view of houseboats permanently moored in small creeks that do not have any traffic and will force you to move along, plus there are areas where even overnight staying in houseboats is not permitted.

It would be advisable to contact the MSQ, local council involved and the Transport department before you take a step in that direction.

Jack.

[rubba]

get in contact with flattyfinder on here he owns one and has it forsale regards dale

[Cheech]

Had a taxi driver once that told me all about the houseboat he lived on. At the time it was anchored up in the Brisbane river near the city. Said he had his tinny stolen once, but usually not a problem. By memory I think he said he was currently using a public jetty and just had it tied up to it during the day. Was chasing jew fish near the storey bridge for fun.

He did move around a bit as well as he had been anchored up in the southern bay area for a while. So yes, I think you are able to just go where you like and not have council fees.

[choppa]

I think that a houseboat will require a permanent mooring fee to be abel top reside in any waterway. For instance if you had a houseboat that was going to spend the majority of the year in Pumicestone Passage, the local council would be wanting the mooring fees for it to remain within that councils boundaries for the majority of the year. Councils also take a dim view of houseboats permanently moored in small creeks that do not have any traffic and will force you to move along, plus there are areas where even overnight staying in houseboats is not permitted.

It would be advisable to contact the MSQ, local council involved and the Transport department before you take a step in that direction.

Jack.

as you come out of spinnaker marina,,,, just north on the mainland side theres 2-3 boats anchored,,,,, 2 of them have permanent residents whilst the other comes and goes,,,,, the glory of it is you dont need to pay the council zilch,,,

the owner of the bait n tackle shop near the marina keeps a close eye on em,,,, and helps out when needed

choppa

[JIMBO99]

Jimbo99
:D House boat permanent living is great, BUT there are some laws that make it difficult nowadays, so check with the relevant councils if mooring in one place , and the dept. of harbours and marine . One thing that worries them is>:( toilet waste, you have to have a holding tank on board and the waste must be pumped ashore into the sewerage systems, :-/ There are pumping points I believe, but I don't know where they are. I once ran "The Chevron Princess" for the Chevron hotel at surfers paradise and we were required to pump all waste ashore and even had our own pumping setup on the Chevron Wharf. There are laws associated with ship board living. And I know that the Chevron hotel was up for about $50,000 if caucht pumping the holding tanks into the waterways.
Too late for me at 70 years but I have always wanted to live on the water.
reguards Jimbo.

[Louis]

There are plenty of people who live on houseboats in some of our creeks, Tingalpa Creek in particular.

Why not go and have a chat to them.


Louis

[tigermullet]

There are many people living on house boats around the Pin area - lots at Jacobs Well. Our boat is set up so that living on board for extended periods is possible.

We have an onboard sewage treatment system so that takes care of lack of pump out facilities. Most boats still do not have those systems or holding tanks and I haven't heard of any fines being handed out. We have never been inspected.

Fresh water is the biggest problem with having a boat anchored or moored rather than paying Marina fees. We are set up to catch rain water so there are some answers but lack of fresh water causes a lot of grief.

Then comes power. It's fine if you have adequate solar panels and/or wind generator plus a back up generator. Noisy things but they are necessary if you like TV etc. With a big enough boat and generator you could even run a washing machine and an iron, if wrinkly clothes are not your scene. I'd rather look rumpled than iron any day but it's a matter of choice I suppose.

Dinghys seem to be left unbothered on shore. Why that is I can only guess because most other things are stolen at Jacobs Well if not nailed down.

As far as costs go, we pay $35 or $36 per year for the mooring. Boat registration, insurance and some maintenance (not much) add up to another $350 or so. The mooring chain is replaced every four years and that costs about $400. Total annual costs come to around the six hundred mark even allowing $100 for chain replacement. The motor was serviced four or five years ago and still runs very well - we do change the spark plugs, water pump impeller and gear box oil every so often. Modern outboards are great.

It's a good life and beats the hell out of mowing the lawn and pruning shrubs.;D

[tigermullet]

A bit more - everything Jimbo has said is true. There are lots of regulations in place for sewage and for anchoring at one place for extended periods of time etc.

We thought we would do the right thing and spent a couple of thousand dollars fitting the on board sewage treatment system. We feel comfortable knowing that the system would pass any inspection but it does seem like a waste of money, in the sense that it is not being enforced - no one else that I know of has anything other than a macerating toilet.

Many others anchor for weeks, sometimes for months in the one spot. If numbers increase, the authorities might crack down on the practice but haven't done so yet in the Pin area.

Contending with bugs in the summer is something else that should be considered. Adequate screening is a must. Anchors need to be BIG if you want to leave your boat for any length of time.

Ear plugs are also very handy. Guests tend to scream a lot if the wind gets above forty knots.

[garman1]

Thanks Everyone

We appreciate your input, thankyou especially tigermullet, it is nice to see someone who "is" doing it...................... The aspects you raised are the areas that we thought may cause problems. The really interesting thing though is theft of dinghies are LOW???? wow and I said to my wife that the dinghy would be getting knocked off all the time, how wrong was I.

I don't think the sale of our house will go through............ since we have been home Mandy(wife) has rethought the situation and isn't sure that moving around in rough weather is totally her scene......... I do have a 4.3 mtr quintrex, so will camp out over night every now and then.....just to get the feel for houseboat living;D

I was visualizing crab pots out all the time,,,,,,,fishing rods out all the time too.... aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yes mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Cheers Garry