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Rating: 
Summary: Historic Information
Review: The author seems to be a true original and obviously has a wealth of experience with houseboats.
Trouble is, most of the content of the book is over 40 years old. Since the book was originally copyrighted in 1953 materials and techniques have advanced by light years.
This book might be helpful if you're building your own boat on a really tight budget and and you think you can benefit from early 50's technology, or, you like reading about older boatbuilding techniques.
Rating: 
Summary: updated review from Gary
Review: Although this book is a little dated, it is the holy bible of "character" homemade houseboats. Some corrections include:1. Steel barrels - they won't last 4 months in salt water.
2. Standard 220 litre plastic barrels are available at barrel recycling centres in most cities...75%-80% of the underside of your boat should contain barrels.
3. Most barrels (white, black or blue) are ok to use, but check the bung lid as some have pin-prick pressure release valves in the middle which will blow under pressure (and give you that "sinking" feeling!).
4. Seal the bungs with a thin coat of plumbers grade silicon, not too much or you will dislodge the rubber seal, and don't over-tighten the bung.
5. Never use fibreglass on flat roofs as it doesn't give and will split. Instead use plywood, which can nowadays be sealed with super-stretchy rubberised paint available at waterproof specialist shops. The main problem with this book is that the author seems to love living in swamps - it doesn't have to be that way - have a look at my two boats on the Noosa River, Australia on my website www.wildgoat.net
Rating: 
Summary: Fun but not too practical
Review: Handmade houseboats is a fun book, but if you really want to live on a boat and you don't have an extremely shletered bit of water that is shallow enough so that your boat can't sink, I would suggest looking elsewhere for actual plans. This guy talks about living on boats in all sorts of waters, but he seems to be thinking about living in a swamp. On the other hand, he does have some pretty solid advice about the history of houseboats, and the domestic needs of houseboat dwellers. I particularly liked his advice on electrical systems. This is a great armchair book.
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Summary: Handmade Houseboats
Review: I decided to build my own houseboat. I found little on the subject untill I read this book. It gives construction information, suggests floorplans, and is a great guide for the uninformed. It is filled with practical information about houseboats, electrical information (including 110 vac, 12 vdc, generators and even solar) plumbing, and waste disposal. All in all, the best book on the subject I've found to date. I just returned this book to the Library and have just bought it through Amazon.com. I think that says it all. A must have for anyone thinking about building a houseboat.
Rating:
Summary: some corrections
Review: I enjoyed the book as it was very informative, but it needs revising in some important areas. 1. namely the barrels - never use steel as they will rust out in under a year. Furthermore, plastic barrels can be bought for under each. Black barrels are the best as they won't split under pressure like the blue ones sometimes do. All bungs must be siliconed on the thread and on top of the bung and under the bung. This is very important, as many bungs have a nodule in the middle which houses a pin-prick pressure release valve - which will blow under waves or pressure, letting water in. The silicon can be an expensive marine grade,(a cheaper waterproof silicon used in aquariums might be ok), but never use marine 'Sicaflex' as it's as good as using chewing-gum! 2. The flat-roof waterproofing ideas quoted have been superceded by fantastic super stretchy waterproof rubberised paint which has a 20 year guarantee. Available from building waterproof specialists.
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Summary: re - garys latest review - please delete !
Review: Webmaster Would you be so kind as to please delete my last review sent today. I do not want the website mentioned to be published as the boats are no longer there. Thankyou.
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