Houseboat Interior Rebuild Continued 4th of ???
As when building the exterior walls both strength, durability, and weight have to be taken into consideration as the interior components are constructed. To conserve on both weight and materials the actual exterior walls are in essence exposed and part of the finished end work. Thus the reason I went ahead and pre-finished them before installing any of the inside fixtures.
Many of the smaller movable components such as the two L shaped dinette seats and the partition wall between the kitchen counter and upper cabinet were constructed in the garage as the finish was applied in the boat. By the time the interior walls were dry and cured a bit, some of the components were actually built and ready to be installed into the boat interior. As you can see in the picture below of the pre-existing upper kitchen cabinet the actual structural element is made as light as possible by relying on the physical shell of the boat to complete its integrity. This unit was simply fastened by screws to the wall and ceiling and it managed to hold up for well over 30 years.
As you can see in the photo below of the original lower cabinet is in reality a partition wall that ties into two larger partitions on both ends to complete the enclosed finished cabinet. Structurally it was fabricated out of ¾ in. pine and simply screwed to the deck, and a cleat screwed to the exterior wall supported the counter top on the back side.
This is another photo of the kitchen counter viewed from the back; see how simplistic in structure it actually was. The plywood counter top itself probably weighed more than the whole cabinet itself by using this construction method.
In the photo below you can see where the dinette / bed has been assembled and put into place and the bathroom / shower and its partition wall are complete and the upper cabinet is hung. Due to the complexity of getting or obtaining exact measurements beforehand, the actual base cabinet was constructed in place to fit the physical opening.
Another view of the base kitchen cabinet being built into place, everything was securely screwed to the structural wall and partitions for excellent structural integrity.
The photo below shows the early stage of the construction of the couch / bed unit. By building this in and utilizing the structural walls for framing I was able to save both weight and space, gained a lot of storage and added some structural integrity to the boat.
In the photo below you can get a bit of a view of the structurally completed couch / bed storage area. The lid is hinged with a full length piano hinge, by simply flopping cushions up against the wall the lid can be lifted up to give complete access to the storage area underneath. The doors in the back behind the couch are also storage areas. The nearest one is set up with several shelves spaced out to fit ordinary large laundry baskets. Food / clothing or whatever is put into the appropriate basket and you can simply pull it out some and then obtain needed items and slide her home again. So far it’s worked out great and nothing can get away with hiding in the back of the cupboard. The back cupboard has a hanging cloths rack on top and three more additional shelves below. So far storage on the boat hasn’t been an issue and we seem to have a place to stow everything. The light fixture on the ceiling is LED for low current draw and usage. And the propane light was reinstalled on the wall just below it, unless it’s really chilly outside the heat from the propane light will actually keep the inside quite comfortable.
In the photo below you can see how the boats interior is shaping up and getting closer to completion. Probably the most time consuming aspect of this whole build for me at least was the fabrication and construction of all the cabinet doors. The lack of adequate clamps at my disposal and being to cheep to purchase more of them made for a long drawn out affair of getting them all assembled and ready to go. The panels are the same underlayment used throughout the boat with ¾ in. oak around the perimeter with biscuits and glue joining the corners. A router with a ¼ in. grooving bit notched out the recess in the oak for the panels to fit into the frames.
This photo is to just another view of the nearly complete houseboat interior.
Photo of our now completed console for the boat below. Now look to photo above and see where I screwed up and got ahead of myself. I’d cut all the holes before receiving the actual binnacle control for the outboard motor, and then realized I lacked enough depth for it to mount and function properly. Required extensive modifications as seen below to cover my mistake but all in all I found the results were quite satisfactory.
The console itself actually has quite a bit of usable storage built into it. The panel to the right of the fire extinguisher will slide out allowing full access and storage, plus the foot plate lifts up and removes making for a convenient place to store all the dock lines and extra ropes.
The actual floor is a vinyl product called traffic master allure, it’s free floating and purchased by the box and it comes in 1x3 ft. pieces. It comes out of the box with adhesive pre-applied and it goes down pretty quick and easy. But do note that it needs room to both expand and contract, otherwise it will ether buckle in heat, or pull apart at adhesive seams in the cold. I got a little to neat myself and have a spot that opens up some from cold contraction over the winter season. But otherwise it’s worked out just fine and it’s been somewhat forgiving about showing every speck of dirt that manages to get tracked into the cabin area.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions and we’ll see if we can help you out with them. The construction techniques utilized in our boat has worked out perfectly for our needs. But in reality there are a lot of other potential construction methods that may actually be more suitable for your needs or skills or to simply save some cash. It’s all good with us because all that really counts is having safe quality time on the water with our fellow boaters, friends, and family.
Have you or are you going to build or rebuild a houseboat to call your own? Would you also like to share your experience with others? Remember to take plenty of pictures of your progress and some documentation of your photos to words and consider contacting us so your experience also may also be of benefit or help others in their desire to build or have a houseboat of their very own.
This is just one entry of a series we’ve put together of our own personal experiences in the now completed rebuild and restoration of our pontoon houseboat from the pontoons frame on up. Hopefully you’ll find our shared experience both helpful and informative if you’re considering building or remodeling one for your very own. You can view the whole series here and its entries progress from bottom of index on up.
Please also review our other blogs and our home site: Pontoon Houseboat Odyssey for other potentially useful and helpful information about boating.
Many of the smaller movable components such as the two L shaped dinette seats and the partition wall between the kitchen counter and upper cabinet were constructed in the garage as the finish was applied in the boat. By the time the interior walls were dry and cured a bit, some of the components were actually built and ready to be installed into the boat interior. As you can see in the picture below of the pre-existing upper kitchen cabinet the actual structural element is made as light as possible by relying on the physical shell of the boat to complete its integrity. This unit was simply fastened by screws to the wall and ceiling and it managed to hold up for well over 30 years.
As you can see in the photo below of the original lower cabinet is in reality a partition wall that ties into two larger partitions on both ends to complete the enclosed finished cabinet. Structurally it was fabricated out of ¾ in. pine and simply screwed to the deck, and a cleat screwed to the exterior wall supported the counter top on the back side.
This is another photo of the kitchen counter viewed from the back; see how simplistic in structure it actually was. The plywood counter top itself probably weighed more than the whole cabinet itself by using this construction method.
In the photo below you can see where the dinette / bed has been assembled and put into place and the bathroom / shower and its partition wall are complete and the upper cabinet is hung. Due to the complexity of getting or obtaining exact measurements beforehand, the actual base cabinet was constructed in place to fit the physical opening.
Another view of the base kitchen cabinet being built into place, everything was securely screwed to the structural wall and partitions for excellent structural integrity.
The photo below shows the early stage of the construction of the couch / bed unit. By building this in and utilizing the structural walls for framing I was able to save both weight and space, gained a lot of storage and added some structural integrity to the boat.
In the photo below you can get a bit of a view of the structurally completed couch / bed storage area. The lid is hinged with a full length piano hinge, by simply flopping cushions up against the wall the lid can be lifted up to give complete access to the storage area underneath. The doors in the back behind the couch are also storage areas. The nearest one is set up with several shelves spaced out to fit ordinary large laundry baskets. Food / clothing or whatever is put into the appropriate basket and you can simply pull it out some and then obtain needed items and slide her home again. So far it’s worked out great and nothing can get away with hiding in the back of the cupboard. The back cupboard has a hanging cloths rack on top and three more additional shelves below. So far storage on the boat hasn’t been an issue and we seem to have a place to stow everything. The light fixture on the ceiling is LED for low current draw and usage. And the propane light was reinstalled on the wall just below it, unless it’s really chilly outside the heat from the propane light will actually keep the inside quite comfortable.
In the photo below you can see how the boats interior is shaping up and getting closer to completion. Probably the most time consuming aspect of this whole build for me at least was the fabrication and construction of all the cabinet doors. The lack of adequate clamps at my disposal and being to cheep to purchase more of them made for a long drawn out affair of getting them all assembled and ready to go. The panels are the same underlayment used throughout the boat with ¾ in. oak around the perimeter with biscuits and glue joining the corners. A router with a ¼ in. grooving bit notched out the recess in the oak for the panels to fit into the frames.
This photo is to just another view of the nearly complete houseboat interior.
Photo of our now completed console for the boat below. Now look to photo above and see where I screwed up and got ahead of myself. I’d cut all the holes before receiving the actual binnacle control for the outboard motor, and then realized I lacked enough depth for it to mount and function properly. Required extensive modifications as seen below to cover my mistake but all in all I found the results were quite satisfactory.
The console itself actually has quite a bit of usable storage built into it. The panel to the right of the fire extinguisher will slide out allowing full access and storage, plus the foot plate lifts up and removes making for a convenient place to store all the dock lines and extra ropes.
The actual floor is a vinyl product called traffic master allure, it’s free floating and purchased by the box and it comes in 1x3 ft. pieces. It comes out of the box with adhesive pre-applied and it goes down pretty quick and easy. But do note that it needs room to both expand and contract, otherwise it will ether buckle in heat, or pull apart at adhesive seams in the cold. I got a little to neat myself and have a spot that opens up some from cold contraction over the winter season. But otherwise it’s worked out just fine and it’s been somewhat forgiving about showing every speck of dirt that manages to get tracked into the cabin area.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions and we’ll see if we can help you out with them. The construction techniques utilized in our boat has worked out perfectly for our needs. But in reality there are a lot of other potential construction methods that may actually be more suitable for your needs or skills or to simply save some cash. It’s all good with us because all that really counts is having safe quality time on the water with our fellow boaters, friends, and family.
Have you or are you going to build or rebuild a houseboat to call your own? Would you also like to share your experience with others? Remember to take plenty of pictures of your progress and some documentation of your photos to words and consider contacting us so your experience also may also be of benefit or help others in their desire to build or have a houseboat of their very own.
This is just one entry of a series we’ve put together of our own personal experiences in the now completed rebuild and restoration of our pontoon houseboat from the pontoons frame on up. Hopefully you’ll find our shared experience both helpful and informative if you’re considering building or remodeling one for your very own. You can view the whole series here and its entries progress from bottom of index on up.
Please also review our other blogs and our home site: Pontoon Houseboat Odyssey for other potentially useful and helpful information about boating.
Posted by blog.houseboatodyssey1.com at 3/2/2010 4:53 PM 
Categories: Pontoon Houseboat (s), Our Houseboat Rebuild
Tags: construction pictures houseboat restoration pontoon materials rebuild
Categories: Pontoon Houseboat (s), Our Houseboat Rebuild
Tags: construction pictures houseboat restoration pontoon materials rebuild
This looks like it was a nice project to work on. I particularly like the look and feel of the cabinets and other woodwork. The finished look is simple yet classy. Sorry you had problems with the console, but as the picture shows, it turned out looking great. Nice technique all the way around!
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Thank you, we have received a lot of compliments since we completed the boat, but yours is one of the nicest ones we have received. I'm glad you enjoyed the post.
Thanks
Pontoonhouseboatodyssey
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Hey I would like to find out how you found this template from I want it!
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Template is a product from Southern Star hosting and part of the Website Tonight Package. Glad you like it.
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Hello i really love your boat and would like to build one like this. I want it to be a 20-25 ft boat though. How would i know if a pontoon boat can handle the weight what am i looking for in a pontoon boat to convert it into a house boat? What size pontoons would work to support this?just so you know what i mean i am saying i would like to find a 20-25 ft boat. I would build the cabin on it and figure the floor plan to my needs. please send me an email to (removed by poster's request) if it isn't to much trouble and please don't let my email address go out to the public. Thank you for your time and the privilege of seeing your boat. From: Nathan
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Hi Nathan,
Hopefully I can provide you enough information to be helpful to you on your proposed upcoming project. Is there a real reason why you're considering a build on something as short as twenty feet? The main issue you'll likely encounter especially on shorter pontoons is not only the length but also the lack of diameter which is also just as critical a factor for load carrying ability. You didn't state weather you're proposing purchasing new pontoons or attempting to re-purpose an older existing pontoon boat for your needs. I'm not saying that a twenty footer can't be found with larger diameter pontoons that you could re-purpose for your houseboat project, but finding one will be like looking for a "needle in a haystack" so to speak. Fact is the lack of physical diameter in most of the older pontoon boats re-purpose in to homemade houseboats is the most common cause of potential failure in most builds. See the chart enclosed for an example a twenty footer with 24" diameter pontoons is rated at a capacity of 3,559, where a twenty five footer with the same diameter pontoons is rated at 4,565 in weight carrying ability, that is quite a significant difference in my book at least. A increase of a half ton is maybe a lot of extra structural integrity or creature comforts of maybe some of both.
The real fact of the matter is total overall weight of a build is so critical in the overall sea-worthiness and safety of a build you actually should give serious consideration of actually adding an additional pontoon from the ground up for your project. It's just so very easy in building to throw more weight in materials into the structure of the cabin without realizing it than maybe you can imagine. And attempting to strip a completed project of excess weight is again a problematic situation to say the least. The most common failure on proposed pontoon houseboat builds is built in "excess weight" and you haft to give serious consideration to the "weight factor" on everything you propose to do or build into the boat from the deck on up.
I've got another blog post just about formatted and ready to put up that could also be beneficial or helpful in your quest should be posted for viewing in the next day or two. Hopefully I've addressed your concerns at least somewhat and if I've overlooked anything please feel free to contact us again with your concerns.
PontoonHouseboatOdyssey.Com
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Do you care if I linked your webpage post on my facebook account?
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Your blog is intersting - you have a some recent creative information.we enjoy your website theme where'd you buy the layout?
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Your webpage is informative - with a lot of recent neat information.I like your website design Where did you buy the layout?
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The layout is from Southern Star hosting.
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Would you be OK if I referred your webpage post on my Facebook account?
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Of course it would, we're honored that you consider our material "worthy".
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I do not intend to copy this website, however I really like the template. Might you touch upon which theme you are using or was this custom designed?
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We've had more complements on our theme and honestly we can't take any credit for it what-so-ever. The theme was packaged when we purchased the website, and we had to struggle on how to use and apply it. Our site is through Go Daddy but it's a "Paid Blog Site" so maybe that is what is maybe different.
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