1. Winter – Winter aboard a houseboat is not for the faint of heart. Preventing ice from forming around your boat, braving the cold temperatures on the deck and icy walking surfaces can all be a headache in colder months.
2. Drinking – Houseboat living isn’t recommended for heavy drinkers, as the vast majority of boating related injuries and deaths can be traced back to alcohol consumption. Even the most conscientious boater can make poor choices when a tipple or two too many lowers inhibitions.
3. Marina Neighbors – Though hard partying on a houseboat is a recipe for disaster, it doesn’t stop the party set from flocking to houseboat living. During peak seasons, marinas can be crowded with obnoxious neighbors. The upshot? They usually flee at the first sign of bad weather.
4. Legalities – A permanent land address is a necessity for securing a post office box, registering your vessel and keeping your driver’s license current. Despite the romantic notion of “getting away from it all” and living full time on your boat, it can present a red-tape nightmare if you don’t maintain some sort of dwelling on land as well.
5. Cramped Quarters – Minimal living has it’s perks, and is a growing trend even among land-dwellers. That being said, the space on a houseboat is very minimal. With living spaces as small as three-hundred square feet, there’s very little room for privacy.
6. Permanently Damp Conditions – Under the permanently pervasive moisture of houseboat living, food will spoil more quickly, paint will peel and mildew will thrive. Though there are solutions to each of these problems, it’s something to keep in mind when making the decision to live aboard full-time.
7. Carbon Monoxide – Running your generator while your boat is docked can cause dangerous levels of carbon monoxide to build up, depending on the placement of the generator. Be sure that you’re well-educated about generator safety.
8. Motion Sickness – For motion-sickness sufferers with dreams of living aboard, the idea of constant nausea might be difficult to swallow.
9. Weather Concerns – A storm that a land-dweller would sleep through can be a cause for real concern for those living on a houseboat. Part of living aboard is being vigilant about weather conditions, and prepared for many scenarios.
10. Sewage Pumping – One of the least-appealing aspects of houseboat living is the very real necessity of pumping a sewage tank. There are services that handle this smelly task, but they can get pricey, and legal requirements vary from place to place.

Despite the challenges that come with living aboard, there is a thriving community in North America of year-round houseboat dwellers that wouldn’t go back to “dirt living” at any price. For these devotees, the biggest hazard of their lifestyle is getting their envious land-dwelling visitors to leave!

Wrapping your brain around house boat insurance

You need to understand, first off, that there are a couple of different types of boat insurance that will apply to house boats. One type pays you the Actual Cash Value of your boat (known in the industry as the ACV) minus any depreciation the insurance company sees fit to assess. This is the less expensive of the two types of insurance policy.

An Agreed Amount Value policy is a bit different. This type of policy sets the value of the boat from the outset. It includes the value of the hull, as well as anything attached to it. The key with this kind of coverage is to be able to identify all of the equipment on the boat and document it so that you can have a reliable value when you start the policy.

What you need to know

When you’re shopping for a policy, there are some specific questions you need to ask and some information you need to gather. They have to do with several categories:

• The Marine Survey. In most cases, your boat insurance company will need a marine survey of your vessel. They may want to do one yearly, depending on the type of your boat, or there may be several years in between surveys.
• Navigation limits. If you go outside of certain geographical areas, you won’t be covered. This is to protect the insurance company in case you travel to waters that are too dangerous for your type of craft. (Bermuda Triangle, anyone?)
• Lay-ups. If you only live on your houseboat part of the year, do you get a discount for winter storage? In warmer climates, you may not have this kind of option, but in colder locales you can usually get a discount.
• Deductible. Like most other types of insurance, your house boat insurance policy is going to have a deductible. The lower the deductible, the higher the premium. The typical deductible is around one or two percent.
• Live-aboard coverage. This is where a houseboat insurance policy differs from a regular boat insurance policy. You need specific coverage to handle your stuff and the extra liability that comes with living on the boat.

Photo via finchlake2000

Knightley and her boyfriend Rupert Friend, who is an actor, recently rented a floating house boat on a waterway in the East End of London. The pair has apparently lived on the small boat since the beginning of the year.

The boat, which the couple has rented until the summer, is a wonderful getaway for the couple. They spend weekends on the boat, and neighbors say that the couple enjoys strolling the canal and having fish and chips for supper. The couple has been spotted and photographed walking along the canal recently.

Currently, Knightly is working at London’s Comedy Theatre in a play called “The Misanthrope.” Friend is also working a stage play at London’s Garrick Theatre. Knightley is scheduled to visit the U.S. in February on a promotional tour for her newest film, Last Night.

Houseboating Around the World

Houseboating is becoming increasingly popular in some parts of the world, although the specifics vary greatly from one place to the next. In the U.S. for example, people often rent a houseboat for just a weekend or a vacation. Some of the most popular houseboating destinations in the U.S. include Lake Cumberland, Kentucky, Lake Powell, Utah, and Center Hill Lakes, Tennessee.

In some places, there are even houseboating neighborhoods. While you would probably expect to see a houseboating neighborhood in Miami, for example, you can also find one like Lake Union in Seattle. Even Manhattan has a houseboating community, where you can rent space for only about $500 a month, making it one of the least expensive places to live in New York City.

Amsterdam is known for its houseboats, as well. You’ll even find the Houseboat Museum in Amsterdam. The museum is housed on an old houseboat known as the Hendrika Maria, and is just about five minutes away from the Anne Frank Museum.

Houseboating Trends

There are plenty of new and exciting things happening in the world of houseboating. New boats are much more energy efficient and offer owners a great way to enjoy the water while having less of an environmental impact.

If you’re going to be buying or renting a houseboat, make sure your boat insurance is up to date in case the unthinkable happens.

Photo via shahbasharat

Unless you’re willing to live on a houseboat.

The 79th Street Boat Basin is a set of public docks on the banks of the Hudson River. It’s located off the Riverside Park promenade, and it’s only three blocks away from Broadway. In terms of location, it’s nearly ideal.

The Basin has been home to more than 100 boats at a time. There have been schooners, trawlers, yachts and – of course – houseboats. Some of the boats are transient, but others have yearly permits and the owners seem to have formed quite a community.

And a diverse community it is. There have been millionaires living in houseboats at the Basin, and there have been divorced men who walked away with only their boat. Plenty of celebrities have spent time on these docks, as well. Aristotle Onassis parked his yacht in the Basin, and so did Frank Sinatra and Malcolm Forbes.

Still, living on a houseboat isn’t all fun and games. While the Basin hasn’t seen any major fires in its nearly 80 years of existence, plenty of other mishaps have occurred. Back in 2005, ice floes caused nearly half a million dollars in damage to dock infrastructure. During winter, people can slip when the piers become icy. Wandering pets have been known to drop off into the chilly winter water.

The bad news for folks hoping to get a low-cost place to live in Manhattan is that the Parks Department has been trying, over the past 15 years, to reduce the full time population. They stopped issuing full year docking permits at that time. Then, there were 116 permanent ships on the docks, and today there are 43.

Residents have complained, however, and the Parks Department has agreed to issue new annual permits, but only a few each year. This allows new residents to enter the community, while still leaving a good portion of the docks for short-term rentals, which are much more profitable for the parks department.

If you do manage to become the latest addition to this unique community, make sure you talk to your boat insurance agent. Boat insurance works differently when the boat is your primary residence, so you’ll want to make sure you have the right coverage.

Photo via NJScott