21 Garvey flex houseboat?

[zoobricke]

I've been looking to build a houseboat style boat for overnight and extended outing trips on the Hudson River in NY. Most houseboats offer a flat bottom. I saw this boat and was woundering this;
1. can I safely reduce the length to 20 feet and put a cabin on top that will cover 60% of the area. Would a 15 or 25 hp engine be good.
Any suggestions would help me sleep at night .

thanks

[Boatplans.dk]

Reducing the length to 20' will not be a problem. The aft ship is almost parallel so I will suggest you simply leave out the last foot. You will have to do some rearrangement at the outboard well but that will be some minor changes that I can sketch up for you.

The boat has a very good stability and side height so adding further superstructure will not harm the stability much. Of course it is important to watch out that the center of gravity is not getting too high, but as long as you don't plan to place a crane or something heavy at the rooftop you should be safe. Anyway I recommend you ask me when you have planed the superstructure, and I will help you check that everything is all right.

How fast would you like to go? 15-25 hp will be fine for a moderate cruising speed but if you give me some further information I can give you a more exact answer.

I hope this helps you sleep at night

[zoobricke]

Thanks, I plan on ordering the plans for the hull shortly. Will keep you up to date on progress.

[zoobricke]

I've read through the plans and will build the hull as follows, reduce it to 19.8 feet. From the bow going back I will create 4 feet of open seating at the bow just like a bowrunner, that will have a removable table,then a 8 foot long cabin that will have 6.5 feet of head clearance from the floor up that will house a head/shower, stove sink and pilot station, then the balance of 6.5 feet to the transom which will be screened in for overnight sleeping. I think it will all fit. Do I want to put a small fin on the center bottom running a midship to the stern for better handling in the wind, I figure at the highest point 4 inches from the bottom of the boat down into the water? Simalar to a fin on a surfboard.