Boat for Sale: Unique home-built barge-style HOUSEBOAT, cute & cozy

[Boats for Sale]

Unique home-built barge-style HOUSEBOAT, cute & cozy

Model: 160 Hawk Length (feet): 16.0 Type: Sport fisherman Make: Fisher Year: 2004 Trailer: Included Fuel capacity (gallons): -

Location: Scappoose, Oregon Condition: Used Beam (feet): Hull Material: Fiberglass Hull ID Number: buj17165i304 For Sale By: Dealer

Engine Make: Mercury Use: Primary Fuel Type: Gas Engine Model: 50 Mercury Engine Type: Single inboard/outboard

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Unique home-built barge-style HOUSEBOAT, cute & cozy Vehicle Description Unique home-built barge-styled cruising HOUSEBOAT, up for bidding by owner You are bidding on a 28-foot long, steel-hulled, river barge boat. If you are considering a small houseboat or floating home for a retreat on the water, this might be a perfect alternative. It could be the perfect bachelor's pad, artist's or writer's studio, weekend or vacation spot, or whatever you would like it to be! It could be a great liveaboard situation for a single person, who is also handy in finishing up some undone work. This is NOT a fixer. Just not quite finished yet. Pride of ownership shows! Unofficially named the "Gypsy Ark", but the name is printed nowhere on the hull or siding, so you could rename it easily. (It is only painted on one horseshoe life ring) Titled, registered and insured as a boat ("Cruising Houseboat") in Oregon. Title is clear and registration is current. If boat is sold to an out-of-state (non-Oregon) buyer, title transfer and registration is the sole responsibility of buyer (well, the same would be true for an Oregon buyer, but of course an in-state title transfer is a much simpler process). Outside paint was applied in summer of 2007. The color of the trusses and arches is a combination of turquoise and baby-blue (may be hard to see in the photos). The small round hole you see in the wall is the hot-air vent for the A/C. It is located in the galley (kitchen). Photo below: please disregard the grey board to the left of the door. It doesn't go with the boat.... The steel hull was built new in 1983 and originally had a different, but slightly similar, structure on top of it. The boat was hauled out in 2005 for a reconstruction of the hull and complete replacement of the deck and upper structure (also called the "pilothouse" or "cabin"). The work on the pilothouse is currently about 80% complete. Yet to be finished are some of the "non-structural" parts of the project, such as replacement of the engine steering system, some parts of the electrical systems, and the fresh-water system (plumbing and installation of the water tanks). The structure itself is about 19 feet long and 8 feet wide (plus a walkway of 2 feet on each side, making the boat 12 feet wide and 28 feet long; small enough to fit in a regular boat slip). Living room space is about 8 feet x 8 feet. Living room door is 36" wide. All furniture was bought new within the last 2-3 years. The table and sofa-bed were purchased with a small space in mind. The table is a foldable double-drop-leaf (double the size of what can be seen in the photo above). The sofa-bed opens (folds out) to be a bed. Depending on size and comfort level, it can sleep up to two people. The boat is heated by a diesel heater - fireplace, which we purchased new a couple of years ago. It makes the space very comfortably warm! It burns clean, without soot or odor in the boat. We have been using a temporary fuel tank for the diesel heater. A long-term solution would be a permanently mounted fuel tank. The floor throughout the houseboat is pressure-treated plywood, painted yellow with heavy-duty exterior porch and floor enamel. The rug in the living space, bought new a couple of years ago, is included. The table can "swallow" up to 4 wooden chairs in its inside; however, one broke, so only 3 chairs will come with it. These chairs could be used for the patio, too. Black office chair also comes with the boat. This is a stained glass window we found at a 2nd-hand store. This might be about the only "used" material (besides the original hull) in this boat. The stained glass window is installed in the bathroom wall, facing the galley. If a light would be installed in the bathroom, behind it, the light could nicely illuminate this stained glass window at night. Small shelf next to the sofa is on wheels too: therefore it is very easy to move the furniture around. Sofa is not a full-sized one, so it is not heavy at all. There is also a full-length mirror in the living room. There are some scratch marks on the door in the living room. It would be easy to repaint the metal doors your choice of color. In fact, they currently only have the factory-applied white primer coat on them. Due to the many questions we have had about the layout, here is a very primitive hand-drawn floorplan of the "pilothouse structure". I have not included the outside decks and/or walkways. It is an approximation, which is close to how it looks but not perfect. One note you might not see well is on the far right, where it says "Bow is about 8' x 3' ". The bow is the front of the boat, where the wheel and future helm station is located, and the stern is the back deck with the cozy patio. - The drop-leaf table in the "living room" is drawn with the two sides folded down. The hull consists of two, approx. 2-ft. square, 28-ft. long, steel pontoons, along the sides of the boat; with a V-shaped full hull bottom of steel plate welded between the pontoons. Each pontoon is divided into 8 chambers by welded steel bulkheads, for a total of 16 watertight chambers. Each chamber is valved for pressure testing. Work done in 2005: Because of some corrosion of the "V" portion of the steel hull, an entirely new, thicker steel plate bottom was welded into place. Some of the hull's internal structural steel supports were also repaired or replaced at the same time. The entire steel hull was then professionally prepared and painted inside and out with marine-grade, 2-part epoxy paint. The original cabin structure and decking (floor) were completely removed and discarded. The new decking is pressure-treated plywood rated for below-grade/underwater use. The new pilothouse is framed with galvanized steel studs on 16-inch centers. The walls are insulated with rigid foamboard. The exterior siding is Lousiana-Pacific "SmartSide". All the windows are Pella "ThermaStar" sliding windows, bought new. Skylights are from Velux. Custom-designed, site-built, wood trusses are used to frame the arched "barrel" roof. The roof is exterior plywood. A CertainTeed "Flintlastic" self-adhering membrane roofing system is installed over the plywood. This is a heavy-duty grade roof material, used on warehouses and other large commercial and industrial buildings. NO LEAKS. The new deck and pilothouse, including the walls, trusses, and plywood roof, were all built using heavy corrosion-resistant screws (combined with polyurethane glue for all wood joints), instead of nails. This creates superior resistance to the constant flexing motion an on-the-water structure is subjected to. The interior walls are water-resistant panelling made from Luan, a tropical hardwood. The boat's interior space includes a main cabin, a head (bathroom), a galley (kitchen) and a closet space. The galley is based on IKEA "Udden" stainless steel kitchen counters, including a sink, faucet and four under-counter wire storage shelves. Refrigerator was bought new for the boat about 3 years ago and works perfectly. Freezer compartment is frost-free. Plumbing for freshwater system is not yet installed. No tanks either (the original ones were cracked and patched, so we decided not to re-use them). There is space under the floor to put in the tanks. We call this space the "basement", however you can only crouch in there all the length throughout the V-shape, if you are of lean to average body build. There are no leaks through the hull, so the bilge stays dry. Also there are no thru-hulls (openings with valves under the waterline) to worry about. The galley door faces the bow (front) where the helm station is located; the living room door opens onto the stern (back), where the aft deck (patio) is located. The head has an "Aqua Glass" (fiberglass) one-piece shower stall, 32" wide, and room for either a portable toilet (porta-potty) or marine toilet to be added. The photo below makes the shower appear narrower than it really is. Also, there is no bathroom door installed yet. We originally planned to just use a curtain, so the air would circulate better. What you can see in the photo below is the backside of the metal heat shield panels that form the wall behind the diesel heater. You can also see an example of how the electric wiring is run in grey plastic conduits. This space would be large enough to accommodate a porta-potty or marine head (the photo makes it appear narrower than it is). The little storage space and shelf on the left is the present (temporary) location of the fuel tank for the diesel heater. It could easily be removed as well, opening up that area for more space. There are two opening, screened Velux skylights in the boat. They work great! One is located above the living room and the other is above the head/bathroom. Also, there's a new bath vent with fan, heater and light included, still in the box (wiring is installed for it already). A new water heater is under the galley counter (never used, wiring is in, but plumbing not yet installed). A portable air-conditioning unit is also installed in the boat. This unit also works as a heater. Comes with remote control. Door in galley (kitchen) leads out to the bow (front) and is 32" wide. Across from the kitchen counter and the refrigerator is the storage and the head (bathroom). The shore-power (120-volt AC) electrical system includes a Marinco shore power cable and stainless steel inlet, a Charles Isolation Transformer (not yet installed, $540 value), a Blue Sea main circuit breaker (for the isolation transformer, net yet wired in), and a Blue Sea main and branch circuit breaker panel. All branch circuits for outlets are GFCI protected. The boat's 12-volt system also uses a Blue Sea circuit breaker panel. All boat navigation lights required per Oregon law and Coast Guard regulations are installed, wired to the panel, and have been tested to work when a 12-volt source is connected to the panel. Right now the closet is just an empty space covered with a curtain. There are only some coat pegs there, but there could be shelves or some other storage arrangement installed. The helm station (steering and engine controls) is located on the bow (front) of the boat. As part of the reconstruction it was relocated from the original position inside the pilothouse. This outside location gives the boat operator better all-around visibility from the helm station than was possible from inside. It's even possible to see directly astern (to the rear) from the helm station because the doors both have windows (or just open the doors to see behind the boat). Keep in mind the helm station still needs new wiring and engine control cables installed to be operable. The wood steering wheel is removable; that's why you might not see it in the other photos. (In the photo below you can see an outboard motor hanging from the rail under a blue cover. This motor is NOT included in the auction.) Aft deck (Patio): It is very comfortable to have two people seated; three would make it a small crowd, and with four occupied chairs we would have to untangle our feet afterwards (patio furniture not included in sale). It is about 8 x 6 feet. Right now there is a 9.9 HP Johnson outboard engine mounted on the stern. We were told it might run, but we have never bothered to try. It will come with the boat with the assumption that it doesn't work and cannot be repaired. If you wanted to move this houseboat under its own power, you would probably want a bigger motor anyway. Please see the FAQ's towards the bottom of this page (specifically #5) for further explanation of the big question: "Can it be motored around?" Boat comes with 2 horseshoe life rings and 2 life vests. Houseboat does NOT include some personal items pictured, like hanging picture, guitar, camping stove/propane burner, and decorations (sign, mobile, etc.). Also NOT included is the patio set (black patio chairs and table). Boat was used as occasional hang-out and was never lived in full-time. Ceiling above stern: Ceiling above bow: Last winter: Here are three photos taken during our reconstruction of this houseboat: The photo above is of the steel hull, immediately after we had it professionally reconstructed and painted, and then returned to the water in our marina. The first thing we did was to apply an additional heavy coat of industrial-grade rustproofing paint, on the topside and interior surfaces of the already-painted hull. This was done by hand, using a brush, with a careful eye to painting not only the easily accessible surfaces, but also every small crevice and corner where stray moisture might collect and cause corrosion. This photo (above) shows the first stages of building the cabin (pilothouse) structure on top of the hull. The brown pressure-treated plywood sheets were first bedded into a thick layer of adhesive sealant applied to the hull's steel cross-members. This is to help prevent direct contact of the plywood with the painted steel (a potential source of corrosion). The plywood was then screwed down to the crossmembers with heavy duty self-tapping screws. At the rear of the hull, some of the arched trusses for the roof are stacked for later use. This photo above shows the interior of the structure before the wall paneling was installed. The steel framing (standard nominal 2" x 4") is clearly visible, as is the pink rigid foamboard insulation sheets that were placed in the walls. The insulation is the full wall thickness. Where is the boat located now? It is located in rural Scappoose, Oregon. Here are some photos of the marina area: Early September morning at our marina, on the Multnomah Channel near Portland, Oregon: The opposite shore is Sauvie Island, a beautiful agricultural area and wildlife refuge, with public sandy beaches that border the mighty Columbia River, and bird-watching and wildlife viewing stations. Bridge to reach the island is about a 7 minute drive away. The boat is located in one of several marinas close to Scappoose, Oregon. Right now, the boat is in a marina that doesn't allow new liveaboards. If not used as a full-time liveaboard, it can remain in this marina. There are several other marinas nearby, and some do allow liveaboards. You would have to contact them for a slip yourself. The rent for the houseboat's slip is paid monthly. The slip fee becomes the responsibility of the new owner beginning the first day of the first month following the end of auction, completion of full payment, and transfer of boat ownership. From Scappoose to downtown Portland, Oregon, is about a 25-30 minute drive on US Hwy 30. This is probably the last highway in the Portland outskirts that is not congested. Heavy traffic such as on Hwy 26 or 217 rarely happens on Hwy 30. From St. Helens, past Scappoose and into Portland, there's also a commuter shuttle bus one could use: the "Columbia County Rider" (has it's own webpage). The bus stops in Scappoose several times a day. Another shuttle bus drives from Scappoose all the way to Portland Community College - Rock Creek Campus. If you would live in one of the liveaboard marinas in Scappoose, you could get by even without a car. For example, by using Dial-A-Ride (a scheduled pickup by a small van for $1 within Scappoose); or by riding your bike to the bus stop at the highway and letting the bus take you and your bike to Portland. This is a great area to retire. While you get the rural small town feel in Scappoose, Portland is just a short drive away and offers everything you might need or wish for. *** FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS *** 1. What is the cost to lift the boat from water for transport? Our marina's boat yard quoted us the cost to lift the boat from the water, pressure wash the hull, and place the boat on a trailer for transport as $7.50 per foot of boat length. For the 28-foot houseboat, that would be $210. There would be an additional $25 to $50 charge for the houseboat to be towed from its slip to the boat lift. (The boat lift is located in our marina.) I cannot give any guarantees in regards to the quoted price (this was just an oral quote) - you would have to deal with the boatyard and price their services yourself. 2. What are the costs to transport the boat to my location? The cost depends on your location and who hauls your boat. It is wise to get estimates from different boat transport companies. There is at least one such company in our area. A recent oral quote was about $5,500 to the Los Angeles area. Again, I cannot give any guarantees as to the accuracy of this quote, as I was just informally asking about the vague "LA area". We are selling the boat "Where-Is", which means you would have to research and arrange your own boat transport if you want to move it. 3. What is the hull's shape and material? The hull consists of two rectangular pontoons, with a steel hull between them that forms a slight "V". In 2005, when we built the structure on top of this existing hull, we replaced almost the entire area of steel between the pontoons. A metal fabrication shop welded 12-gauge mild steel in between the pontoons (originally, it had been thinner 14-gauge). Some 1-1/2 inch square steel tube was also required to repair/replace the central "spine" that supports the centerline of the hull from front to rear of the boat. I also had them repair 6 of the square steel cross-beams that run under the deck and walkways, and fabricate 8 new ones. The total cost of this work was $4,805. I decided that if the 14-gauge steel had lasted 22 years (1983 to 2005), the 12-gauge at about 50% thicker would be a wise long-term improvement. I would estimate the pontoons are 2 or 3 times the thickness of the hull bottom, and (including the watertight bulkheads inside the pontoons, and the square tubular steel crossbeams on top of the pontoons), there might be as much as 4 or 5 times the surface area of steel in the pontoons as the new steel welded into the hull. 4. What is needed to finish the boat? There are two distinct stages for this. First, for "at-the-dock-habitation", which would include some non-complex work on the shore power electrical system, the fresh water plumbing system, and the waste water plumbing system. This stage would satisfy the liveaboard person, who perhaps wouldn't want to take the vessel away from the dock anyway. The second stage is to have the boat capable of being used as an independent, self-sufficient and maneuverable boat away from the dock. This would be perhaps suited for the adventurer, who might not live aboard, but wants to take the vessel away from the dock and out on the calm river or lake. This stage would include completing the 12-volt electrical system, installing engine controls, and some other details. Since there are no tanks for freshwater, wastewater, engine fuel tanks or heater fuel tanks, no batteries and no upgraded engine, the weight of the rear of the boat is lighter than it would be with all these things installed. As a result, the stern sits a little higher in the water now (compared to the bow). Port sits a bit lower than starboard because of the A/C, water heater and refrigerator. We believe this would be resolved by properly distributing the final weight - by installing the above (tanks and batteries) in the proper locations. WE HAVE HAD SO MANY QUESTIONS ("Can you cruise this boat?") THAT WE ARE ASKING YOU TO CAREFULLY READ THIS FOLLOWING FAQ: 5. Could you cruise around with it? At present, a new motor with remote controls would need to be installed, as well as batteries and some of the 12-volt electric system that starts the motor and charges the batteries. The required navigation lights for motoring and for anchoring are already installed and wired to the 12-volt electrical panel, so would work with the addition of the batteries and battery wiring. A portable fuel tank on the rear deck would probably be much simpler to use than a permanently mounted tank under the floor (but that could be done if it was important to have more fuel capacity). If I took it out motoring, I would choose a very calm day and would have a plan in place to quickly reach a safe location and/or have someone I could call for a tow, if the weather turned for the worse. I have never tried, though, and right now it is not equipped to do motoring under it's own power. -- The existing 9.9 HP outboard motor on the stern is broken and probably cannot be fixed. To motor this houseboat around, you want at least a 25 HP motor, probably more. I have never tried motoring it and do not plan on motoring it, and doing so would be the new owners responsibily and risk. 6. What are the costs of living in a houseboat? This boat fits in a regular boat slip, so what you basically pay is the monthly slip fee. In our marina, the prices are starting at about $130/month, depending on the slip's length and location within the marina. For $130, you can use the marina's bathroom facilities (with shower and laundry) and parking. You can fill up your water tanks for free and you get to use their holding-tank pump-out cart for free (if you have a holding tank, that is; which this boat doesn't have yet). Electricity is available at each slip, but is metered and paid extra every month. In the summer, the bill for electricity can be almost nothing (well, it'll be something if you use the A/C) and can be more in winter, depending on if you heat your boat with electricity. Next, as a big bonus, you get a whole bunch of friendly new neighbors. Our marina does not allow new liveaboards, but some other marinas along the river do. I can imagine that their slip fees are similar (but I don't know exactly). The liveaboard fee for existing liveaboards in our marina is an additional $100/month, besides the regular slip fee. This fee should be similar in other marinas in our area too. So, I estimate about $250+ a month could be your basic slip rental cost, if you live aboard. Depending on marina, as said before. We pay less than $20/month on liability insurance on this boat. Registration to the State is to be paid every 2 years, and is right now about $90 for two years. There are no property taxes to pay and boats are not taxed in Oregon. 7. Are there any other regular maintenance issues to be aware of? Yes, on the rare occasion that it snows (it's happened only once here in the last 4 years), the snow might accumulate on the roof to the point where the weight of the snow becomes an issue (as with any other boat or floating structure on the water). Therefore it would be good to keep an eye on this issue and clean off the roof before it gets too heavy. 8. Why are you selling this boat? Too many projects, as simple as that. For a while, this houseboat was my main occupation and I and my wife put a lot of money, time and love into making this boat a cozy home-to-be. Practically everything from the bottom up (except the hull) is new, and even the hull --the bottom part -- was professionally redone and/or replaced in 2005 and we have the receipts to prove it. We didn't anticipate selling this boat, so we didn't economize. I also have another boat (a sailboat), and working on it is a higher priority. It doesn't seem right that this houseboat is sitting in the water, unused. We get lots of compliments on how it looks and we want someone else to enjoy it. *** CONDITIONS OF SALE *** Bidders must be pre-approved by seller. Keep in mind that the starting price is set very reasonably. Serious U.S. bidders only. OFFERED BY OWNER. Seller strongly recommends that potential bidders personally inspect the houseboat before bidding. We will make vessel available during the auction for inspection by potential bidders (and bidders), including inspection by a Marine Surveyor of the potential bidder's (or bidder's) choice; all expenses of inspection and survey to be sole responsibility and liability of potential bidder (or bidder). I am available throughout the duration of the auction to show the houseboat at nearly any time. If you have any questions, contact me through eBay's e-mail messaging. Provide your phone number in the message and I will promptly call you to make arrangements. Bidders must be pre-approved by seller. As a condition of eBay choosing to feature this auction on their home page (Thank you, eBay!), bidders are required to be preapproved. THE PREAPPROVAL PROCESS IS VERY SIMPLE. YOU ARE UNDER NO COMMITMENT TO SUBMIT A BID. THERE IS NO FEE OR COST TO BECOME PREAPPROVED. If you think you might want to bid on this auction, first simply click on the "Ask a question" link under the "Seller info" section (at the top right corner of the auction page, just to the right of the "Place Bid" and "Buy It Now" buttons. When I receive your message, I will respond to you so we can personally discuss the details of the auction. Then, if we agree you are a potential bidder, I will place your eBay user name on the list of bidders preapproved to bid on this auction. It is a simple eBay method to help screen out invalid bidders and bids. It's my understanding from eBay that if you attempt to submit a bid without being preapproved, your bid will be put on hold until I contact you and determine if you should be preapproved. DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT TO BE PREAPPROVED. If you are even remotely considering submitting a bid, contact me first by using the "Ask a question" link on the top of the auction page, so you can be preapproved to bid later, if you decide to do so. Sold As-Is, Where-Is. Moving and transport costs and arrangements are the responsibility of winning bidder. ******* PAYMENT ******** A $2,000.00 non-refundable deposit towards the purchase price must be paid BY PAYPAL within 24 hours of end of auction. If "Buy It Now" is used, a $2,000.00 non-refundable deposit towards the purchase price must be paid immediately upon close of auction. Balance of purchase price due by bank-to-bank transfer within 3 business days of end of auction. I require all funds to be received and verified by Paypal and my bank before houseboat or any paperwork leaves my possession. Sold "As-is, Where-is". ONLY U.S. BIDDERS.

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