PLAIN JANE 40

Plain Jane was a sudden commission. That is to say that suddenly the client called, then came in right away, said that he wanted to build a houseboat. He had firmly decided this. But, he couldn’t find anything up to date from the materials and construction standpoint that he liked. He knew what he didn’t want, namely a highly developed and affected design with lots of complications and joinery problems built in which would increase the cost, skill level required to build and maybe double the building time. He used the phrase "somewhat nondescript and vanilla in character". I translated that to name the design Plain Jane and completed the profile and layout arrangement in about eight hours. I think you’ll agree that the completed (and approved) boat takes very good advantage of space and arrangement and would suit a single live aboard or a couple.

In addition to having an ergonomically well designed living area of between three and four hundred square feet, he also wanted a boat that was capable of being less "house barge" and more street legal. What that means is that the boat has to be able to be transported from place to place on its own bottom, maneuvering under its own power and be self contained as to holding tanks or sanitation system, electrical, running lights etc. The boat more than likely will be slipped or moored in one place, probably a marina for years at a time, but has to have the above to satisfy the "powers that be" and their definition of a boat as opposed to a house barge.

That being the case, Plain Jane will be fitted out, as would be any other large powerboat. The owner/builder of Plain Jane will be living aboard the boat on a large river in a marina in the Midwest, but may eventually move the boat to a retirement moorage on the Gulf.

Plain Jane is designed to draft twelve inches, and when complete will displace about 28,500 pounds when sitting on her lines. I drew the ends of the boat so that in addition to making the boat slide through the water with minimum of effort, overloading the boat and increasing the draft a couple inches (as might be bound to happen) won’t have much effect on performance. Power will be from an outboard, preferably a four-cycle engine in the range of 50 to 70 H.P. The reason for choosing an outboard is obvious. The boat will be in one place for years, so there is no reason to have any unneeded appendages or equipment permanently in the water subject to corrosion, electrolysis or deterioration. It was for this reason that we decided to discard the idea of an out drive even though the installation would be neater. The removable control console will be mounted in the center of the bow, but generally will be stored in the two and one-half foot deep crawl space below decks. This space will also provide room for general storage as well as access to all parts of the hull and installations below the floor level.

The hull of the boat will be built of steel, and when fabrication is complete will be sandblasted and heavily coated with zinc rich epoxy primer inside and out and the hull exterior will be finished with a coal tar epoxy and appropriate bottom paint. If the builder chooses, the hull can be launched at that point and construction finished afloat.

Thickness of the exterior walls was drawn as six inches per standard architectural design, but this can be reduced to four and one-half inches by constructing the walls of pre-fabricated foam filled panels in the shop which are made to snap together for assembly. This method is my choice, because not only will this speed construction, a high quality control standard can also be maintained. (See detailed construction plans and construction manual.) In addition to the walls (and roof as explained below) the floor should also be built of prefabricated insulated panels as detailed in the construction plans.

The roof of the boat can also be prefabricated over curved forms and pre-insulated and made to snap together after the walls are erected. When in place, the roof would be sheathed with a polypropylene fabric set in epoxy then coated with material that has been successfully used to protect mobile homes. Inside headroom is designed as 7 feet 3 inches on the centerline, and 6 feet 3 inches at the sidewalls, which will give adequate drainage. (See construction details.)

Standard housing construction materials will be used wherever possible. Notice that no heating or cooling equipment has been suggested on the layout. The reason for this is because there are many possibilities available and finally should suit the intended application and the climate where the boat is to be used. Also, note that parquet flooring has been shown in the main traffic area and in the galley, but I personally would install parquet, tile, linoleum or hardwood flooring throughout and use throw rugs where appropriate. The reason that this would be my choice is that wall-to-wall carpeting installed on boats often over time becomes a haven for molds and dust which can sometimes cause allergic reactions in those permanently living aboard. Throw rugs can be easily removed, the floors washed with disinfectant and the rugs cleaned and treated with anti-fungus solutions. It is also a good idea that the paint used on walls (particularly if latex based) also contain anti-fungal/anti-mold additives.

Fabricated carefully and taking the recommendations of the construction details and assembly manual into consideration, this boat can be built quite inexpensively but provide a long lasting comfortable home afloat. The best part is; if you want to change the neighborhood, all you need to do is untie the house and take it elsewhere, no muss, no fuss!

Click here for STUDY PLAN in PDF Format