Building Dianne’s Rose

Houseboat building (or any other project) would be a lot less stressful if only the wives were onboard with the project. They don’t usually like the noise and the mess and the sawdust and the lack of attention and ….oh well, you get the idea. But now, one smart Canadian has found the solution!

diannes rose canalboat
diannes rose canalboat

Roy Schreyer has designed and built this small houseboat as the answer to all the complaints. You know, the boat is too small, too uncomfortable, it rocks, it goes too fast, it’s not good looking enough, it’s too expensive to build, it’s too expensive to run. His answer is one great looking small houseboat. And to make sure his wife loved it … he named it after her!

Dianne’s Rose is a smartly designed small houseboat you can enjoy all year long, or until the lake freezes! (which it does in Canada) The 8’ by 10’ cabin includes couches that can be arranged into a nice queen-size bed for over-night stays. Not quite a tiny house, but he’s included a decent sized bathroom fitted out with a composting toilet. He reports that the toilet works great with “no smell.” The boat also has a small built-in kitchenette that holds a propane camp stove. The stove can be removed for on-shore beach parties. The inside of the boat can be arranged as a sleeper or as a dining room.

This houseboat / shantyboat is only 8’ wide and 17’long, so you can haul it home if you want to. It only draws 6” of water so you can explore just about anywhere. The motor on Dianne’s Rose is a 9.8hp so it will push you around all day for very little money. That’s important if you’re on a limited budget.

I think the best part of this tiny houseboat is the price.The whole cost for this sharp little houseboat was only about $4,500 bucks. It doesn’t get much better than this. Roy estimates it will take 600 hours of labor to get it in the water. That’s not too much for a project that will make you the envy of all the folks in the big, expensive plastic boats. (they’ll be wishing they had the bathroom after a couple hours on the water).

Did I mention that Roy is a master cabinet-maker? Not only that, but he has other talents. When you go to his site (and you should) you can see a ton of even better pictures. Also, check out his beautiful sailboat design — “Whisper”– What a nice looking sailboat.!

He has a website set up to help you with any more questions. He has “study plans” and even complete instructions available. If small houseboats interest you, this is one to check out.

If you want to learn much more, visit his site

Some useful houseboat building books!

Designing and building a houseboat book
boats, cabins and homes on the water book
handmade houseboats book

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