Houseboat - adding more floatation?

[wellsc1]

I broke the rule by not searching this forum first, and felt it had not been posted before. Call me closed-minded, so here goes.

We are partners in a houseboat. It's just a box with a walk-around deck on floatation, and not motor. It's been in the water for a few years (~10 or so) and in need of additional blocks of floatation.

Does anyone have tricks or a method to get them under the boat?

We can't take it off the river. We can't find skidder tubes to pump up under the boat. We can't afford to rent a crane to come down to the ramp (at least 40 miles away and about 6 miles of sandy, 2-track road). We can't occupy the ramp to block up the boat on one end at a time to use the tide changes to let the water drop from under the boat (that would also take two low tides in order to do both ends of the boat).

Help me turn around what is quickly becoming a mind full of dead ends.

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: Houseboat - adding more floatation?

Carl the only thing that come to mind for me is some LARGE air bags slip them under one end at a time air them up put flotation under that end air down the bags and move to the other end and repeat.

Rick

 

[wellsc1]

Re: Houseboat - adding more floatation?

Rickairmedic,

Thanks for info. Where are large airbags available? That's the same idea I had in mind with the BIG skidder tubes.

Anyone else

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Houseboat - adding more floatation?

Plastic 55 gallon drums work well, just fill them with water, put them in place and use a compressor to fill them with air.

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: Houseboat - adding more floatation?

Wells as far as large air bags I would search the net but then theres always Semi inertubes.


Rick

 

[wellsc1]

Re: Houseboat - adding more floatation?

I have a couple other ideas to float through this forum.

1 - roll a set of wheels under the boat near a ramp or sand bar. With a contraption mounted on the axle, tie a couple ropes to the houseboat and pull it up the incline to raise her enough to slip floatation under it.

2 - Bring it up a ramp or sandbar to get two hydraulic bottle jacks under it with a beam across both jacks. Raise her enough to slip floatation under it.

Any other contraptions ideas?

 

[oops!]

Re: Houseboat - adding more floatation?

hey bud.....i re did a boat house on vancouver island ......identical with ondarvrs advice.

it doesnt have to be 55 gal drums....any thing that can hold water ....then air.

a simple compressor is strong enough to pump the water out.....hech a foot pump can pump the water out.....

but read his post.....thats how its done

cheers
oops

 

[D.spencer]

Re: Houseboat - adding more floatation?

It can be done without airbags,a crane,bottle jacks or dragging it up on the beach. What you need is to be able to sink your existing floatation and remove it and then sink your new floatation and reinstall it. A friend of mine is doing this ( now) again on his boathouse because the styrofoam is no longer held together ( it breaks down) and the lake authority says it has to be replaced anyway because of new regulations. My friends father was a genius. He built what they refer to as a "submarine". It is a large chunk of concrete at the bottom for a counter weight, framing/steel comes out of that and goes up to two steel barrels welded together,end to end,with the tops cut out of and the ends welded together. An air hose is connected to the drums. On top of that is a structure that allows the old floatation to be cradled and then chains to go over the top/around to hold the floatation. When the submarine is placed in the water, the counterweight is of course at the bottom, air is pumped into the drums to maintain neutral bouyancy. It is then manuevered into place close to where the old floatation is coming out and then air is slowly released from the drum to "sink" the rig just enough to get it under the old floatation. Compressed air is added to raise it up against the floatation and the chains are secured around the old block. Air is then released again to sink the captured floatation and the submarine and the whole thing is moved out from under the boathouse. Add air and it pops up again and release the chains and the block of floatation is removed from the submarine. Reverse procedure to reinstall.

 

[wellsc1]

Re: Houseboat - adding more floatation?

Thanks a million for all the advice. The family, who all own part interest in the houseboat, ganged up on me and opted for a crane (one on wheels) at $155 an hour. Including drive time, it took about 5 hours (little over an hour to lift the houseboat, one side at a time). We got new floatation along each side, which lifted the houseboat about 18" higher. That success story led to another problem (i.e., disaster).

The center was supported the same and popped down, separating from the wall on each end. To make a long story short, and two additional weekends working on it, we got the deck up to the walls again (included new floatation on each end, four 1/2" turnbuckles and cables, and 1/4' steel 3" bar stock).

I'm ready to go fishing for a change!:redface:

At least the houseboat is not soaking its wood in the water, collecting barnicles anymore.