Sail Boat, Canal Barge, or Shipping Container
I have been entertaining the idea of what it would be like to live in each of these and which one I would like best. Each has its merits and disadvantages.
Discuss.
posted by Xul at 7:24 PM
15 Comments:
Hey, aren't those crazy Germans having their Oktoberfest? I guess you've never been to that. What about your sis?
I've never been to that, nor has my sister. Munich is about 800 km distance from where I live. Seems a bit far to go for a beer. :P
Discuss
Well, the shipping containers are obviously cheaper. Plus you're not likely to get seasick in them. The view and the mobility may be less although that can be fixed. Ideally, I wouldn't mind living in one of those Catalina flying boats.
One of my aunts has a van that she furnished with... stuff (I haven't seen it in person). She goes camping in it sometimes, I hear.
P.S. Are you looking for alternative housing? Somewhere far away from your "house monster"? :P
The best thing about the sailboat IMO is if you don't like your "neighborhood" you can just set sail to a new one! I'm not much of a sailor, though. I tend to get seasick if the boat is anchored and the water is choppy. Also, it's not exactly cheap to rent a dock space to live aboard. Not in this stupid country anyway. I'm looking for something to minimize expenses.
I saw an advertisement for a canal boat/barge for sale for £12,000. Fairly cheap but I can just imagine the condition it would be in! The good thing about the barges is you are in a nice canal(NOT the ocean) and you can move if you don't like the neighborhood. I've seen programs where peeps have lived in them fairly cheaply. Since I'm not very familiar with how things are done in EU, I'd need to research it more.
Now, containers! I had the idea for using them for living space loooong before the idea got popular. They are relatively cheap to buy, they come in lot's of different sizes, are sturdy, and you can stack them and arrange them in a myriad of configurations.
And if you find a nice piece of property in the boonies with very low taxes and no zoning rules you can do just about anything you like with them. I've seen them used from just the basic container to some really fancy designs where you wouldn't even know the structure was made from containers.
Ideally, I wouldn't mind living in one of those Catalina flying boats.
There's a guy in Ft Lauderdale who has a houseboat made fom one of Howard Hughes' old airplanes. It's called The Cosmic Muffin if you'd like to take a look. ;)
Ah, ichiban Arekino-san, at least you don't mind unconventional living spaces. :) My mother would throw a fit over such things.
One of my aunts has a van that she furnished with... stuff
I had an uncle and his wife(don't remember which one)who had one of those VW buses furnished with stuff also. My mother bitches about that as well. I never saw the thing. I've only heard about it from my mother's bitching. :/
P.S. Are you looking for alternative housing? Somewhere far away from your "house monster"? :P
I'm strategising. The old woman isn't going to live forever and there's no guarantee that she'll leave me anything. I have to have some kind of plan.
Now, containers!
I agree that they are a handy building material but you do need to find the right climate for it, I think. In summer these things get really warm and in winter really cold unless you add some serious insulation.
It's called The Cosmic Muffin if you'd like to take a look. ;)
Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed by that Muffin. I was expecting something more airplane like.
at least you don't mind unconventional living spaces.
As long as it's comfortable and practical, I can live in pretty much anything. :)
I have to have some kind of plan.
Yeah, hope for the best, plan for the worst. Why not look for more conventional housing though?
In summer these things get really warm and in winter really cold unless you add some serious insulation.
Insulation is not a problem. You can use the pink fiberglass one or the spray on foam type(or whatever one you want). In Florida, where electricity is still fairly cheap, heating and cooling is not a problem. A nice shady property in N Florida would be ideal.
The last place I worked had a couple of the big shipping containers out back to store crap in. I had a good look at one of them(inside and out)and determined that they would be very easy to turn into a nice living space. The possibilities are almost endless. :)
I'm a bit disappointed by that Muffin.
'Tis but a floating fuselage. ;P
When I used to work at my cool job in Ft Lauderdale, I saw the thing floating in the waterway out back of our building one time.
Funny story: There is this awful tourist trap riverboat called the Jungle Queen that takes peeps on a sightseeing "cruise" around all the waterways in Ft Lauderdale and then depending on what tour you paid for, there was also a "dinner cruise" where the dinner was at a fake Indian village. There was a bar next to the waterway a few blocks down from where I worked where it was customary that whenever the Jungle Queen went by, the patrons would moon it. Call it a "Full Moon Cruise". LOL ;P ;D
Why not look for more conventional housing though?
That stuff is boring. And I've always liked something unusual. Those old missile silos are pretty cool, too. :)
So, what is it about the Catalina that you like? Do you have/thought about getting a pilot's license?
Call it a "Full Moon Cruise". LOL ;P ;D
(_!_) (_!_) (_!_) (_!_) <-- \__:O_:O_:O__/ :P
So, what is it about the Catalina that you like? Do you have/thought about getting a pilot's license?
I just think the Catalina is a beautiful looking aeroplane plus it can land on water and land. I wanted to be a pilot for a long time when I was a kid.
(_!_) (_!_) (_!_) (_!_) <-- \__:O_:O_:O__/ :P
That's it! ;P
I remember one time one of the local TV stations was doing a program about different places around town. They were at this particular bar talking to the patrons and then suddenly the guy they were talking to to was like, "Hold on a sec!" The Jungle Queen was coming and he rushed outside to the dock to drop trou. LOL
I wanted to be a pilot for a long time when I was a kid.
I thought about being a pilot when I was in my early 20's. Unfortunately, I think it's expensive to learn/get licensed. I think that's why a lot of pilots were former military. When I was in H/S, the Navy sent peeps to test us for aptitude on different skills. I scored very high and they hounded me until I was 28 to join the Navy. 'Pilot' was one of the vocations that I was suited for according to their worksheet.
It would have never worked out back then. I was waaaay too shy, Avoidant, and didn't have the self esteem for the military. DS's screaming in my face during basic training would not have ended well. :/ I'm also not a morning person. And I HATE running. ;P ;D
they hounded me until I was 28 to join the Navy
How did they hound you?
And I HATE running.
What do you hate about it? It's just like walking only faster. :P
BTW, I'm getting really tired of being sick. Yesterday morning I had some terrible diarrhoea and my ear still hurts and I'm still feeling like I have no energy. It's getting better but still. And October 9th I'm supposed to get a flu shot but I'm not sure I want to get one. I usually feel like crap for a few days after that. Not looking forward to it.
How did they hound you?
Incessant letters trying to get me to join. 10 years of sending letters. O_o
What do you hate about it?
I get terrible sharp pains in my sides if I have to run for an extended period of time. Running for several miles at zero-dark-thirty in full uniform while carrying a giant pack is not something that I would EVER want to do.
I had some terrible diarrhoea and my ear still hurts
Wow, that's awful. So bad it was coming out your ears, too? ;P (Sorry, couldn't resist!)
And October 9th I'm supposed to get a flu shot
Don't bother. Most peeps I know who get one end up just as sick as if they got the flu. I'd rather take my chances with good multivitamins and herbals. Garlic is good for immunity. Also, the smell coming off ya will keep peeps away so they won't breathe their germs on you. ;P
Anyway, sorry you've been feeling *shitty* and I hope you're feeling better soon! :::hugs:::
So bad it was coming out your ears, too?
Well, there's *something* coming out of my ears. Earwax with an added ingredient.
It's a sleepover weekend this week. Kids are staying over. They want me to re-enact Star Wars with them.
Anyway, what's up in your life?
They want me to re-enact Star Wars with them.
And which character will you be playing? Han Solo, perhaps? ;P
[I still have most of the original figurines including the Emperor which was a limited edition special send-away, the Ewok village, biker scout bike, some stuffed Ewok knuffelbeer, and one limited edition glass tumbler from Burger King in my collection. :)]
Anyway, what's up in your life?
I had a busy day doing stuff around the house. First, I did 3 loads of laundry and then folded and put it all away. Then the big mail box out front was looking bad. The paint had faded out from black to a pale grey color and there was a bit of rust on the top. So I took a wire brush to it to take off all the loose paint and then gave it a good sanding. As luck would have it, there was a small can of black Rustoleum paint left from my mother's ex's hobby crap that he left in the basement. It had dried solid on the top but I managed to break through and the rest of the can was still useable so I painted the mail box with that. Since it is an oil based paint it will take 24 hours for it to dry. Then I will put the flag back on(which I took off and gave a fresh red paint job)and the handle and it shall be ready for mail on Monday. :)
After all that, the old woman wanted me to help her cut on the hedge out back. I had to drag a bunch of equipment out including a ladder, cut on it for a while, pulled out a stinky vine that was entangled, and then it got dark so I had to drag all the crap back in.
Now I'm finished for the day and am messing about on the 'toobs!
Let me know how your weekend went. :)
And which character will you be playing? Han Solo, perhaps? ;P
The youngest likes to play that he's the Emperor (He's always been a big fan of the Dark Side) which obviously makes me one of his apprentices. I chose Darth Maul.
Then the big mail box out front was looking bad.
Is that kind of mail box what people traditionally have in part of the country? Over here most people just have a slit in the door.
Let me know how your weekend went. :)
It went okay. I actually went for a short walk Sunday morning. I watched a couple movies, played some games, studied a bit. One of the books I ordered arrived Saturday so I can start chewing on that. Yummy! :)
The youngest likes to play that he's the Emperor (He's always been a big fan of the Dark Side) which obviously makes me one of his apprentices. I chose Darth Maul.
Exxxxxcellent!!! Xul wholeheartedly approves of all this! (I just happen to have a glow-in-the-dark Darth Maul t-shirt.)
Is that kind of mail box what people traditionally have in part of the country?
It's a long metal box with a hinged door that pulls open. It's approximately 50cm long x 18cm wide x 22cm high mounted horizontally on a metal post.
Over here most people just have a slit in the door.
Over here it depends on where you live. When I was a kid, everyone had the kind like I have mounted out by the street. The mail truck had the steering wheel on the right side like in the UK so the postman could ride up to the boxes and put the letters in. As the neighborhood became more and more shady, peeps took down there mailboxes from next to the road and got the kind that you mount on the wall on the front porch. Only a few peeps around here have the slot in the door. Some communities have what they call "cluster boxes" which is a bunch of post office or apartment style boxes together in a central location which are locked. You have a key for yours, other peeps have a key to theirs, and the postman has a master key. There have been peeps robbing the postal carriers of their master keys so they can steal mail for identity theft.
One of the books I ordered arrived Saturday so I can start chewing on that. Yummy!
:)
I just happen to have a glow-in-the-dark Darth Maul t-shirt.)
It's not radio-active is it? :P
:)
Well, yes, but also, no. It's a book about Eichman and WWII nazis in general. So some :( as well but interesting, I hope.
It's not radio-active is it? :P
Nah, just has a bit of phosphorescent paint on it.
Hey, did you see where someone invented a real light saber? I saw a link to a story for it in some UK paper. I'm going to have to take a look at that article.
In other news, thanks to my mother, I think I have some nerve and/or tendon damage in my right hand because of her insisting that I keep cutting shit with the electric pole saw even after I told her that I needed to quit.
And how many weeks ago was that? More than a month at least. My hand had been feeling wonky ever since. If I overexert it I get pain. I can't grip heavy items or turn locks or knobs without pain. Then she wanted me to cut a bunch of shit with the damn saw again last night. I cut 2 branches left handed and then she wanted me to cut that fucking bougainvillea "hedge" in the back again. I did that for about an hour and a half and then made the excuse that my hand was bothering me(which it was a bit, but I needed to come in and watch THE SEASON PREMIER OF OUAT).
I came in, showered, and then sat down for my show. My hand then started acting up with all the pain. I was getting an intermittent stabbing sharp pain in my index finger and that lasted until I went to bed. I put ice on it and took some pain pills and did some bao ding balls for therapy but the damn thing wouldn't stop. It was a little better when I got up this morning but I have to be careful not to overuse it. Thanks mom!/sarc >:(
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