The Courage to Be Small Houseboat living in Yellowknife Bay, NWT Aleta Fowler
Summertime: the solar panels are lowered for the high sun angle; the truck is on shore & communting now done by canoe; the waterbox sits on deck until freeze-up; the wood is safely stored in cribs to keep it from getting rocked overboard during storms; and the house has been freshly painted.
Several of the 21 houseboats in Yellowknife Bay can be seen dotting the water in this aerial view.
i n a Super Size It world, even t-shirts seem to range from XL to 3XL. For houses, Kyoto appears to have done little to slow the explo- sion of house size and resultant household consumption. But far to one side of the bell curve, and far to the north, is an on-going experiment and experience in living: house- boats. Unlike our Southern counterparts, we really are free-floating in every sense of the word.We have no road access; no electrical, water or sewer services; no buses, police or mail delivery; no building codes; no mortgage availability.The lurking pitfalls of a super-sizing it attitude become manifest on houseboats with every fire log hauled, propane tank dragged, water bucket lugged and honey bucket bagged. Houseboats take living off the land to a new dimension. We’ve added water! Instead of yards — expensive yards at $70,000 - $100,000+ for a lot in Yellowknife (which are really just mosquito breeding grounds requiring maintenance, anyway) — we have decks.And while the floatation system is the most expen - sive component of the houseboat structure (over $20,000), when combined with a rigid wall structure (exterior walls are sheathed on both sides with plywood over heavy insulation), houseboats can withstand substantial water
This houseboat makes the most of outdoor space with both upstairs and downstairs decks.
This small houseboat is actually home to a family of four.
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