Houseboat build, pg16...

 Additional Flotation... Since the beginning of this project, we had planned to add additional flotation. The two pontoons could support around 7300 lbs, including the weight of the pontoons, chassis, etc. We didn't know what the house section would weight, so we purchased additional flotation devices to add along the center of the boat. These new floats will support 1023 lbs each, and we planned to add. This bring the total flotation to over 14,000 lbs! As the project progressed, we discovered the total weight will end up around 4000 lbs, so we'll have WAY more than enough for a safe houseboat. In the pics below, you'll see the 7 black floats and the support beams that are being installed now. Hopefully I'll have that finished by tomorrow, and can move on to getting the flooring installed. Here's the photos...

 

The above photos shows the 3" wide aluminum flat bar I'm installing length-wise under the boat hull. These are attached to the hull at 48 points, to adequately distribute the mounting weight across the entire structure. When the boat is in the water, the new center floats contact the water after the main pontoons immerse 5", providing more roll stability. The lift support is also distributed along the length of the boat using this series of 3 beams. You can kinda see them in the above pics. The floats, below, will bolt to these flat bars at a total of 56 points along the length of the boat. 

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