Chichester Yacht Club Magazine November 2016 | Page 17

Houseboats on the Canal

Anyone who watched a recent edition of the
popular TV programme Grand Designs, on
Floating Houses around the world, would have
marvelled at the ingenuity of designers and
constructors.
One of the floating houses, with the hull built in
Holland and the superstructure built and fitted
on the South Coast now abides on the canal.

Enquiries as to what a floating house might cost
indicated that it was unlikely there would be
any change out of £200,000.
As to what fixtures and fittings would be
included and whether this covered delivery and
launching was not clear.
One thing that was made clear was that there is
no VAT if there is no engine.

More recently, two other craft have been
delivered, both produced only a few miles away. At that point, if motive power was installed the
house would become a boat.
Building undercover ashore has distinct
advantages: Transporting them by road is
however no easy problem and involves large
flat-bed lorries and a hefty crane to launch
them.
The crane used for the latest craft to arrive was
capable of lifting over 200 tons if set up for it, so
16 tons was no challenge.

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