The Shelter Blog has been inactive since May, 2019. Too much to do! From this point on, Lloyd’s Blog will have the buildings, vehicles, and home-related posts such as what has previously appeared here. Go to lloydkahn.com.

Boats (21)

Houseboat Island Living

By Evan Kahn on August 23, 2018


Mark has lived a very unique life, sailing and traveling around the world working as a professional mime and clown. Now, in his retirement he is living the island lifestyle on an incredible off-the-grid houseboat where he is able to enjoy life and spend his days looking out over the ocean.

Mark’s houseboat is a member of a houseboat community which is made up of 8 floating homes which are situated on an island off the coast of New Zealand. This community is made up of a variety of beautiful, small, off-grid, tiny houseboats, all with their unique and individual charms. The community has existed in this area since the 70’s.

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The Spud Queen Built by Lloyd House

By Evan Kahn on October 18, 2017

The Spud Queen was a floating home with three legs, or “spuds” built into it. (Spuds are the legs on pile drivers that are used to raise and lower the pile driver.)

“I’d float in at high tide, jack the boat up, and squat like a trojan horse against the ownership of the property. I parked there and I lived there, and I didn’t pay any taxes!”

Lloyd lived on the boat for over 20 years, docking it in four different places on an island in the Strait of Georgia…

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Floating Homes in Portland

By Lloyd Kahn on August 9, 2017

On my way to see Foster Huntington in Washington this morning, crossing the Columbia River on Highway 5, I spotted this floating community.

Some quick Google research:

The Portland region has more floating homes than Seattle or San Francisco. Hayden Island alone has four moorages for floating homes, including West Hayden Island Moorage, with 57 floating homes, on the far west side, Jantzen Beach Moorage, Inc, the largest with 176 floating homes (south of Home Depot), Island Cove Floating Homes with 55 units (just west of Lotus Isle Park), and Tomahawk Island Floating Homes with some 72 community members…

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Life Aboard an Epic Sailboat in Japan

By Evan Kahn on May 8, 2017


People don’t often associate Japan with life on a sailboat, but the country is rich with incredible places to explore via the great ocean. Daniel Springett and his family of 5 (plus a dog) have been traveling the world on their stunning 55 ft. James Warram–designed catamaran, but for the last couple of years have called the Inland Sea of Japan home.

This stunning vessel is named Tiare, the Polynesian word for flower, and has been home to the Springett family for the past 6 years. The boat was purchased in Thailand and for 5 years the family sailed the world before settling for a time in Yuge Island on the Inland Sea of Japan…

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Godfrey Stephens' Junk-Rigged Snookwis

By Evan Kahn on March 25, 2017

…An ancient Nitnat canoe (carved from one cedar tree), which Godfrey rebuilt in the ’70s. It’s sheathed in copper, with an underwater Nautilus window and a tiny stainless steel wood stove; there’s room for two. Tilikum (Godfrey’s daughter) is now the caretaker of the boat and keeps it in Port Townsend, Washington…

Categories: Boats, Carpentry, Nomadic Homes, Sailboats  Tags: , ,
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Ferry Boat for Sale in Brooklyn, NY

By Evan Kahn on February 17, 2017

Yankee Ferry is definitely a home with a history. Built in 1907, it’s the oldest existing Ellis Island Ferry.

It started as a passenger steamer ferrying people between Portland, Maine and the Casco Bay Islands and went on to serve in both world wars.

It was restored in the 1990s and bought by Richard and Victoria Mackenzie-Childs in 2003. Since then the designer duo have made it their home. And now it could be yours…

Key details:

  • 147 feet in length, a 29-foot beam, eight-foot draft with a steel hull
  • First deck workroom/creative space
  • Second deck with a ballroom with a stage and banquet table
  • Docked at the Henry Street Pier in Red Hook, Brooklyn
  • $1.25 million
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Living Off the Grid in Paradise

By Evan Kahn on February 3, 2017


Warrick Mitchell lives deep in one of the world’s most remote locations: Fiordland, New Zealand. His home in the country’s oldest national park is nestled in a vast wildness accessible only by boat or airplane, a four day’s walk from the nearest road. Life in isolation can be hard, but surrounded by breathtaking, pristine natural beauty, plentiful wildlife and a small but tight-knit community that is always willing to lend a hand, Mitchell would have it no other way.

Categories: Boats, Carpentry, Food, Gardening, Homesteading, Small Homes  Tags: , , ,
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Josh Meilinger's Houseboat in BC, Canada

By Evan Kahn on December 12, 2016

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After partly prefabbing the house in the barn, I was led to the perfect foundation: a small 68′ × 30′ retired inter-island BC Ferry with an 18′ ramp and a small crane. It was perfect for the build, but came with many challenges when I pulled the little barge up the Fraser River to start construction…

Categories: Boats, Houseboats, Nomadic Homes 
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Godfrey Stephens' Toomany Pocketts Sailing Vessel

By Evan Kahn on December 3, 2016
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Godfrey Stephens’ latest sailboat is this little 12′ San Francisco Bay Pelican, a model designed in 1959 by Bill Short.

It’s a much beloved boat among sailors. Godfrey worked on and off customizing it. A leeboard on the side provides lateral resistance; this way he doesn’t need a centerboard, and can go up on the beach…

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Categories: Boats, Nomadic Homes, Sailboats  Tags: , ,
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