Living on a houseboat to escape SIT-X

After reading the story about the UFO near the Nevada/Calif. border ( Needles) that crashed and was witnessed by a guy in a houseboat I got curious about life on a houseboat and how it could be an advantage and disadvantage in a SIT-X scenario. Here is what I came up with off the top of my head.

Pro's

1. you can store/hide supplies in remote waterways ( under water)
   
2. water acts as a boundry from predators
   
3. ATV and jetski on board for emergencies
   
4. satellite for live feeds
   
5. free fish !
   
6. no real estate taxes
   
7. solar power
   
8. sail to save energy
   
   
   

Con's

1. searches by coast guard - no probable cause needed
   
2. at the mercy of mother nature
   
3. mobility - restricted to waterways and open bodies of water
   
4. pirates
   
5. fuel
   
6. power ( batteries)
   
7. shallow water
   
8. storage space
   
9. rogue waves
   
   
   

buy a used houseboat for as little as $45,000

background info

So what do you think? I not a hardcore survivalist but I am starting to ponder the options just in case..........

The only problem I see is that as we move into the future more and more waterways are becoming very controlled. Water becoming scarce, less of the lakes are going to be accessible to private individuals. Also with nature unpredictable, lightning and turrential weather anomolies, it could be very dangerous.
Other than that it is a great idea and you could even use solar power for your houseboat.

I alread live ona 48' sea-going trawler yacht. It would cross the atlantic without a problem, and can operate independently for a long time due to generator, watermaker, hug fuel and freshwater tanks, etc.

let me address some ofyour cons.

A) The place where I am moored doesn't show up on charts, a real backwater. They do exist, but you've got a job to find them. There are plenty of methods of hiding stuff from he coast guard as long as you haven't got what they're expecting to find.

B) No more so than in a house, in fact less so, I escaped a storm surge recently be anchoring up out at sea while it came in.

C) All depends on your point of view. I can slip in and out of the country without immigration checks, as AIS identifies CG vessels, Navy and Police, making them easier to avoid. With a small boat aswell, few places of any use are out of reach.

D) It's fairly easy to rig up a power take-off from the engines to run a high pressure pump for a napalm flamethrower. Or those aural deterrent devices are available now.

E) I can burn diesel or vegetable oil. The boat doesn't use a huge amount either, something like 4 gallons per hour at cruising revs.

F) As I mentioned, a generator supplies 240v or 110v, plus the main engines produce 12v and 24v power. Solar panels and a wind generator can keep a starting battery powered up.

G) I have a forward looking sonar on board that looks 350 metres ahead and 150 metres down. This spots anything below the water, and a powerful radar finds everything on or above he water. AIS reads the signals that all commercial and many private vessels send out identifying them and giving course, speed, rate of turn, etc.

H) Lol. There are so many lockers on board that I keep finding new ones after a year and a half.

I) You got me there. They haven't built the boat or ship that is immune to rogue waves, but they do tend to occur in certain areas more than others, and even then are exceedingly rare.

In short, I'm all for the idea, but find out what's what before buying anything.

*double post*

[edit on 11-8-2008 by Karilla]

Here is a real big houseboat solution that seems to cover most of the issues in your con side. A bit of a house boat collective idea.



Galaxy City Ship

[edit on 8/11/2008 by UFOTECH]

reply to post by Karilla


Thanks for all the great replies so far.

This idea has only come up on my sonar :
just recently as I mentioned in my OP.

Kind of like a epiphony.

When I mentioned shallow water it was more in terms of mobility. Shallow rivers or seasonal weather may restrict movement. I'm thinking more in terms of where I live and the river closest to me. Of course a fish finder would be on board for navigation and will assist in catching dinner

at your

Can it also shoot pepper spray. I'm not sure I would want to cook the nasty pirates.

I agree with you about easily avoiding Immigration and the Coast Guard , but I'm thinking more of a SIT-X where your fellow neighbors may attack you for food or fuel or water, etc.....

Maybe I'm thinking of a 007 James Bond boat

Maybe we can agree on an ATS flag to fly so when I see you off my bow I won't (&*^ my pants.

reply to post by Karilla



That sounds freeking awesome. I would love to be in your shoes with a boat like that. Will have to look into that as a possible life enhancing idea for SITX and the future.

Daniel.

As many of you know I live on a small Island so boats are sort of taken for granted where I live and are part of normal life ...... not a big deal to own one or go boating.

If that was the way I was going to go, I would definately go for one that was capable of sea voyaging. There are plenty of nice sized ex-commercial boats around that are relatively cheap.

I know several people that have 'sold-up' the landhouses and gone onto seaborne ones.

The good thing about having a boat in a nasty situation x is the ability to take your 'home' out of the way and have everything with you still. You can just keep sailing till you find a 'safe' place to moor/anchor up in.

reply to post by Wotan



Nice. Move from the south to north coats in a week making slow but sure progress. Nice.

Check your email message box. mail for you.

reply to post by Dan Tanna


Buying a boat was the best move I ever made, and the current one more so than most of the others.

In my opinion you can always get somewhere where the modern world hasn't quite reached, now just as much as in any sort of sitX scenario (sadly not looking far-fetched at all at the moment).

I'm moored on quite a shallow river system, but we get big tides, so at some point in the day there is enough water to get most of the places we need to. At neap-tides (the smallest in every lunar cycle) I have either a jet-rib, skiff or inflatable to get anywhere too shallow for the big boat (7ft draught). If you liked you could get a small hovercraft for not much money, or an air-boat like the ones they use in the Everglades. I fancy one of those myself.

reply to post by Karilla



Man your making me green with envy. I want one! and an air boat, a hover craft, a small RIB, and ... and ... well i want a life at sea too.


Bloody good one you dude, nice one.

ever heard of this
www.seasteading.org...

You may enjoy readong Long Voyage Back, by Luke Rhineheart, its about the trials and tribulations of bugging out by boat. Theres quite a few self reliant types living full time on boats, usually they have both sail and engine power.

A Narrowboat would fit the bill perfectly for a BoV here in the UK as there are extensive inland waterways that link most major industrial towns and cities to the coastal ports and pass through some of the quietest of rural areas, like the Peak Forest Canal

Added to that, the sheer number of tunnels on these routes that a narrowboat could be anchored in for hard-cover...the Standedge Tunnel would make a veritable 'Cheyenne Mountain'

These vessels can be towed on foot by a couple of members of the crew along the towpaths to save engine-fuel, and powered by wood/coal steam-engines for either power generation or locomotion

A 70ft freighter-version can carry as much cargo as an 18-wheeler, and has the advantage of the hull/cabin being built from heavy steel plate making it a hardened-cover and practically bullet proof

A 7ft-wide hull would be preferable as to allow access though the entire network, as there are many canal-sections that follow the 'narrow-gauge' rather than the 'broad-gauge'

If you've never experienced life afloat in one of these boats, they are equipped with all mod-cons, can comfortably accomodate 4 plus many tons of useful cargo and supplies

narrowboat hull cutaway

This cutaway gives you an idea of the layouit of the average 'houseboat' and makes for very comfortable living (unless you're a longshanks)

Dimensioned hull/cabin drawing

What's more is that these vessels can be even sailed across the channel to the european mainland in calm seas!






[edit on 29-9-2008 by citizen smith]

reply to post by Karilla




thanks for the post.


the point being; a 'house boat' isn't the only option,
the Trawler you in as an example... there are also Tug & Push Boats which can be had at deals around $40k -> even 'barges' can be retrofitted for a new purpose


there are several solar arrays than can be acquired, & for different needs,
there are Lakes, intra-coastal waterways to navigate, & plenty of low visability 'swamps' to hang out at for periods of time.


let's try to keep this low-key is my suggestion.

reply to post by citizen smith


There are two lady survivalists who live in a 35 foot narrow boat on the Grand Union canal, they spend most of their time moored near the large cluster of locks near hatton.

Originally posted by citizen smith
What's more is that these vessels can be even sailed across the channel to the european mainland in calm seas!

Man that's a scary thought.
I spent a while on a converted Vietnamese hospital ship which had a rounded keel and that was bad enough in a decent blow.

Compared to a V shape in a force 11 it was like night and day.

You'd have to be pretty certain of that weather forecast before setting off.Flat bottoms definitely don't like the wobbly wet stuff.

Funny thing is, I was talking about living on a houseboat just a few days ago.
Ever since I saw the movie with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn years ago...it's appealed to me. One of the "Fletch" movies, where Fletch has this terrific houseboat.
I live in Michigan...lots of lakes.

Thanks for this great thread. I looked at some of the houseboat links.....prices aren't that bad either. Who knows?????? Someday?
I'd like to think so.

reply to post by Northern Raider


Thats the very canal I cruised and an amazing stretch of water...that flight of locks at Hatton was a beast to negotiate for us 'lock lackey' crewmembers tho

[edit on 29-9-2008 by citizen smith]

the mooring areas around the docks of Lake Powell are chocked full of house boats for sale......take your pick......

I'd love to dock a houseboat on a beach on the Grand Canyon some place where the fishing was good and I could swim. I wouldn't be allowed to do that very long lol......

I envy the life of the river running police........




[edit on 29-9-2008 by theRiverGoddess]