Now with climate change precipitating rising sea levels, expediency is also driving a need for living on water. "Based on climate predictions, boat-dwelling might prove a prudent, even necessary alternative to land-based living, essential to human survival

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230815-eight-of-the-worlds-most-stunning-floating-homes

Reetainer, UK

Max McMurdo's home is testament to the broad variety of houseboats that has emerged in the past decade. About seven years ago he converted a 12m by 2m metal shipping container that he'd bought for £2,000 ($2,500) at a London industrial estate, and created his new home, which now floats on the River Ouse in North Yorkshire.

This has allowed him to secure a mortgage-free home. He previously lived in a cottage in Bedford, which he renovated – upping its value – and then sold. Once the battered shipping container, which had travelled the world, had been reconditioned and transformed into his houseboat, McMurdo also fulfilled a long-held fantasy to live near or on water: "I'd always dreamt of living by the water in a tiny home," he says.

A former car designer, McMurdo had previously converted shipping containers into structures with different uses, including an office for his cottage's garden, and has a company that upcycles shipping containers, called Reetainer. His new home rests on a reinforced-concrete pontoon and a large deck that provides plenty of outdoor space. A wooden pergola crowns the roof, and projects beyond it to provide a more shaded area.

Clever space-saving ideas have allowed him to incorporate a normal domestic bathroom suite and shower. He also built a storage compartment on top of the floor of the shipping container, which contains a concealed bath, wardrobe, fridge and dining table that ascends through an opening in the living room floor via a scissor lift, and concertinas down when not in use. Pebble-covered mesh on the floor of the shower slides to reveal the bath, while his bed splits in the middle, revealing steps to the wardrobe.

Aiming to reduce his energy consumption, McMurdo has added solar panels, and plans to install energy-efficient infrared heating in the houseboat's ceiling.

Le Cid, France

In 2018, Agnès Combes Bernageau moved from her "cosy flat" in Paris to a transport barge moored on the Seine – between Pont Alexandre III and Pont de la Concorde – which she shares with her two children and French bulldog. It has a colourful history: it was built in 1930 in Mainz, Germany, then handed to France as part of the post-World War One reparations imposed by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. During Hitler's occupation of France, it serviced German submarine flotillas, and in the 1950s was bought by British Petroleum.

Le Cid was moored in this Paris harbour in 1980. "I was bored of the impersonal life of conventional Paris," says Combes Bernageau, a senior executive at a French luxury brand, who bought the barge following "a gut feeling". The move has had positive psychological and physical effects on her: "I've gained a more open mind and heart – as well as a community with a common mindset of freedom. You learn a lot on boats – from mooring to all the technical stuff I knew nothing about. I gained muscle strength." There's a strong "community life", and a harbour committee that Combes Bernageau is part of.

Mini, Argentina

Living on a houseboat can sometimes be sparked by an existential decision to abandon a humdrum life for one bringing greater self-determination. Anibal Guiser Gleyzer is a case in point. About 30 years ago, he found city-dwelling life unfulfilling. "So I bought a sailboat and explored the delta of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers," he says. He later sold his flat, acquired land in the delta and, aware that this wetland is prone to flooding, built a floating home.

Rather than conform to the European architectural style of many local buildings, he chose to create a self-build structure inspired by flat-hulled barges that traditionally transported wood through the delta. He wanted his design – a two-storey structure – to be made of environmentally friendly materials, and so fabricated the hull using ferro-cement, which involves applying reinforced mortar or plaster over an armature comprising metal mesh, expanded metal or metal fibres. The houseboat's walls are made of wood.

He has since established an eco community of similar, water-borne homes called Econáutico Hipocampo, whose occupants are equally drawn to living close to nature.

Oldenburg, Denmark

When Lis and Ove Nilsson first saw their houseboat, Oldenburg, which dates from 1908, they were won over by its large size – ideal for hosting their family and friends. Admittedly, the wheelhouse, though fully operational, was poky, but the couple expanded it to create a spacious dining area. Their home also contains a kitchen, two bedrooms, a bathroom and walk-in wardrobe.

The boat's interior, with its white walls, pale floors and shipshape arrangement of furniture, is minimalist yet comfortable. There's a roomy sofa and upholstered seating in the dining area, while rooms are warmed up by traditional, varnished woodwork.

Soggybottom Shanty, US

A formative experience for Siva Aiken, owner of a houseboat eccentrically named Soggybottom Shanty, was her fixation with the Pirates of the Caribbean-themed ride at Disneyland in Anaheim, which her family frequented during her childhood. "There was an automaton man smoking a pipe and rocking in a chair on the front porch of a swamp cabin," she recalls. "I felt a pull to jump off the ride and move into that little shack."

She later moved to the South and became intrigued by the “rich history in America of the river people”. As conduits for transporting logs and coal, rivers there at the turn of the 20th Century became undesirable and polluted, populated by an impoverished community. "They built huts and flat-bottom shantyboats from offcuts of lumber," says the dog-loving Aiken who shares the vessel with several Bracco Italiano dogs.

Altar, Brazil

For Rodrigo Martins, his family and two friends, their compact but spacious eco, off-grid houseboat – moored to a buoy on the Jaguariuna reservoir two hours north of São Paolo – is a dream bolthole. This boxy, minimalist 38sm-sq structure made of 100% recyclable materials is a prefab housing system called LilliHaus, manufactured by Brazilian sustainable design studio sysHaus. It sits on a wide, wraparound deck – supported by a catamaran – which adds 26m-sq more space. There are deckchairs on it, where after sunset the gang can watch movies projected on to an external wall that doubles as a cinema screen.

De Walvisch, UK

The interior of De Walvisch, a Dutch sailing clipper, now moored in Wapping, East London, is potently atmospheric. It boasts mahogany-toned wood walls and a plethora of striking objects with an old maritime provenance, all sourced by its occupants – artists Zatorski & Zatorski (a couple known as Thomas and Angel to their friends).

In 2000, the duo bought a narrowboat, which saw them develop a taste for living "slightly under the radar". Their decision to buy De Walvisch was reinforced by their interest in Wapping. "History is around every corner in this part of town," they say.

Beautiful I m awe'd.

Really stunning.

If you build something like this on Naija waters, na mosquitoes go finish your body.

Reminds me of one ship hotel something bom or something like that, that was in lag around 2010.

Not even sure, if it lasted a year, before it was abandoned.

It was the real big thing then.

ecolime:
Really stunning.

If you build something like this on Naija waters, na mosquitoes go finish your body.

If na only mosquitoes e for Better, criminals and thieves won't let you rest. Nigeria is a very unsafe place to live. My state is the den of kidnappers. Hardly a day passes by without 2 or 3 passenger vehicles being hijacked and the passengers kidnapped.

Ganjafama:
If na only mosquitoes e for Better, criminals and thieves won't let you rest. Nigeria is a very unsafe place to live. My state is the den of kidnappers. Hardly a day passes by without 2 or 3 passenger vehicles being hijacked and the passengers kidnapped.

Which state?

DaveHarry:

Which state?

Delta

Ganjafama:
Delta

Depends on ur area sha. I'm in Delta too