Design
Houseboat 16
Designed by Emile Ajar
A 16 ft trailerable houseboat drawn by Emile Ajar for Bateau / Boat Builder Central, plan HB16. It revives the slab-sided houseboats of 1960s DIY magazines. It is the HB18 with a cabin 2 ft shorter and no enclosed head; the cabin holds a galley and helm, and the large canvas-covered cockpit becomes the sleeping area at anchor. Beam 8 ft, draft 6 in, 10 to 45 hp.
Stitch and glue with cleat framing under the sole and glassed outside seams. Nearly every plywood cut is square, so the designer rates it easy to build. The designer's figure is under 100 hours for hull and superstructure plus another 100 for finishing. Measured medians from build logs appear below.
What building a Houseboat 16 actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Houseboat 16 here yet.
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Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Strike 16 | Bowdidge Marine Designs | 16′ 0″ (4.88 m) | 1 |
| EdgeTracker 487 | Bowdidge Marine Designs | 16′ 0″ (4.88 m) | 0 |
| Flat Chat 16 | Bowdidge Marine Designs | 16′ 0″ (4.88 m) | 0 |
| Gulf Explorer 16 | Bowdidge Marine Designs | 16′ 0″ (4.88 m) | 0 |
| Inlet Runner 16 | Dudley Dix Yacht Design | 16′ 0″ (4.88 m) | 0 |
| Noddy 16 | Devlin | 16′ 0″ (4.88 m) | 0 |