Floating Homes They Sold Their Boat and Built the Home That Is Now 260 Square Feet of Contentment for Them
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a\ UNC Sea Grant November/December, 1984 u ,, C{nsT4IMCH Photo by Spencer Rodets ,.. -L. .. I t 1,,f,'' &tu *l'. ;_ ,.1 ' -{CD e-ffi-:.', W,W .,..} ,.\ At Masonboro Boat Yard, floatinS hornes (background) dock alongside pleasure boats After sailing along the East Coast for 16 years, the Bennetts f inally put their anchor down in Wilmington's Masonboro Boat Yard two years ago. Floating homes They sold their boat and built the home that is now 260 square feet of contentment for them. rfr he ceiling fan whirred as R. Ryerson Bennett Floating homes, complete houses resting on a hull, I stretched out on the sofa in front of the open glass are not a new idea. The Japanese and Chinese have door. His wife sat down beside him to watch the birds been living on them for years. In the United States, and to relish the cool breeze passing through the room. their popularity is growing, especially in Washington To the Bennetts, there's nothing quite like living in a and New Jersey. Only about 30 such vessels are floating home. The free-spirited, barefooted kind of moored in North Carolina's waters. Seven of them are lifestyle suits them just fine. Continued on next page floating at the Masonboro landing among sailboats Because they live on the water, most of the boat and motorboats. yard's permanent residents say they are more con- Living in a floating home is comparable to its con- scious of the weather and seasons. They can sense the ventional counterpart, but most residents say it's season's change by noting wind directions, moon posi- even better. They have electricity, running water, tions, differences in water color and the types of birds televisions and telephones. And there is air condition- flocking around the boat yard. ing and heating. As a matter of fact, Andy Canoutas Bonds such as these add to the community spirit at says he doesn't miss anything after seven years on the the boat yard. water-not even a "Everybody is real close," says Suzan. It's like a big yard. "I got so tired of family. And to them, any time is a good time to get cutting grass," says together. Canoutas, an attorney Twice a month, the family meets for community in Wiimington. That dinners. Then there are parties when people leave the was one of the reasons marina, rvhen they come back, for good weather, he built his floating birthdays and any other "excuse" they can think of. home in the first place, Once the boat yard even held a birthday party for the but there were others. 17-year-old cat of one of the residents. Of course, all "I love the water," the other eats and dogs from the marina were invited. he says. And, "the peo- Halloween and ple here are very uni- Thanksgiving are two que." annuai celebrations you About 40 people live wouldn't want to miss, Andy Canoutas at the boat yard year- says Ryerson. Crazy round, says office manager Steve Lee. The resulting costumes are a community is a hodgepodge of professionals, retired trademark of the Hal- people, natives, world travelers, singles, couples and loween parties. And at more. Everyone is different, yet there's something Thanksgiving, the food that binds them all together. and fellowship come in "Everybody's interested in the same thing," says generous proportions. Bob Pierce, an 80-year-old Pittsburgh, Pa., native Probably the most who moved to Wilmington four years ago. It's the special time of year at water, boats and nature that draw them to the docks. the boat yard, however, R. Ryerson Bennett "It's like a constant nature show," says Suzan is Christmas. Each Perry-Canoutas. "It's so peaceful out here." year, boat owners have a party and decorate a tree on Being able to look out the window and see changing the waterway with "personalized ornaments" that say scenery, sunrises, sun- something about themselves. When the tree is finally sets and exotic birds is lit, "You can see it beautifully from the waterway," what she enjoys most says Ryerson. about living on the If you're thinking that Masonboro Boat Yard is the r,vater, trt's not unusual Shangri-La of the South, there are a few disadvan- for her to see dolphins tages to living on a floating home. playing, pelicans diving One is that it might blow away. During Hurricane or fish jumping in the Diana, the homes were either tied to the dock or A few years ago, from the open water. Most of them sur- t water. moved back some otters came to live vived the storm with iittle damage. The heavy rains v on her back porch. And soaked Andy and Suzan's ceiling, while the winds a when the season's right, knocked away their steps, a few of Bob Pierce's win- o she and her husband go dows and 24 of the Bennetts' tomatoes. t shrimping, crabbing or Rough water can be a problem at other times of the Bob Pierce shellfishing in sur- year, too. Although he doesn't have much trouble rounding waters. with pictures and plants falling from the wall, Andy Kitchen-window viewing goes beyond normal bird says it's hard to get his balance upstairs or in the u,atching at the Bennetts', too. downstairs shower when the house is swaying. "One day we had an octopus hanging on the side of Mildew and cold walks down the dock in the winter the boat," recalls Ryerson. "It would move on the were two other annoyances residents mentioned. And side of the boat as it ate the barnacles." He and his then there's the matter of putting things away. rvife, Mary Jo, watched the 10-foot creature for hours "Storage is a tremendous problem," says Mary Jo. as it inched down the boat. Ryerson is constantly putting up new shelves, Photo by Kathy Hart bookcases or hanging baskets for her to use as stowage. The situation is similar at Andy and Suzan's. Even with 800 square feet of space, it seems they always need more. The closets are packed, and things are tucked here and there all over the house. Residents never hesitate to tell visitors one other thing about the boat yard-it has a monster. The il- lusive Masonboro Monster lurks underneath the boats that moor there, grasps onto them and never lets them go. Sailors come intending to stay only a night or two and end up docking for years. Peopie take trips and come back, and others come back seasonally. Bob Pierce was one of those who became perma- nently entangled in the tentacles of the monster. He first came to the boat yard in 1972 when he and his wife were sailing the coast. They liked the place so much that every time they traveled by it they would Bennett stop and stay awhile. When Pierce and his wife stop- Mary Jo ped sailing, the tides carried them back to Masonboro, where they built their floating home. didn't like to rake leaves or mow the lawn." "We had been cruising, and we'd been on the water Like Pierce, "People just keep coming back," says for 14 or 15 years," Pierce says. "We liked being on Mary Jo. "Yes, that's the charm of the yard'" the water. We liked waterfront property, but we Sarah Friday New wave in housing Regulating life on the water ost people prefer to live on dry Sailboats, power boats and what most The definitions for floating homes land. But others like a wetter people consider as houseboats-self - also vary from state to state. In Seat- environment. They'il choose a house propelled trailer-like structures at- tle, Wash., a floating home is a that rolls with the swells over one on tached to a hu1l-f all into this building constructed on a float, which solid ground any day. category. is used partially or entirely as a single- More people are moving into On the other hand, a floating home, family dwelling. fioating homes as a way to obtain low- called a "floating structure" by the Federally, no distinction exists be- cost waterfront housing. But the in- CRC, is a vessel that has no means of tween floating homes and boats. crease is causing some headaches for operative propuision, is inhabited or Anything that floats is considered a state and local governments as they used commercially in one place for vessel. struggle to regulate waterborne hous- more than 30 days, and contains more Why all the definitions? Govern- ing. than 200 square feet of living space. ments need to define floating homes to At the base of the struggle lie three For the most part, a floating home regulate them. States such as Califor- main questions: what is a floating looks like a house built on a barge. nia, Washington and New Jersey were home, who has the authority to faced with growing numbers of floating regulate it, and why does it need homes using their waters as a full-time regulation? \Yew Hanover CountY. the onlY residence and no means to govern Take the first question. What is the I\ county in North Carolina to them. Land-based laws didn't apply. difference between a floating home, a regulate floating homes (see story, And federal maritime laws didn't houseboat and a boat? The answer de- page 5), considers a floating structure tackle pertinent local concerns- pends on who is doing the defining.