Patent Application
20070056498
The present invention relates to a water vessel, and in particular to a water vessel that has a manufactured home attached to a floating section.
People have historically gone to great lengths in order to live on (or near) water. One common way for people to live near the water is to purchase a cabin, cottage or home that is adjacent to a body of water.
There are a variety of drawbacks that are associated with owning a cabin near the water. One of the drawbacks is that it is typically quite costly to purchase any property that has access to water. Another drawback is that an owner is typically required to pay taxes on the property. In addition, the land and any corresponding structures on the land usually require significant upkeep in order to maintain the property.
People often try to overcome the drawbacks that are associated with purchasing property near the water by purchasing a houseboat instead. Houseboats provide several advantages over owning property near water.
One advantage with owning a houseboat is that there are typically no taxes associated with owning and living on a houseboat because no actual land is required as there is with a land-based cabin or cottage. Another advantage is that houseboats typically require less maintenance than a land-based cabin. In addition, houseboat owners are typically able to fish or swim right over the side of their houseboat and are usually able to permit other smaller boats to be tied up along side.
Houseboat builders are constantly trying to fabricate houseboats so that the living space on the houseboats is as similar as possible to a land-based living structure. While houseboat builders have historically been adept at building boats, they are often not as adept at building living quarters so that the living quarters on many houseboats are often not as nice as that of land-based homes.
When houseboat builders try to incorporate the features, quality and styling into a houseboat that is comparable to a land-base home, it typically adds significant costs to the production of the houseboat. These additional production costs can increase the purchase price of a houseboat so much so that many individuals may be priced out of purchasing a houseboat.
There is a need for a water vessel that is able to incorporate the features, quality and styling of a land-based cabin in a cost effective manner. The water vessel should incorporate the features, quality and styling of a land-based cabin without sacrificing the ability of the water vessel to stay on water.
The present invention relates to a water vessel that includes a floating section and a manufactured home which is mounted on the floating section. The manufactured home is a home that is built as a dwelling unit with a chassis to assure transportability of the manufactured home. The manufactured home may include one or more habitable rooms that are designed to be occupied by one family with facilities for living, sleeping, cooking and eating.
In some embodiments, the manufactured home may be built according to HUD manufactured housing standards (e.g., as a structure defined in 24 CFR 3280.2). In addition, the manufactured home may include a manufacturer's certification which signifies that the manufactured home is built in accordance with the HUD construction and safety standards.
The manufactured home may include any structures, features, items and/or designs that are associated with land-based living structures or boats. As examples, the manufactured home may include a furnace, air conditioning unit, stove, refrigerator, water holding tank, toilet, shower, motor, steering mechanisms, life savers and navigation lights (among other items).
In some embodiments, the floating section may include a deck such that the manufactured home is mounted on an upper surface of the deck. The floating section may further include one or more pontoons that are attached to the lower surface of the deck. The floating section may take any form that permits the manufactured home to be positioned above the water when the water vessel is floating on the water.
The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a water vessel. The method includes positioning a manufactured home onto a floating section and attaching the manufactured home to the floating section.
In some embodiments, positioning a manufactured home onto a floating section includes moving the manufactured home from another location. As an example, the manufactured home may be hauled over roadways to the location of the floating section.
The method may further include purchasing the manufactured home. In some embodiments, purchasing the manufactured home may include purchasing a manufactured home that has a manufacturer's certification which indicates that the manufactured home was built in accordance with HUD construction and safety standards.
The water vessels and methods described herein minimize the production costs that are typically associated with incorporating the features, quality and styling of a land-based home into a houseboat. The water vessels and methods incorporate the features, quality and styling of a manufactured home into a water vessel without sacrificing the ability of the water vessel to stay on water.
The purposes and features of the present invention will be set forth in the description that follows. Additional features of the invention may be realized and attained by the product and processes particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof, as well as from the appended drawings.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, are included to illustrate and provide a further understanding of the invention.
The present invention will be more fully understood, and further features will become apparent, when reference is made to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. The drawings are merely representative and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Like parts depicted in the drawings are referred to by the same reference numerals.
As used herein, a “manufactured home” is a home that is built as a dwelling unit with a chassis to assure transportability of the home.
As used herein, a “dwelling unit” means one or more habitable rooms that are designed to be occupied by one family with facilities for living, sleeping, cooking and eating.
The following detailed description references the accompanying drawings which show some example embodiments of the invention. These example embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, or structural changes made, such that the detailed description should not be considered as limiting the scope of the claims.
In some embodiments, the manufactured home 30 may be built according to HUD manufactured housing standards. As an example, the manufactured home 30 may be a structure as defined in 24 CFR 3280.2. 24 CFR 3280.2 defines such a structure as being transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in width or forty body feet or more in length, or, when erected on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein.
The calculations that are used to determine the number of square feet in a structure may be based on the structure's exterior dimensions measured at the largest horizontal projections when erected on site. These dimensions will include all expandable rooms, cabinets, and other projections containing interior space, but do not include bay windows.
It should be noted that a manufactured home as defined in 24 CFR 3280.2 may include all structures that meet the above requirements except the size requirements as long as the manufacturer of the manufactured home 30 voluntarily files a certification pursuant to 24 CFR 3282.13. The manufactured home 30 would also have to comply with the other standards set forth in 24 CFR 3280.
The manufactured home 30 may include a manufacturer's certification (not visible in
In some embodiments, the manufactured home 30 may be a factory-built park model home that is built according to various state, local or regional codes. The manufactured home 30 may transported to the site of the floating section 20 and mounted on the floating section 20.
The manufactured home 30 may include any structures, features, items and/or designs that are associated with land-based living structures. As examples, the manufactured home may include a furnace, air conditioning unit, stove, refrigerator, water holding tank, toilet and shower (among other items). In addition, the manufactured home 30 may be designed to operate as a restaurant, hotel, motel or motel room, office or other place of business.
In addition, the manufactured home 30 and/or floating section 20 may include any structures, features, items and/or designs that are associated with boats. As an example, a motor 21 may be attached to the floating section 20 such that the motor 21 propels the water vessel 10. Other example boat-type items that may be part of the water vessel 10 include steering mechanisms, life savers and navigation lights (among other items).
As shown most clearly in
The floating section 20 may further include at least one pontoon that is attached to the lower surface 23 of the deck 22. In the illustrated example embodiment, the deck 22 includes opposing sides 25A, 25B such that one pontoon 26A is mounted near one side 25A of the deck 22 and another pontoon 26B is mounted near an opposing side 25B of the deck 22. Each of the pontoons 26A, 26B may be connected to the deck 22 using one or more pieces of angle iron 27 (see
Although angle iron 27 is used to connect the pontoons 26A, 26B to the deck 22 in the illustrated example embodiment, any pontoons (e.g., pontoons 26A, 26B) may be connected to the deck 22 in any manner that is known now or discovered in the future. In addition, the size, shape and material of the pontoons 26A, 26B will depend in part on (i) the preferences that are held by the owner of the water vessel 10; (ii) the design of the rest of the water vessel 10; and/or (iii) the geographic location of the water vessel 10 (among other factors). As an example, each of the pontoons 26A, 26B may be formed of plastic that is filled with foam. One example type of pontoon is a 36 inch diameter plastic pontoon that may be obtained from Wilson Distribution, Inc., of Reedsburg, Pa.
It should be noted that the floating section 20 may take any form that permits the manufactured home 30 to be positioned above the water when the water vessel 10 is floating on the water. As an example, the floating section 20 may be formed by all (or part of) a boat hull. Example materials for the boat hull may include steel, plastic, aluminum and concrete.
The manufactured home 30 may be attached to the floating section 20 in any manner that is known now or discovered in the future. As an example, the manufactured home 30 may be secured to one or more structural members (not visible in the Figures) that form the deck 22.
The type of attachment between the manufactured home 30 and the floating section 20 will depend in part on (i) the preferences that are held by the owner of the water vessel 10; (ii) the structural design of the manufactured home 30 and the floating section 20; and/or (iii) the geographic location of the water vessel 10 (among other factors).
A method of manufacturing a water vessel 10 will now be described with reference to
The method may further include purchasing the manufactured home 30. In some embodiments, purchasing the manufactured home 30 may include purchasing a manufactured home 30 that has a manufacturer's certification which indicates that the manufactured home 30 was built in accordance with the HUD construction and safety standards.
As shown in
As discussed above, the manufactured home 30 may be attached to the floating section 20 by any method that is known now or discovered in the future. The type of attachment between the manufactured home 30 and the floating section 20 will depend in part on the type of floating section 20 and the type of manufactured home 30 that are used in the method.
The operations discussed above with respect to the described methods may be performed in a different order from those described herein. It should be noted that the type of floating section 20 and the type of manufactured home 30 may vary as long as the manufactured home 30 can be positioned above the water when the water vessel 10 is floating on the water.
The water vessels and methods described herein are able to incorporate the features, quality and styling of a land-based home into a water vessel in a cost effective manner. The water vessels and methods incorporate the features, quality and styling of a land-based home into a water vessel without sacrificing the ability of the water vessel to stay on water. In addition, the water vessel 10 may be manufactured such that the water vessel 10 meets U.S. Coast Guard safety specifications.
While the invention has been described in detail with respect to the specific aspects thereof, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing, may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to these aspects which fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, which should be assessed accordingly to that of the appended claims.
