A barge from shipping containers.

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jonjo

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Just musing over a crazy idea here on this blustery autumnal Sunday morning.

Used shipping containers look cheap and deluxe steel barges suitable for the European canal network seem overpriced. So aesthetics aside, how practical would it be to acquire a basic open barge hull in the 18m to 25m range, plonk a few containers in the hull, spray insulate them with foam, line with MDF and then spend a few years tramping it around mainland Europe?
 
jonjo5 said:
Just musing over a crazy idea here on this blustery autumnal Sunday morning.

Used shipping containers look cheap and deluxe steel barges suitable for the European canal network seem overpriced. So aesthetics aside, how practical would it be to acquire a basic open barge hull in the 18m to 25m range, plonk a few containers in the hull, spray insulate them with foam, line with MDF and then spend a few years tramping it around mainland Europe?
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How would you fit wheels & would they let you through the toll booths
Probably knacker the clutch on the fiesta towing it
 
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I don't reckon you'd be getting much value from the containers. Better off roofing over and boarding out the hold with more conventional materials.

Pete
 
jonjo5 said:
Just musing over a crazy idea here on this blustery autumnal Sunday morning.

Used shipping containers look cheap and deluxe steel barges suitable for the European canal network seem overpriced. So aesthetics aside, how practical would it be to acquire a basic open barge hull in the 18m to 25m range, plonk a few containers in the hull, spray insulate them with foam, line with MDF and then spend a few years tramping it around mainland Europe?
Click to expand...
A simpler solution, of which several examples can be seen on the Vilaine River, is to put a mobile home on the hull. There is one in Redon at the moment with a Willerby Caravans mobile home on the barge. I have a photo of it if you want to see it.
 
Caravan.jpg


..but more to the original question..

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That last one is interesting. My design concept would be 20ft longer comprised of two 20ft containers fore and aft instead of a single 40ft one, between the two would be a 15ft open conservatory section with some form of glazed roll back sections.

Now add a few windows, a horizontal banded colour scheme to break up the box shape and the result is about 500 sq ft of mobile living space for not a lot of ££.
 
The container would be a poor choice of material for a modular cabin insert: heavy, prone to corrosion, sweats, difficult to work on, ugly. There are a couple of wooden ex MFVs that sail out of the Firth of Clyde with paying guests and they basically had the cabins assembled at some shop fitting factory, brought to the yard and dropped in place through a large deck opening, sealed and secured to the hull, and all interfaces made good. Allows low cost construction, easy renovation and reduces expensive boat yard time.

Having said that I am typing this in a wonderful new portable arctic grade office. My employer has finally got rid of my gypo caravan and built a 2 floor office block from containerised, flat pack modules. The base is standard container as is the roof but the 4 walls are light weight insulated. Basically the container was lifted off the truck the roof elevated onto the 4 corner posts and the 4 walls secured between. Voila; a new office! Forty clicked together to give a 2 floor office block.
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
The container would be a poor choice of material for a modular cabin insert: heavy, prone to corrosion, sweats, difficult to work on, ugly. There are a couple of wooden ex MFVs that sail out of the Firth of Clyde with paying guests and they basically had the cabins assembled at some shop fitting factory, brought to the yard and dropped in place through a large deck opening, sealed and secured to the hull, and all interfaces made good. Allows low cost construction, easy renovation and reduces expensive boat yard time.
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This Kiwi woman is happy with her container based home... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slsJmN2AdXY

The condensation problem is solvable with spray foam lining and conventional metal boat ventilation. Heavy? A 20ft container is about 2 tons and providing it is dropped deep between sidedecks the centre of gravity would remain low but yes I can see there is wasted material because the built-in strength of a container is there for different loads and duty cycles.

My original prompt for all this was the notion of a 40+20+20 container off-grid home sitting on some ridiculously cheap land in France near the Pyrenees foothills. Then each Spring I would unbolt the bed/bathroom 20ft module and the 20ft kitchen/study module, truck em down to my empty barge hull connect a few pipes and cables, engage propeller and head off. Later I realized that HGV vehicle access and cranage at my remote offgrid plot would be costly.

One thing I have learned about container based homes is they are perfect for difficult sloping sites where conventional builders fear to venture.
 
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