floating homes

huangyhg

floating homes
has anyone here designed a floating home? i imagine that this is as simple as having an elaborate home built on a floating vessel? besides designing one, i am also looking at supplying a docking facility for a boat at the first floor of the home.
comments/suggestions appreciated.
bn
i would suggest that you look into ship design to get an understanding of load cases. differential vertical movement from waves e.t.c would be a major design consideration.
to go along with csd72, check out
off the top of my head:
vessel motions (heave, roll, pitch, surge, yaw, sway) will be generated by wave and current action on the hull.  this will cause the 'vessel' to be subject to accelerations and velocities.  so the house needs to be designed so it doesnt fall off. wind will also have an effect.
the hull(ship girder) needs to be strong enough so as not to break the back of the vessel when it is between wave crests.  the structural design of the hull will determine this.
the weight distribution will affect the stability of the 'vessel' so ship stabiliy needs to be accounted for.
i assume it will be moored so there will be an effect from this, impact, bollard pulls etc.
i expect for a floating home the considerations will be less than when compared to a sea going vessel.
in addition to abs, you could check the classification rules from the likes of dnv.
is this a houseboat or a house supported on a permanently sited pontoon?  if the latter, i don't see why a conventionally built house would not be acceptable if you can work out the complications of power supply, water, sewerage, etc.  but the local building official might have different ideas.
take a look in demark someone over there is makeing homes like this right now.
chris
"in this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics." homer simpson
there are some of these in seattle, washington.  
googling
dutch floating house
will be useful.