My idea

[dolittle]

I am soon to be homeless. Well, really I'm homeless now. But I have a job that alows me to get a motel room couple nights a wk. But that job is playing out. So, I been thinking about different ways to be homeless & maintain some level of comfort. This is my latest, & I think my greatest idea. What do ya'll think?
First, get the largest johnboat. Equip it with steering & controls in the front, build a small sturdy shelter in the rear, just big enough to sleep & store a few things in. Rig a BBQ grill/fire pit in the middle. I'm a trucker, thus use to living in small spaces. So this seems adaquit.
I can live on the boat traveling the rivers. I can even travel from my best friends place up north, down to my sister in southeast Tx by following the Ms. Rivers have towns all up & down them. That allows me to earn a bit of money here & there. Don't need much cash since my main expence would be gas & food.
Also, since I can't find afordable land in the traditional way, I may be able to find a suitably remote piece of river bank where I can build a shanty to live in, grow some vegi's & raise chickens. In the mean time, I could find a privet place to grow the gordes I need for my craft work, wich is part of my income.
I'm doing all I can now to prepare for this. Will most likely "set sail" early this spring. If this idea inspires you, give it real thought. If enough folk can live this way, maybe we could even start a new kind of community, river gypsys or something. Hope to see you on the water.

 

[Cardboard]

Nothing new. A ton of punk kids are doing this for years.
Here is the blog a friend of mine who just finished a big trip:
http://wewillnotdrown.blogspot.com/

I remember a group who made a yearly meeting, maybe as many as 10 years back (?) called the river rats. Basically a bunch of punk DIY kids would get together, build rafts, and take off down the Mississippi.
Good luck to ya, its a lot of fun, living on a boat.
Just thought to let you know its not a "new kind of community", and maybe folks on here are already involved, if not, get out there and find 'em, there are tons of people doing this, and they might have some good advice to help you get started.

 

[bicycle]

There is also this cool documentary to be found on vimeo.
Its called anarchist yacht clubb or something.

 

[Cardboard]

http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/228817/detail/

 

[wildboy860]

yeah there are tons of people already doing this, ive known of a few myself. i suggest looking in the other forms of travel section on here. and there'll be loads of info to help you out and maybe even connect with others about it.

 

[Earth]

There's a cat out here - almost directly across the main road from this roost - who is living on the river bank, has quite the tent complex set up, and keeps a nice canoe teathered to his camp. He's been there for quite some time, and acts as if he owns the place, which might be why he's getting away with it - especially since he makes no secret of how he lives.

I cross paths with him on occasion when I'm kayaking, doing my eco work - and we will speak to one another if the mood strikes.
I am hopeful he can stay where he is, as his camp is in a real nice spot and the way I see it, as long as he ain't causing any harm to the ecology - he should be fine.

I certainly look out for him..........

 

[dolittle]

Thanks for the Links! I'm working on it, but still haven't read ALL the past post.(Sigh... that's a lot of reading.) Anyway... seemed like most of the traveling Iv read about on here had to do with trains or roadways. I have seen one or two post about Big boats, but I thought that had to do with starting up stationary squats. My bad.
So, yeah. If any one does or has lived & traveled on the rivers, espeshaly in small home made boats, I'd REALLY like to hear U'r storys!!! Again, thanks for the links.
PS: B4 anyone says "Google it", I did already. Can't find much info on "small boat camping/living".
Thanks again.

 

[travelin]

roughly where in southeast texas?

grow gourds, huh?

 

[Alaska]

Pretty great film you linked. Thanks for that, Cardboard.

 

[dolittle]

I got kin folk in Port Author. A canal goes right past my sisters back door.
And yes, I like to grow gourds. Some Birdhouse, some Bottleneck, but mostly Bushalbaskets.

 

[Cardboard]

Some other interesting links, some for ocean sailing, some for river rafts, and others projects.
Drop me a PM if you want more info, I was working with a project that built a big stupid boat in the canals in Copenhagen and we did quite a fair amount of research on living on the water. I really like the idea of finding some place to base though, if you are looking to make a base camp, then a camping raft is not so important. Also, maybe talk to dirtyfacedan, he is living in the vancouver islands, which I think is an awesome option for landsquatting combined with boat life.
I think the ultimate goal would be sustainability, on the water, which would be fucking awesome. I saw some cool garden boats n Amsterdam recently, inspiration for sure.
In the case that you cannot find a decent piece of shore to squat, consider making one!
Google this german guy, "Richard Sowa", he made some really inspiring islands in Mexico.

http://www.spiralislanders.com/
http://www.missrockaway.org/wordpress/project-info/
http://weareswimmingcities.org/wasc/

http://www.floatingneutrinos.com/
http://www.blueanarchy.org/

 

[Cardboard]

And for google, try other things like, river squatting, boat living, punk raft... I found a lot of things in the past, sometimes you just gotta learn to be creative with your searching. Not telling you to google it, just saying, you can indeed find things, just takes some thinking of what you want to know.

 

[dolittle]

Again, thanks for the links, Cardboard. And yes, I will work with Google some more.
I'm not really interested in ocean or big boats. The johnboat with a permanet shelter & a small wood stove is just the most practical idea I have come up with for my situation. A way to go from an alright income, to an extreamly small income & still maintain some comfort & security.
When I find the right piece of river bank, then I will set up a primative homestead. The "floating property" is a cool idea. I'll have to study that & see if it will work for what I have in mind. Don't think I need more than a half acer. But not sure if I want it floating around.
I'm big time excited to give this a go! I'm reasonably sure what I have in mind should work. Right now, I'm trying to find the right boat I can buy on my own without going through a bank. SO excited about this!!!

 

[travelin]

ok, port arthur is too far for me to offer any kind of help.