It’s no surprise that as an avid kayaker, I love the water. So much in fact, I’ve been wondering if living on the water is the right move – if even for a vacation home? – if we could swing it.

This year I’ve been researching about floating homes, float houses, and houseboats. Scouring Redfin, Zillow, and Pacific Northwest real estate websites for floating homes for sale and the best moorages and rivers to live on, from Seattle to Olympia to Portland.

I also attended an open house of a floating home for sale in Portland (and shared the tour photos our Flatwater Kayak Club community) and explored the famous floating houses of the Pacific Northwest.

But that’s not the same as living in a floating house, day after day. Questions that I’ve been toying with include:

• Will I feel motion sickness while relaxing inside?

• Is it going to be annoying to walk up and down the moorage marina ramp to the car?

• As a former city girl, how would I feel about my neighbors being so close in proximity again?  

So last month, I decided to rent a floating home for a few days. I worked remotely for my full-time job, kayaked off the dock a few times, dined at an on-water cafe (more than once), and talked to full-time marina residents.

And after living the summer houseboat experience, do I still want to explore buying a float house after sleeping, working, and living on one for the first time? Read on for more…

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Floating home rental information

Even though it’s marketed as a houseboat rental, where I stayed is perhaps more accurately called a floating home in this instance. You’d have to tow it off the dock, it’s not a vehicle or boat of any kind. So you can’t drive away.

Here’s the listing: Tomahawk Island Cozy Houseboat on Airbnb. All photos in this post were taken by our team though, they are not from the listing, so you can see real renter images and videos.

For those unfamiliar with the Oregon and Washington border, Tomahawk Island Marina is located on Hayden Island in the middle of the Columbia River. This little slice of land is in Oregon waters just north of the city of Portland and south of Vancouver, Washington.

It’s a 10-minute drive to/from either city downtown, so you can really enjoy the amenities, shopping, restaurants, night life, and attractions of either locale very easily from this houseboat location.

Floating home duration and cost

This houseboat rental books up quickly, so during the prime summer season, I was able to snag a few weekday nights. (Note the owner has a 2-night minimum stay).

It’s hard to find moorages that allow for floating home rentals in the Pacific Northwest, especially for short-term stays, so this option is a good one to bookmark/save.

I paid a total of $478.01 for my stay. No discounts, with all Airbnb fees included.

Moorage and marina information

Marina pros:

• Secure, gated parking lot (this is important on Hayden Island where car break-ins & theft are known to happen).

• Dogs are allowed

• On-site laundry facility

• Houseboat close to ramp/parking

• Felt safe during my stay

• Quiet marina (but you’re in the PDX flight path, so you’ll hear airplane noise)

• Super close to Portland, Vancouver, and nearby attractions in the Columbia River Gorge for anyone with a car

Moorage cons:

• Don’t expect a fancy moorage with this place. Tomahawk Island Marina is mostly live-aboard folks on boats

• Underwhelming overall and in need of some maintenance/updates

• Houseboat is set back from the river, so you have partial river views that are a bit obstructed by boats

As long as you arrive with an open mind that this isn’t about the moorage life, rather the float house life, like I did, I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay too.

The houseboat interior

This floating cabin oozes with charm and space efficiency. It’s a large studio size, with a large bed, kitchen, bathroom. Lots of shelves and hooks to hang and store your things. It was ultra cozy and comfortable!

Floating home kayaking experience

This was the first time I’d just hopped in my kayak and paddled off a floating home dock and, let me tell you, I loved it. The convenience and ease of transitioning from my work life behind a screen to the serenity of nature and living in the present was truly amazing.

While the weather was warm during my stay, it was a bit spotty, with some clouds and light rain and short bursts of sunshine. I was actually glad it wasn’t picture-perfect conditions the whole time because I wanted a more accurate picture of how life could be and feel on a floating home.

The floating home owners have 2 kayaks available on-site to borrow (sign the waiver), but I brought the Oru Inlet Sport kayak for continued testing. The water conditions during my stay worked great for this open-cockpit kayak. There was minimal boats out and about, so virtually no wakes, and minimal waves to contend with.

Otherwise I’d recommend having a spray skirt or using a sit-on-top kayak. You can also rent a single or double kayak from nearby business Alder Creek. This local paddle shop has a location on Hayden Island, just up the street from this moorage.

I talked to several locals while I was kayaking around. Conversation always seems to naturally strike up when you’re paddling with an Oru kayak, since they’re a unique-looking folding design.

Four people, all adult men who live on boats full-time, advised against buying a floating home. Their reason? They love the freedom of moving around, especially if you don’t like a marina, neighbors, or weather.

While you can, in theory, move a floating home from one moorage to another, it’s not neccesarily an easy or cheap endeavor. My parents have a sailboat and used to travel up and down the east coast, sometimes for months at a time. They also have talked about the freedom and adventure of exploration on a boat. But someone with a family, young children, and multiple pets, that’s not the option I’m exploring at this time.

Another cool thing about paddling right off this houseboat rental is that you can head over to Island Cafe. It’s very close and an easy paddle. Tie up your boat right there on the dock and head in for a great lunch or dinner! Open seasonally.

I enjoyed this local spot a lot… they have an awesome, affordable happy hour menu and it’s fun to boat watch from the outside dining area. You can also drive or walk there, if you prefer.

Conclusion

Overall, I really liked the floating home life. I had my family come visit me during my stay and they thought it was such an adorable cabin too. We were all equally amazed at how efficient the space was and nice to only have a small space to manage (for short-term stays).

This houseboat rental experience left me wondering a new, surprising question: should we build a floating home?

So our floating home buying (or building??) research continues.

Interested in reading more? Check out our post on 5 charming floating homes for rent in the Pacific Northwest.