It's pretty much impossible to look at a beautiful houseboat and not imagine yourself leaving everything behind to start a new life in an exotic port, battling pirates from time to time.That last part may only be in our daydreams, but the point is, living on the water could be awesome, which means you should know what sorts of seafaring living quarters are available in which to set sail toward the horizon.
Below is a gallery of some of the most inventive, stylish houseboats we could find. Unfortunately, none are equipped with a giant cannon for our swashbuckling needs, but we think you'll find a few that may get you daydreaming.
Amazing Houseboats
This Starlight is a modest four bedroom, three bathroom steal for $480,000. If that's not enough, it comes equipped with a king-sized bed in the master suite to save you that trip to Mattress King.
luxuryhouseboats.com
This freaky concept house-sub will fit up to six people and contains an "underwater observation zone" that would make Captain Nemo jealous. The boat has four levels, and can dock with other boats of the same family to create a harmonious marine ecosystem for sea hippies.
sub-find.com
If you're considering a vacation in India, try a houseboat tour -- five nights cruising India's beaches in this floating basket is a very affordable $600 per person.
travelskerala.com
With custom models reaching $800,000, you'll really enjoy this luxury houseboat. Among other amenities, Sharpe offers a pop-up plasma TV, oxygen bar, dumbwaiter to get your wine up to the roof deck, because as you know, carry wine is for the common people.
sharpehouseboat.com
This isn't quite a houseboat, it's an undersea hotel! Based in a former marine biology lab in Florida, this hotel costs $450 a night, but remember: you have to dive in to check in.
jul.com
The famous Cosmic Muffin, owned by Howard Hughes and written about by Jimmy Buffet is a converted Boeing 307 Stratoliner that you can rent for any occasion that calls for a somewhat mangled plane on the water. The real price is admitting you're piloting something called the "Cosmic Muffin."
planeboats.com
This one, courtesy of Web Urbanist will let you be a little stealthier than your average houseboat. It will quite possibly save you money on mooring rental, considering the local harbor master will just chalk it up to the fact that new islands appear near the docks all the time.
weburbanist.com
This creative work lives in Shoreham, England, on the Adur River. Yes, its living space is a bus. It's permanently moored there by owner/creator, and would be great to live in if you didn't mind having a German minesweeper and other oddities for neighbors.
redwing-coaches.co.uk
Al Gore got in trouble with this one -- apparently owning a 100-foot houseboat is no longer cool. The roof of "Bio-Solar One" is covered with solar panels and runs on biodiesel. The price is estimated to be between $500,000 and $1 million.
tennessean.com
The Dutch have a slight problem when it comes to the rising ocean: most of their land is below sea level. Well, they aren't just kicking their clogs and smelling the tulips: they're doing something about it. These amphibious homes are a simple concept: when the water comes and floods the valley, the houses float on the water. Expensive? Yes. Better than drowning? Definitely.
inhabit.com
