When Architect Jim Jessup was a
"starving University of Washington
student" in 1964, he was able to buy
a houseboat on Lake Union in
Seattle for $300. He paid $12
monthly moorage, and city sewage
hookup wasn't necessary. The houseboats
he designs today, on the other
hand, cost his clients a minimum of
$250,000, usually more; need utility
hookups; and often require an additional
monthly moorage fee of $300
to $400.
In Seattle, where Jessup is still
based, most water sites have been
developed. A typical houseboat
project in that city thus consists of
the new owner removing an old
houseboat from the site, having the
float rebuilt or replaced by a float specialist,
and building a completely new
home on