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Phil Thiel of Seattle, Washington, has inspired a whole fleet of tiny human-powered houseboats in the United States, England, and Germany. He calls his quaint canal cruisers Escargots for their slow speed and sells the building plans for just $150. Each 18.5′ by 6′ houseboat fits up to three bunks and is propelled by a combination of pedal and solar power.

The solar drive isn’t strong enough to allow for direct solar power propulsion and the best way to move about is to pedal. At a pedaling rate of 50 rotations per minute, Thiel’s design can puff along at four miles an hour. Keep in mind that the average cyclist pedals at around 60 rotations per minute and professionals can do nearly twice that!

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Human-powered Floating Home

A cute and cozy Escargot canal cruiser

Thiel, now 91 years old, is a naval architect who started enthusing about and building human-powered boats when he was a teenager. Born in Brooklyn and now relocated to Seattle, Thiel has only driven an automobile twice in his life. Houseboats, though, he’s steered plenty of times.

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The little cabin boat or mini yacht that you see here is Adventure Craft’s AC2800.

Have you ever seen one of these before?

They like to describe it as a miniature yacht. Actually they use the term CABINYACHT.

And yes, it’s still quite pricey but I thought it was worth showing you guys because it’s like a tiny boat house of sorts.

One of the things I loved is that you can drive the boat either from the inside or up top with an amazing view.

The glass doors in the front and rear not only give you an incredible view from the inside but can also provide a nice breeze.

Adventure Craft AC2800 Mini Yacht CABINYACHT Small House Boat

Hey! Don’t miss the video at the very bottom of this post. 🙂

The house boat is 28.5 feet long and offers the following features:

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