Ever wished you had a house that you owned and with that you could have an adventure that you had been waiting for. Well, William Steele and Russ Mobley are inspirational figures for that. William Steele built a houseboat with his friend Russ Mobley. And, on Tuesday they anchored on the south end of Tom McCall Waterfront Park. All they had was one story cabin, which they called DCTMAY for “Dreams Come True. May All Yours.” The houseboat was made to integrate three bunk beds and a kitchen, to feel completely at home. The deck has a barbecue and a sink; at the same time they have a portion of the deck that swings on hinges, allowing them to lower the makeshift tub.
The houseboat is powered by a 25-horsepower outboard motor that allows it to move comfortably upstream or even against the wind blowing downstream and it floats with the help of Styrofoam pads. In the word of Steele, “It forces you to see the world through an hourglass, inch by inch”, ads it mover very very slow. The house boat was started on Thursday, from Meldrum Bar Park in Gladstone and has been drifting slowly down the river. They had been intending to finish their journey in Cathedral Park in St. Johns on the evening of September, 01.
The thought of the houseboat came to them when they were sophomores at UP. And, the inspiration came from a raft trip from Corvallis to St. Johns. Their idea and inspiration amalgamated to form an inflatable house and finally transformed into a house boat. Steele ended up designing the 16-by-7-foot building around the doors and windows that he had got from the Rebuilding Center in North Portland. The construction commenced in January and with the other things on their mind, it ended in July.
Before launching their house boat, it was taken to Yakima for a test, which I am guessing was passed successfully. The fear that it might just end up a crap in their backyards kept them going. To fight this possibility they buried a time capsule under ‘St. Johns Bridge’. The capsule contains letters they wrote to themselves and a bottle of wine that they planned to drink to celebrate the success. Their journey has been full of experiences that they had hoped for and the ones they did not hope for.
However, at this point they have no trips planned because still few up-gradations need to be done in terms of its functionality and interiors. The creation-al adventure of two friend is an inspiration for people like me and you who are looking for a homely adventure of their lifetime. They had a an adventurous trip, but I know after reading this you are already planning a trip around the world.
Via: OregonLive
