Jim Healy and his wife Colleen, along with their three cats, have been living happily on their Eco-Sea Cottage for the past five years in Boston, Mass., and they could not be happier with how everything turned out. Their home is an 800-square-foot, two-story houseboat that they designed from scratch with the help of the folks at Eco-Sea Cottages.
“We very much enjoy our floating house,” shared Jim. “You don’t see too many floating houses up here in New England, probably because of the climate. However, our floating house is weather-tight so we keep quite warm in the winter time.”
Before living on their houseboat, Jim and his wife actually lived on a 40-foot trawler for a number of years, so the couple have been liveaboards since 1993. However, Colleen decided she wanted a dishwasher and without any place to put it on the trawler, Jim began looking around.
He spotted an advertisement for Eco-Sea Cottages and then made arrangements to fly out to Seattle so they could take a look around. They loved what they saw and found Eco-Sea Cottages very accommodating. They worked closely with the owner, Rod Gibbons, and were quite impressed with what a great job he did. Now, five years later, they’re still completely satisfied with their floating home.
“I always tell my wife that when I come home from work, it’s kind of like going on a vacation for the rest of the day,” smiled Jim.
Eco-Sea Cottages
Whether you enjoy comfortable dockside living or the adventurous roaming side of houseboating, Eco-Sea Cottages has the perfect fit for you. Following the hit debut of its original stationary wood-framed houseboats at the Seattle In-The-Water Boat Show ten years ago, ESC began a tradition: adding another new design each year and offering a $25,000 early-bird discount six months before its first launch. Ten years later, ESC now has over ten different models from 28 to 55 feet, including their modern metal-framed BoxSea models (highly-customized cargo containers), SAVANTI models, and now their all-aluminum BearCat models.
All of the ESC houseboats are elegant, fully-equipped, liveaboard vessels. They include all major appliances, heat and air-conditioning, big TVs, big fireplaces, walk-around king-size beds and fantastic kitchens. Just imagine the pleasure that comes with living aboard your own floating home, all while experiencing the unique joys of fishing, swimming or kayaking from your own front porch!
Date Founded: 2007
Location: Seattle, Wash.
Best-selling Model or Floor Plan: SAVANTI 36 and BearCat 38
Smallest Houseboat Built to Date: 14’ X 28'
Largest Houseboat Built to Date: 18’ X 50' (2-story)
Hull Design: Resin-Infused FG Cat Hulls and Ocean-Grade Aluminum BearCat 43’
Water Application: Lakes, Rivers and Coastal Cruising
In-house Transportation: Yes
In-house Interior Designer: Yes
Looking to 2019
Eco-Sea Cottages is adding two new lines for 2019. The first is the all-aluminum BearCat line which has catamaran hulls with a raised, seagoing bow section designed to readily handle 4- to 8-foot seas offshore. This grade aluminum—which is also used by the salmon and crab industry when fishing the offshore waters of Alaska—has a much greater abrasion resistance than is available in equal-length fiberglass yachts. Then, Eco-Sea Cottages has all-new, elegant Eco-Cottage models for protected waters. They can be built with one or two outboard motors and can be made with or without an upper-level sundeck.