If you’re searching for a houseboat with tons of history, you might be interested in this one in Sausalito, California.What makes this $783,000 one-bedroom, one-bathroom bohemian paradise so great? It used to belong to Shel Silverstein.After relocating to Sausalito’s floating artist colony in 1967, the author of “The Giving Tree” named his houseboat Evil Eye. Until his passing in March 2016, Silverstein’s friend and photographer Larry Moyer owned the houseboat.
The vessel currently berthed at 8 Liberty Dock was once a balloon barge during World War II. According to Smithsonian Magazine, balloon barges were Navy vessels “whose lofted cables were designed to snare kamikaze aircraft.” Sausalito’s houseboat community started when Marinship Corp. stopped building ships following World War II.
Richardson Bay was left with tons of scrap metal, wood, and other resources, which in the 1950s and 1960s allowed artists and homeless drifters to construct rent-free homes out of abandoned ships.
During Silverstein’s visit, the houseboat community was also home to squatters and drug dealers.
“People lived here because they could afford it,” Moyer said to the magazine. “You could always find an old lifeboat hull to build on and recycle materials because of the shipyards.”
The houseboat hamlet of Sausalito is home to one of the most upscale and active real estate markets in the San Francisco Bay Area these days. The 1,200-square-foot home was last sold in 2017 for $375,000.
The entirely renovated barge would be ideal as a vacation rental or secondary residence. What appears to be a run-down assortment of wood and spare parts is what welcomes visitors.
The house is small by tract home standards, but it seems spacious inside.
The eat-in kitchen on the top deck is spacious and well-lit. There is a lofted Murphy-style bed available for individuals who don’t mind the thrill of sleeping a few feet above the floor.
The house is small by tract home standards, but it seems spacious inside.
We advise sailing for Sausalito to take possession of this special house for an adventurous buyer seeking something new.
