Almost A Houseboat - Oregon

We got the car, a new blue Chevy Cruise, and with our damaged driver with a droopy eyelid at the helm, batted across town without spilling our coffee. The Boss of this expedition, otherwise known as The Leader, saw a bridge and declared; "we're here!" But we soon discovered it was the wrong bridge. We meekly continued down the road singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall." After passing two or three more wrong bridges we finally found the one and only 200 year old rusty Bridge to Sauvie Island. Holding our breath as we crossed and turned left we  were treated to a battered, old and weathered shed with a sign saying; "MARKET and Grease Disposal."  We passed by fast. There were rounded hills of grain planted in every direction as we followed the coast road along the riverside. Here and there were stands of trees sheltering a white clapboard farmhouse, a few sheds, and a barn. Further up ahead was a small commotion. Cars lined up at the side of the road waiting to turn right onto a dirt track headed to the middle of a field planted with some kind of treasure. A big plywood sign announced; "PICK'IN TIME TODAY' Apparently all of these folks were lined up to pick some of the treasure. Every third car had a bumper sticker that said; "FRESHER IS BETTER." It wasn't a Christmas tree farm or a strawberry patch so we figured it might have been onions or beans. Whatever.

This is a good time to describe the area better. Sauvie Island is just 8 miles northwest of the Portland Civic Center. It lies between the powerful Columbia River and the smaller Multinoma River tributary. At the Northern end of the island the two rivers join as the Columbia, and race to the sea. Sauvie Island is about the size of Manhatten Island in New York, but with a tiny fraction of the population. It's character is rural, peaceful, and picturesque. Neighbors are often miles apart across golden meadows and green forests. Sauvie is a fantastic pastoral island with almost no people, few cars, beautiful scenery, truck farm crops fresh out of the ground, and lots of . . . . grapes! That was a little surprise. There is even a small winery on the island.

There is only a few modest homes. Most of them have thick woods on one side and well groomed meadows on the other. They appear to be working farms. There's also several large (movie star type) rambling brick showcases for the rich people. Almost all of the homes were a mile or two from their nearest neighbor. Sauvie Island is not a crowded place. 

Continuing on the river road a mile or so from the Sauvie Island Bridge we observed on the left the objects of our trip. Houseboats. Some were mansions on logs, some (a very few) were clinkers, and others are more like beach-cabins, rustic and small. We searched for a particular one. The our driver-boss The Leader actually purchased one of these floating piles with an eye toward complete restoration. 

In Las Vegas this is known as a big bet.

First thing was to remove the inside walls, furniture, cabinets and everything else. The impression as a person steps over the threshold is like stepping into a Tuff-Shed sitting on a raft of logs.  The cabin itself showed obvious signs of once being a quaint and comfortable small home on the water. Diane and Jack spent many happy years here on the river. Across the water is a wilderness area, a dense and untamed forest home for many kinds of critters and birds. We look at them. They look at us. 

The entire water front side of the houseboat is covered with windows that look from inside across a spacious new especially treated wood deck looking out onto the  Multinoma River. Activity on gthe river is usually quite relaxwd. Things seem to move at a slow and pace on the river. Once in a while the peaceful quiet is broken by a power boat or rare barge pushed along by an ocean going tugboat. always between you and the unspoiled, unpopulated, and protected forest. 

Altogether the houseboat is in an idyllic location with all of the benefits of a bit of wilderness as well as a big town nearby.

Our over busy Leader has confidence to spare. The many recent Designer Awards have gone to her head. She has decided to remodel this originally neat houseboat now possessing serious signs of advanced age. She plans to make it into the showplace of the western world. She has a long path ahead.

In it's present state, with hand made hob nails showing, a lack of insulation embarrassing, and in-the-wall electrical wiring laid out by Salvadore Dali, she and everyone concerned with this venture have their fingers crossed.

The job boss responsibility has gravitated to Gentle Jesse, the houseboaters emergency call #911 and general construction guy for the houseboat community. Talking with him a person soon understands that this big guy with a big smile is the right person to run the job. 

Being a bit older and inexperienced it was a pleasure to review the job he did replacing six huge support logs underneath. Very impressive. 6 of the 8 old support logs had  almost no buoyancy whatever. Jesse and crew did a great job. Impressive.    

The walls not needed in the new design are gone, a beautifully expanded and enlarged new deck of properly treated wood graces the river side of the houseboat - or as they more properly call it "the floating house." The former kitchen is gone, the fireplace has died a natural death, all floor coverings are missing, and the small beams holding the roof up have been replaced with bigger beams.

The Big Boss (my daughter) must be proud. The crew has been working with limited instructions yet has completed about 10% of the job already. With continued long distance threats and a big stick, they should be done by 2016.

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