Here you can read more about our houseboat FREEDOM and how we have remodelled it in different ways. The houseboat is a passenger sloop from the early 1900s and has been used as a houseboat for the last few decades.
Table of contents
Our houseboat FREEDOM
We bought the houseboat in summer 2013. It is from the beginning of the 20th century, with little known history. When we bought it, it was in dire need of renovation and we worked on it for a whole year. In the summer of 2014, we lifted it up on land and worked around the clock for ten weeks to repaint the hull, build a completely new upper floor and replace all the panelling. The houseboat cannot be driven, but is moored at the quay and is simply a dwelling on water.
Exterior design
BeforeThe first picture shows the houseboat as we bought it. This is not the original design, but it has been rebuilt many times since the beginning of the 20th century.
AfterSecond picture shows the houseboat FREEDOM today! We started by changing some windows while the boat was in the water. Then we raised the houseboat on land for ten weeks and rebuilt pretty much everything. We then demolished the entire upper floor, built up a new floor and set up a new panel everywhere.
Patio
BeforeThe first picture shows the patio when we bought the boat. It was cosy, but it was a bit tricky because you could only get there from the lower deck, and not from the top floor.
AfterThe second picture shows the patio of the houseboat FREEDOM today. The new patio is higher and can be accessed directly from the upper floor.
Kitchen
Before: The kitchen was fine when we moved in, but lacked tiles and had only occasional bright lights (realtor's picture).
After: We have tiled and wallpapered, got a new dining table, new more cosy LED lighting and new ceiling light.
Bathroom
Before: When we moved in, there was a very small washbasin, so you could hardly wash yourself.
After: We installed a larger washbasin in black and white, black toilet seat and new shower curtain, and installed a towel rail.
Bedroom
Before: The bedroom, in the bow on the lower deck, looked like this when we bought the boat (agent's picture).
After: We have covered the walls with laminate and hand-forged nails, installed LED lighting and shelvesand moved in our own beds.
Lower deck
Before: Lower deck, as it looked before. Then there was a TV couch down here (agent's picture).
AfterWe converted the room into an exercise room and walk-in closet. We have covered the walls with laminate, laid new flooring, installed carpets, painted the walls, hanging new curtains and installing shelves and coat hangers.
Pannrum
Before: I boiler room there was previously an old boiler that didn't work, a manual sewage pump and shelves that made the room small and cramped.
After: We have got a new Nibe boiler, new water heater, new automatic sewage pump and washing machine with tumble dryer. We have also rewired all the cables, painted, built new shelves and put in new lighting.
Living room
Before: Living room was cosy, but small, uninsulated and with single-glazed windows.
AfterWe demolished the entire upper floor and built a new one, for the new houseboat FREEDOM. We widened, extended and raised, changed all the windows and added a door to the patio. In the end we got a new large living room.
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Lilliann Carlsten says:
What a fantastic job you have done. I could really imagine living like that.
15 December 2015 - 10:06
Ann-Sofie says:
Thought you were staying on one of those modern houseboats that are more rafts than houses. Like the ones down in Malmö. But now I see, to my delight, that it is a "real" boat!
What a renovation job you have done! Nice!
20 February 2016 - 9:30
admin says:
Lilliann Carlsten, thank you! We think it's fantastic to live like this! 🙂
Ann-Sofie, there is a mixture of aquavillas and different houseboat models here in the marina. Glad you like the boat! We worked hard on the renovation in 2014! 😉
20 February 2016 - 10:14
Kmlyck says:
Hello - Denmark is calling!
Do you have any experience with current sailing boats for sale in Sweden? Utan plats i hamn (harbour berth) ...
We are looking for a boat without space around the dimensions: 20 metres long, 5 metres wide, max. 5,40 metres in height from waterline.
Can anyone help?
12 April 2016 - 16:47
Angeliqa (Hiking blog) says:
What an amazing makeover!
Never in my life did I think that living in a houseboat could be so cosy.
11 May 2016 - 8:51
giuly says:
The dream is to live like that.
Do you have more tips for Tropea as a holiday destination?
28 May 2016 - 20:05
Zigge drilling rig says:
The "boat" is a dream what a job you have done
05 June 2016 - 13:40
Paulina Gunnardo says:
WOW! Amazingly beautiful and charming!
11 June 2016 - 13:36
åsa in åsele says:
Such a nice boat.
19 June 2016 - 12:44
Åse says:
What delicious accommodation 🙂
28 June 2016 - 12:36
Aunt Otto says:
Wow..what a dream to be able to live on a boat. My goodness, what a nice job you have done on it.
I am not a boat person but have been on the lake every summer for many, many years. In the Västervik archipelago we kayaked around in a Nimbus,
So I know what it is like to be in a relatively small area for several weeks.
Love boating but now it is a while ago ... can miss it incredibly much. All the sounds on board, waves crashing, carabiners beating and squeaking tamps.
02 July 2016 - 9:55
Emmi in Spain - explorista.se says:
How crazy that this is a boat! Great job, now I want to live in a houseboat too (at least for a little while)!
09 July 2016 - 11:37
admin says:
Kmlyck, I think I have answered you by email. Houseboats in Sweden are sold on Hemnet, Booli and similar sites.
Angeliqa, it's very cosy to live in a houseboat 🙂.
Giuly, we think we have a dream accommodation! We were only in Tropea for one day, but it was very cosy!
Zigge, it was a lot of work, but now we are happy with this accommodation!
Aunt Otto, it's great to hear the sounds and environment around boats! It's not so crowded in a houseboat either 😉.
Emmi, in a way it's both a house and a boat 😉.
18 August 2016 - 22:31
Peter says:
Very cosy and nice houseboat. As Captain, you wonder a little about the stability of it when it has been so built up.
I've thought several times about living on a houseboat when I'm home on holiday.
11 November 2016 - 18:24
admin says:
Peter, thank you for your comment! Houseboat is cosy 🙂 We have done a stability test on the boat. A company came here and first put a lot of measuring points into a computer and then they experimented with water in barrels on deck. We have been told that it is safe to live on. But of course it is not a boat that you go out on the Baltic Sea in, it is only for living in 😉.
11 November 2016 - 19:51
Peter says:
Yes, it is important to have stability so that it does not turn over if there is too much snow on the roof. Many people forget to check the stability when rebuilding an old boat. But congratulations on a very nice cosy boat.
12 November 2016 - 20:02
Leif Strandberg says:
Hi..I don't think you should drive around with this "houseboat" if you don't first do a heeling test..Annas it can go like Vasa ..capsized after 400 metres..I myself have had large boats of 20 to 65 tons on concrete as a boat.Also lived on board..we were out in the archipelago and open sea very often.
My boating life lasted 40 years..and my experience of those who have "houseboats" is that they are moored at the quay, and never go out to sea. Apparently a lot of work to make a houseboat seaworthy with all the gadgets on board. I'm talking about boats that are built as houseboats... So contact the maritime administration and the insurance company for consultation... Don't forget to have the right exam to operate this vessel.
09 February 2017 - 1:56
Leif Strandberg says:
Reading about this with your test with water barrels on the deck...sounds a bit humbug to me...heeling test should be done while running at different speeds There are regulations how this should be done..length..width..depth..height..ballast..total weight of the boat etc.
The Maritime Administration can then inspect the boat ..and review the safety of the boat....
And then approve the boat for possible inland navigation...sea going is probably nothing to worry about. Good luck to you.
09 February 2017 - 2:14
admin says:
Leif Strandberg, thank you for your comment! Our houseboat is simply an accommodation on water and cannot be driven, so we don't have to worry about that part. I see that we have not written it out clearly on this page, so I simply take and clarify it in the text above! The stability test has been carried out by the company Saltech and is absolutely not humbug, but is about the stability and safety of a houseboat lying at the quay.
09 February 2017 - 6:59
Leif Strandberg says:
Hi...thank you for your reply..wise of you to leave the houseboat at the harbour.
Great freedom to live this way.
We/I have been driving a motorhome for a number of years now...a wonderful freedom....
Many wonderful experiences in Sweden and Europe..about 1500 miles from April to the last week of October..then there are flights to warmer countries.
Many former boat owners I have met have switched to motorhomes.
Nice site and info from your site ..found this the other day.
Goodbye.
09 February 2017 - 16:50
Helena says:
Motorhomes are a wonderful freedom, we can only agree! We have also met many people who have switched from a boat to a motorhome! Nice that you like our page! 🙂
02 March 2017 - 21:06
Jan Mr LED Naeslund says:
Nice work, nice boat.
I stayed at Us Skutsje (Norr Mälarstrand) about 30 years ago, it was great, looking for a new boat again, drivable, tips?
28 February 2017 - 19:06
Helena says:
Nice that you lived in a houseboat at Norr Mälarstrand! No unfortunately, no tip right now... Two drivable houseboats were for sale here a year ago, but none right now.
02 March 2017 - 21:08
Marcus Englund says:
Cool accommodation. Would be fun to try as an islander.
24 March 2017 - 19:43
pilla says:
Looks like a super cosy accommodation! I usually jog past there several times a week and often think about the people living in the houseboats.
22 September 2017 - 7:47
Lisbet says:
Hello Helena and Peter,
We have just bought the houseboat Ringholm 1 which is located in Gåshaga :-).
Looking forward to our new adventure, we have some practical questions.
It may be that our challenges are slightly different as we are based in a harbour and not Pampers Marina.
What do you do with TV?
Best wishes
Lisbet
18 March 2019 - 22:43
Helena says:
Hi Lisbet! Congratulations on your new home, hope you enjoy it! We have a portable TV aerial. For internet we use a sim card in a router.
19 March 2019 - 6:52
Nathalie DeArte says:
Wow! Super neat! We own a houseboat of the same name "Freedom" we would now need someone to do a thorough moisture inspection to see what would need to be addressed. Is there anyone who could be of service with that?
My number is 0733 97 35 75
Kind regards
Nathalie
07 May 2020 - 19:15
Mr Jonas says:
Greetings Jonassjöberg
03 September 2022 - 18:28