Definition of a Houseboat:

A boat that people use as their home which will be moored on either a river or a canal. A house boat is a floating dwelling which can be moored or used to cruise the canals and rivers. Some house boats are not motorised as they are kept at a fixed point.

Recently we have noticed that a few of our customers are calling our canal boats “houseboats”. This has mainly been from boaters who intended to live aboard their boats full time. But I think it’s fair to say that not many people in the UK refer to a canal boat as a house boat and this term is mainly used in other countries to describe a floating dwelling.

I also believe a lot of people in the UK would consider a houseboat to be found on the river rather than a canal and used as a dwelling in London. Houseboats to me are a larger boat bigger than a canal boat more like a wide beam. I would even consider a sea boat to be classed as a houseboat.

I came across this article from the BBC which is about House boat owners in London who are worried they will need to move from the area due to luxury apartments being built by the river. I think this backs my theory that house boats are bigger boats moored on rivers and in London.

However this is only my opinion let me know what you think. Would you refer to your canal boat as a house boat?