Houseboat

A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily for regular dwelling. Most houseboats are not motorized, as they are usually moored or kept stationary, fixed at a berth, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. However, many are capable of operation under their own power.

Houseboats are largely found on small inland rivers, lakes, and streams, and in coastal harbours, especially where there is good fishing, in many countries.

There are a few houseboat options in South Africa, including self-drive houseboats on the Knysna Lagoon and fully catered houseboats on Lake Jozini. There have been a number of serious incidents with houseboat fires in the country. On 19 November 2016, four people died on Hartbeespoort Dam after a fire broke on a party houseboat. On 9 October 2021, a faulty engine set luxury houseboat Shayamanzi afire and led to the death of two crew members and a German tourist.

In Zambia, specifically on Lake Kariba, houseboats have been around and in use since the creation of the lake in the late 1950s to early 1960s.

Houseboats have become more popular as a tourist attraction due to the number of houseboats plying at Tanguar Haor. There is a large, slow-moving houseboat used for leisure trips. This service is inspired by the houseboat used by India's famed author Rabindranath Tagore during his visit to Shilaidaha. It is about 71 feet (22 m) long and about 14 feet (4.3 m) wide at the middle, and has been in service since 2021.

There is a houseboat and fishing community on the southern side of Hong Kong Island, known as Aberdeen Floating Village. There was also one such community in the Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter.

In India, houseboats used as accommodation for tourists are common on the backwaters of Kerala and also on Dal Lake near Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir (see below).

Houseboats in Kerala, south India, are huge, slow-moving barges used for leisure trips. They are a reworked model of Kettuvallams (in the Malayalam language, Kettu means "tied with ropes", and vallam means "boat"), which, in earlier times, were used to carry rice and spices from Kuttanad to the Kochi port. Kerala houseboats were considered a convenient means of transportation. First Modern House Boat In Kerala developed by Thomas Vargheese in Kottayam in the time of Dr. Babu Paul IAS. The popularity of Kettuvallams has returned as major tourist attractions.