25 Years Living Off-Grid on a Self-Built Floating Home

Charlie built this beautiful off-grid float home in a remote channel on the west coast and has been living on it full-time for the past 25 years. His wife, Ellen, is a newbie to the lifestyle and joined him there 6 years ago. Together they have lived a quiet life in tune with the weather and the seasons. In this video, we get a peek at their beautiful home and some insight into the systems, the work, and the challenges that come with living this way.
The couple relies on solar power for electricity (supplementing with a generator on grey days), they have a wood stove for heat, propane for cooking and laundry, and a composting toilet for their waste.
There is a floating greenhouse and some raised garden beds on the deck that provide approx. 50% of their fresh vegetables in the summer. The rest of their food is bought at the grocery store in bulk so that they can stay out for 6 weeks or longer at a time.
Their home is quite remote and it's water access only, so have a couple of open boats, and one enclosed boat for travelling in rough or cold weather. The couple says they sometimes have to wait more than a week for a weather window to make a safe trip away from the cabin.
In this video, we get a peek at their beautiful home and some insight into the systems, the work, and the challenges involved in living this way.
"Charlie and Ellen acknowledge and express our gratitude to all those people and businesses who are on the grid and provide supplies and services that help us maintain our ability to live out where we do, off-grid and in the wilderness. We are so fortunate to be where we are and we know we couldn’t do it without their support.”
A very special thank you to Charlie and Ellen for sharing their story with us, and to Lukáš for making the trip all the way out there to film them. You can see more of his work here:
/ lukashyrman
www.kashvideo.com/
Thanks for watching!
Mat & Danielle
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CREDITS
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Music & Song Credits:
All music in this video was composed, performed, and recorded by Mat of Exploring Alternatives.
Editing Credits:
Mat and Danielle of Exploring Alternatives
Filming Credits:
Lukáš Hyrman
/ kashframes
www.kashvideo.com/
#offgrid #floathome #floatinghouse