Thorne Bay, Alaska 2013 – Float houses in Southeast Alaska dot the protected bays, as seen in this photograph. No one owns the water there, so there is no rent to be paid. Float house residents can park their vehicles at the top of the nearest city dock, often for free. A small skiff will get them to town, albeit the rain of the rainforest may drench them by the time they arrive at the dock. Some residents travel in survival suits when skiffing to the nearest town. You can take a larger boat or ferry to Ketchikan from Prince of Wales Island, though the Clarence Strait can be rough.

How do Alaska float homes stay floating in the bay?

Logs are tied underneath the structure and anchored below or to the nearby land. A dock lays across the top of the logs with a stick-built cabin, manufactured home, or trailer on top. Sewer typically drains directly into the water below if the owner did not install compost toilets. Rain runs off the rooftop and into large water tanks for future use. Generators provide power, meaning residents must haul fuel to power their generators and stoves. There are plenty of trees on shore to harvest for firewood. Never fear; they cut down the dead ones—most people don’t harvest live trees because they are too wet to burn. 

Do you see the logs tied together at the opening of the bay? They create a breakwater to reduce the movement of the float house in rough weather. They look similar to the boom barriers once used to secure logs for transport through the water in the timber industry. Can you imagine living on a float house in southeast Alaska? What a life these people live!