Looks kool but I've got a few questions. I didn't see a motor on the house boat so how do you move it? If it's got a motor how fast does it go and what kind of range? Does it come with a crew for say cooking meals and a capt or guide ? Also diving ? What about tanks do you supply them or Have a contact to rent them? Does the cabin have fans to move the air around and how big is cabin.
Hi steveandpenny, thanks for your comments and questions.
Apologies for the rather late reply, I've been a bit busy over the past few days as I've just started work.
We've had a few tests with the houseboat and found that in big waves if we were using a boat pushing the houseboat the boat that was pushing would collide with the houseboat and could easily damage the boat and the houseboat.
We also tried pulling the houseboat but found that in big waves if the boat wanted to turn it was unable to because of the weight of the houseboat.
So then we thought that motors would have to be attached to the back of the houseboat but were worried that vibrations would be too great making things uncomfortable for people on the houseboat and also putting unnecessary stress on the propeller shaft. (I'm not very technical but that was what I was told).
So, eventually we have decided to use a boat to push the houseboat but we have attached two posts (to the back of the houseboat) with a cable between that is used to keep the boat apart from the houseboat, basically the boat pushes the cable. The boat pushing the houseboat has two longtail engines. Forgive me if that's the incorrect term. In the Togians they are called katintings.
I hope that answers the question about how we move it but please let me know if you don't understand because I realise it's probably not a very good explanation, I just can't think what a katinting would be called in English !
Obviously it doesn't move very fast but we prefer it that way anyway. From Wakai to Kadidiri we took about 2 hours (but deliberately going at a gentle pace) whereas a katinting would take about 45 minutes and a speedboat would take about 20 minutes. I'm not sure about the distance but I've tried measuring it a map and I'd guess Wakai to Kadidiri is about 8 Km's.
At a steady pace and visiting different beaches, snorkelling spots, a stingless jellyfish lake (one of only 3 or 4 in the world depending on which article you read) it should take about 5 days to a week to get as far as Malenge which I reckon is about 30-35 Km's.
Because of a few places that would be dangerous to take the houseboat we provide staff that are multi-talented. They have worked with boats for many years so know how to take engines apart (and put them back together again which is even more important) and know the area well which is important to avoid the houseboat being grounded on rocks in shallow areas. They also know the local weather conditions which is also vital because the weather can change very quickly in the Togians. They have worked in the islands at various resorts so can act as guides and are used to cooking for tourists, know how to fish and can help other people interested in fishing. They can also play guitar and at least one of them can speak pretty good English.
We don't have diving equipment mainly because of the cost of the compressor but also because of the weight of all the equipment needed but we can arrange diving with at least two different resorts on different islands (Kadidiri ) and we can possibly arrange diving with a friend who is a Padi instructor who is starting up his own business but this would depend on his whereabouts and availability and cannot be guaranteed.
The room is 3 metres x 5 metres and the raft is 7 metres x 9 metres so there is roughly 2 metres of terrace on each side of the room. There are four single beds and one double bed. One of the single beds can be folded up against the wall if not in use and 2 further single beds arranged as a bunk bed can also be folded up against the wall. The fourth single bed can be opened to allow a couple of rucksacks to be stored out of the way. There are also 6 safety deposit boxes (admittedly wooden, not metal) hidden in the fourth bed so that in the unlikely event that anyone tries to steal anything, passports and money are not in full view.
As far as I'm aware, none of the resorts in the Togians provide safety deposit boxes except for us but I stand to be corrected if any of the resorts have recently introduced them.
There are no fans to move air around but there are plenty of windows that could be opened and actually being on the sea means that there is normally some kind of sea breeze.
I hope this answers your questions but please feel free to ask for clarification, ask further questions or recommend to your friends
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