The first job of a boathouse is to stop the weather’s damaging effects on the vessel beneath it. This canal-front project called for exactly that: a covered lift to keep the boat shaded and dry, wrapped in a structure comfortable enough to become the favorite spot on the property.
The challenge
A roofed structure standing in open water takes wind loads a ground-level building never sees. The boathouse had to be engineered to withstand the harsh winds of Florida’s tropical storms while keeping a clean, finished profile appropriate to a residential canal, and the decking around it had to stay comfortable and low-maintenance for daily barefoot use.
Our solution
The structure starts where all of ours do: at the foundation. Marine-treated pilings were driven to secure footing, sized to carry both the roof structure and the lift loads. Above the waterline, a hip roof shelters the lift bay, while composite decking surrounds the slip and steps down to a swim platform at the water’s edge.
The owners ended up with what a good boathouse should be — protection for the boat that reads as an extension of the home, not equipment parked behind it.
