We Bought a $4K Boat To Turn Into a Tiny Home in Massachusetts—Now We’re Selling It for $140K

Jake Doggett, 26, was living in Seattle when he got the call. 

His childhood best friend, James Little, asked him if he wanted to head back to Massachusetts, where they both grew up, so they could start a building project together. 

Doggett had recently finished a travel truck build, which he documented on his YouTube Channel, Salvage to Scenic.

For Doggett, it was an easy yes.

The next question: “What should we build?”

After much back-and-forth, their shared love of boating and the ocean inspired them to build a houseboat—a larger endeavor than either anticipated. 

Building a floating tiny home

They found a 24-foot long pontoon boat for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Hanover, NH, and snatched it up for a cool $4,000.

By the fall of 2024, they started building. At first, they considered it just a passion project. 

“It was never intended for full-time use,” says Doggett, admitting they simply wanted a fun hangout for friends and family, especially on weekends. 

But no matter how long someone was to spend on the boat, given New England’s colder climate, it needed some updates to become inhabitable. 

They decided to add a wood stove, as well as insulate the houseboat for year-round use, and even install plumbing that wouldn’t freeze.

They initially estimated it “would take three months and $10,000” to bring the houseboat up to snuff. Both numbers were way off the mark, as it turns out.

They first realized they'd miscalculated their houseboat's displacement—essentially, how much weight it could support while floating— “when we could see the weight pressing on the trailer tires.” The pontoon boat was designed to float 5,000 pounds–which worked before they added thousands of pounds of housing materials.

“We scoured Facebook for a week or two, waiting for a cheap pontoon boat to be a donor boat,” Doggett says, adding that they eventually found one and removed its two pontoons to increase the buoyancy of their craft.

That wasn’t enough. 

So then they added dock floats, which typically rest below a floating dock to keep it bouyed, acting as a sort of “life preserver.” Due to their hard plastic interior and closed-cell foam interior, they could withstand any punctures, making the boat’s buoyancy more secure.

With the houseboat in floating shape, the next biggest challenge was adding the fixtures, like the cabinetry.

“Some things that seem like simple concepts require a tremendous amount of skill and precision,” he says.

Between Doggett working full time on the build and Little dividing his time between the project and a part-time job, it took a month along to build the kitchen cabinetry boxes, drawers, and doors.

Then came caulking the doors, windows, and joints, which turned out to be another trial by fire. 

All told, the pair finally completed the houseboat by October 2025. 

But instead of the build taking three months, it took a year. Instead of $10,000, it took $40,000. 

But then again, instead of building a small weekend getaway, they built a working houseboat with everything someone would need to call it home. It has a three-burner stove, a solar-powered fridge and freezer, a shower with a propane-powered heater, and a dining table that converts into a queen bed.

A home with a view

Once complete, the boat needed a new home—no small ask in Massachusetts.

“In places like Newburyport and Gloucester, it’s a long wait to get a mooring ball, sometimes 10, 20, or 30 years,” says Doggett. “We hadn’t thought to put our name on the mooring list as elementary school students.”

Luckily, they found a work-around in the town of Essex, which allows boaters to rent a mooring ball for $25 a night, or roughly $750 a month–which adds up quickly, especially if you’re not living full time on the vessel.

Doggett never wanted to call the boat home. The longest he stayed on it was five consecutive nights in July 2025, during which a summer storm with 40 mph winds blew in.

But the sunset the day after the storm was one he will never forget. 

“Sunsets on the water are so much longer,” he says. “There are three kinds of twilight: civil, nautical, and astronomical.”

On land, trees and other homes obscure the view of the sun and the horizon. On the ocean, it’s an uninterrupted, magical experience.

So far, his best day on the boat was July Fourth when he gathered his folks, his fiance and her parents, and together they were “grilling up burgers and jumping off the roof for a swim.”

It was a few months of the picturesque living he envisioned.

Then Little delivered the news. He was moving south to Florida to start a new job in the equestrian realm.

So, the pair decided to sell the boat. The houseboat is currently listed—where else—on Facebook Marketplace for $140,000.

Meanwhile, Doggett is ready to pick up the hammer and start building once more. He is debating between building another travel vehicle to allow himself and his finance to enjoy ski and hiking trips farther afield. They’re also thinking about buying land and building an off-grid home.

This time, though, he might give himself a little more time—and a much bigger budget.