The float home used as MacGyver's 'Houseboat' in the iconic 80's TV series has been given a new lease of life by its new owner Kevin Hill who purchased the 42 x 24 foot float home from it's previous owners in 2015. At that stage the house had undergone some significant renovations and was almost unrecognizable as the original 'MacGyver houseboat'.

As we can see from the above video Kevin has restored much of the bare wooden exterior of the house while also adding his own updates such as replacing the French and front door with sliding doors and fitting 2 large windows in the front wall of the house and along the wall we knew as the kitchen wall in the show. The upstairs windows on the corner of the house have also been increased in size, presumably to give the interior a much lighter and open feel.

As the camera follows Kevin around inside the house we see a cleaner minimalistic appearance and we hear him say that this represents a year of work.

Despite the term "Houseboat" being used in the show, the craft is actually designated as a float home due to it's lack of propulsion.


More pictures here

Back in the early 2000's, I was visiting family down in Guntersville, AL and a hotel chain was introducing "floating condos" on the Tennessee River. My mom and I got to tour one...it was NOTHING like Mac's, but more like a floating RV in size and layout. The one drawback was they were docked tight up against one another so while there were plenty of windows, most look right into your "neighbor's" condo. Also, being in the floating condos felt like you were on a boat so you really needed your "sea legs"! Anyway, I thought that was one of the coolest (and weirdest ideas). Obviously I have led a sheltered life. When I started watching MacGyver on METV this winter and saw and learned about his houseboat I thought it was a hoot that what I thought had been a cool discovery wasn't all that new!! Sorry, just had to share that connection.

If it hadn't been for MacGyver, I wouldn't have even known houseboats, or float homes, even existed.

It's really cool that the home got some TLC it deserves. I wonder if the new owner has any plans for it... like maybe renting it out? XD

I'd totally rent it out for like... a week. I mean, how cool would it be to stay there?

Glad he's kept it alive. Most places would have been demolished by now.

..... whatever floats your boat! I'm not really sharing the love for this place. It looks quite a bit different from the outside now and we know the inside was never the inside we came to know. A prop-ish figurehead. Still nice to know that it's been restored/preserved and will float about for another generation. Oh, the size is pretty impressive by the way 40' x 24', two levels and 1200 sq feet. Very comfie!

And visible in google maps.

I would know what to do with it though.

It still seems quite claustrophobic from that video.

It might just be the way it was filmed and angles etc but there doesn't seem to be any open spaces. It felt like it's all walls, doorways and furniture.

Yes the Macgyver Home was purchased and renovated. However some of the context is wrong from this posting. I am the owner of the Float Home, my partner and I purchased the home January 2015. We purchased the home and spent the last year and a half renovating the entire home. Unfortunately due to the age of the home being built in 1980s and being on the water, the entire home had to be gutted and stripped down to the bare bones. I will attach link of our renovated home we have it listed on AirBnB.

This post has been edited by agontes on 19 April 2017 - 01:26 PM

http://abnb.me/EVmg/EgZ8wyfWtC

Link to see the Macgyver home on AirBnB

Thank you so much for sharing this information with us agontes. Sounds like it was a difficult task to save this little home but your efforts are appreciated. Its great to know its still there, no matter how its changed, after all these years.

Thanks for sharing, agontes! I would so love to stay there! My folks and I rent a lake home for a week every summer and I love being able to lookout almost any window and see the water.

We had lived several years in Olympia, WA area and there were houseboats everywhere. Our dream has always been to have one. Like everything else, they require maintenance, but the fact that Mac had one just makes it all the more cool!

Well... it used to be on Airbnb... I wonder why it was removed. O_o

Well... it used to be on Airbnb... I wonder why it was removed. O_o

Zoe came by and cut it free again...

You never saw Sleepless in Seattle?

It still seems quite claustrophobic from that video.

It might just be the way it was filmed and angles etc but there doesn't seem to be any open spaces. It felt like it's all walls, doorways and furniture.

I know the interiors were a soundstage - is this a case of “it’s bigger on the inside”? Looks like the living room in the show is way bigger than the real thing inside!

You never saw Sleepless in Seattle?

Nope lol Not really my kind of movie.

When I was designing the house boat in Sims 4, it is smaller than you'd think. The biggest trip up was designing the upstairs because you don't really know where anything is in conjunction with the downstairs. I had to do a LOT of guessing. You can check out the video HERE.

You never saw Sleepless in Seattle?

Nope lol Not really my kind of movie.

When I was designing the house boat in Sims 4, it is smaller than you'd think. The biggest trip up was designing the upstairs because you don't really know where anything is in conjunction with the downstairs. I had to do a LOT of guessing. You can check out the video HERE.

I watched it! I think that's super cool. But wouldn't you say their soundstage interior had much more room to work with?

You're most likely right. I think it's two things... one, Mac doesn't have any walls downstairs and two, the living room doesn't have a ceiling. Not only is it all open, but that can give off the illusion of having more space, not to mention it would be a little bit brighter.

One thing is for sure... the original design doesn't really mesh well with the soundstage design. So I'm sure the specs are different to some degree. Plus, I'm pretty sure the second level had a vaulted ceiling. I will admit I did a lousy job on the roof. XD

It still seems quite claustrophobic from that video.

It might just be the way it was filmed and angles etc but there doesn't seem to be any open spaces. It felt like it's all walls, doorways and furniture.

I know the interiors were a soundstage - is this a case of “it’s bigger on the inside”? Looks like the living room in the show is way bigger than the real thing inside!

The photos here give you a better idea of what the place was like during the MacGyver years.

http://www.macgyveronline.com/pages/houseboat