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UPDATE: What are your thoughts on the use of floating accommodations on Ontario's waterways?

Since April of last year,  Joe Nimens and his girlfriend, Erin Morano, have been living full-time on a floating shipping container vessel of his own making on the Trent-Severn Waterway. 

It’s always been his dream to live on the water, says Nimens. He had been workshopping the concept for some time until he finally took the plunge two years ago and started building.

Nimens had more experience working with steel rather than wood, so he chose to build his vessel from shipping containers.

They bought six containers all together and have since sold one. Two containers make up a portion of their home and two more function as their workshop and garage and float along with them.

The last container is a floating shell that is ready to be sold to someone interested in doing something similar to the couple, said Nimens. 

The structure, which he said cost between $300,000 and $400,000, is equipped with a full kitchen, washroom, and fireplace which are all powered by solar panels.

Nimens quit the work he was doing, and the couple sold their individual homes to live full-time in their container home.

“And we've been living on the water and kind of cruising around Gloucester Pool and Little Lake, sort of one chunk of the Trent-Severn Waterway ever since,” said Nimens.

A small square push boat Nimens built navigates them along the waterway at four miles per hour. 

He made sure the structure was built so that it could be left in the water and forgotten about, as the lake froze over.

“Our house is currently frozen into the lake at the marina where we originally built it last year and so far, so good.”

Nimens currently pays a fee to the Severn Marina in Port Severn to reside there over the winter which includes electricity. They will be departing as soon as the ice allows it, says Nimens. 

After gaining some interest in his creation, Nimens decided to turn his project into a business, Live Outside the Box (LOTB), which offers the units for sale starting from $100,000.

The Township of Georgian Bay released a statement on March 4 regarding floating structures after hearing the concerns of residents for the past few months.

Using a floating structure as a dwelling unit is an "illegal use" per the township of Georgian Bay zoning bylaws, reads the statement.

The township explains it has been working with multiple partner agencies to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations and bylaws, as well as determining the most appropriate enforcement actions in the matter.

Mayor Peter Koetsier says that one of the challenges lies with who has appropriate authority over the structure and its location. 

Acting Chief Administrative Officer Julie Bouthillette explains the township is taking an educational approach and informing the public that this is not acceptable.

“This is not a done deal. We're working with lawyers and the other levels of government to figure out how to deal with that,” said Bouthillette.

Nimens acknowledges the statement but says that he believes he and his partner are not breaking any rules.

“It's not a floating dwelling unit, it's a vessel,” said Nimens.

Transportation Canada has defined the floating container unit as a vessel as per Canada’s Shipping Act 2007.

Nimens notes that shipping containers have presented more of a challenge to work with than originally anticipated and has shifted gears.

“We've got a really great architect guy that we've been working with, and he's come up with two models that are what we are going to be selling in the near future.”

The planned models are a lot more architecturally pleasing, explains Nimens.

“We had to start somewhere, and we had to build something that worked. Basically, our house is the prototype, and it doesn't look normal and tidy yet, but it functions.”

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: This newspaper wanted to highlight the issue surrounding floating containers as it's been a hot topic in the township that expands beyond to federal and  provincial levels. 

Correction – March 22, 2022: This article has been edited from a previous version to to say that it has been updated to reflect the fact that Mr. Nimens does not hold a licence from the Professional Engineers of Ontario.

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