History Main / HouseboatHero

* Travis [=McGee=], from the novels by John D. [=MacDonald=], lives on a houseboat called ''The Busted Flush'' (he won it in a poker game), parked in Slip F-18, Bahia Mar Marina, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The marina is real (although there hasn't been a Slip F-18 since their last renovation), and maintains a plaque dedicated to the hero and his chronicler.

-> '''[[Series/MacGyver1985 [=MacGimmick=]]]''' (''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' satire): Lots of famous detectives have lived on boats. Sonny Crockett from ''Series/MiamiVice'', B.L. Stryker, the team from ''Series/SimonAndSimon'' and even ''[[Series/QuincyME Quincy]]'' all lived on boats!
-> '''GirlOfTheWeek''': True, but none of them ever converted their boat into a treehouse!

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* The Commodore in the 1980 ''Film/{{Popeye}}'' lived on a boat.
** Well, it ''is'' about sailors.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In Creator/JasperFforde's ''Lost In A Good Book'', Literature/ThursdayNext moves into a house-''air''boat (or should that be flying houseboat?) at the end of the book.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* The early '60s detective series ''Series/{{Surfside 6}}'' had its heroes living on the title boat in Miami Beach (cha-cha-cha, CHA).

* ''Series/MiamiVice'' (Crockett had two boats, one for racing, one where he lived with his alligator).
* On ''Series/SimonAndSimon'' Rick lives on a boat parked in A.J.'s front yard.

* Duncan [=MacLeod=] in ''Series/{{Highlander}}: The Series'' lived off and on in one of these in Paris.
* Bobby from ''Series/{{Cougartown}}'' lives on a boat. A boat that never leaves the parking lot.
** In the second season, Jules and the others move it to the marina to surprise Bobby. [[spoiler:It promptly sinks. They do fish it back out, leaving Bobby [[StatusQuoIsGod back where he started]].]]
** At the end of the season, Bobby [[spoiler:moves into an apartment and leaves the houseboat to a depressed Travis. In the third season, Travis moved to a dorm and Bobby is back on the boat.]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* In the first season of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender,'' Zuko lives on a small, crappy warship. Also more of an example of Houseboat Villain than HouseboatHero.
* "Hero" is questionable, but in ''The Little Wise Hen'', the very first WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck shorts, he lived on a houseboat. Fittingly, since he was more of an actual duck back then, so you'd think he'd live close to water.
** His house at the Ride/DisneyThemeParks is a boat, called the Miss Daisy, which was carried over into the ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseWorks'' shorts.

* Once, ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' moved to Terror Lake as part of a WitnessProtection deal in which they became The Thompsons.
--> '''Homer''': "Oh, come on, Marge. You've always wanted a house by the lake. And besides, if you don't like your neighbors, you just lift anchor and sail away!"
--> '''The Simpsons''': ''laughing''
--> ''All the other houseboats sail off as quickly as possible.''
** Chief Wiggum lives on one (The Big Queasy) in the ''Chief Wiggum, P.I.'' segment from ''The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase''.

* The protagonist CDR Mike Montgomery in the novel ''Literature/ScorpionInTheSea''. When he isn’t on the US Navy destroyer he is the captain of.
** The author of that book prefers this trope. The protagonist Jim Hall in another novel ''Literature/{{Darkside}}'' also lives on a houseboat.

-> '''[[Series/{{MacGyver}} [=MacGimmick=]]]''' (''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' satire): Lots of famous detectives have lived on boats. Sonny Crockett from ''Series/MiamiVice'', B.L. Stryker, the team from ''Series/SimonAndSimon'' and even ''[[Series/QuincyME Quincy]]'' all lived on boats!

* Travis [=McGee=], from the novels by John D. [=MacDonald=], lives on a houseboat called "The Busted Flush" (he won it in a poker game), Slip F-18, Bahia Mar, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The marina is real, and maintains a plaque dedicated to the hero and his chronicler.

* In ''Film/AssaultOnAQueen'', Mark Brittain and Linc Langley live on their fishing charter. When the owner the marina threatens to impound their boat for nonpayment of fees, Mark agrees to sign on to Rosa's expedition as diver.

* The protagonist CDR Mike Montgomery in the novel Literature/ScorpionInTheSea. When he isn’t on the US Navy destroyer he is the captain of.
** The author of that book prefers this trope. The protagonist Jim Hall in another novel Literature/{{Darkside}} also lives on a houseboat.

Straightforward trope -- the hero is that much cooler because he not only ''has'' a CoolBoat, he actually ''lives'' on it (in theory, the hero could live on an uncool houseboat, except that houseboats are almost inherently cool), making it, at the same time, a CoolHouse. This may be symbolic of the hero's cool detachment from things (or his being AllergicToRoutine), since he could (in theory at least) just raise anchor and move his whole life away whenever he wishes. Doesn't apply to people who live on a boat which serves as the home base for dozens or hundreds of occupants, or to those who just ''work'' on a boat owned by someone else, even if that's where they spend their nights (in a navy, as a pirate, on a cruise ship).

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''

In RealLife, houseboats are typically mobile homes on pontoons, and are as close to CoolBoat as TheAllegedCar is to CoolCar. Some works with {{Loser Protagonist}}s will have the hero live on such a houseboat to highlight their [[LonersAreFreaks lack of]] [[NoSocialSkills social skills]].

* ''Series/{{Harrow}}'' lives on his sailboat anchored in Brisbane harbour.

* ''Series/MacGyver'' lived on a houseboat for several seasons.

* Creator/JohnWayne in ''Film/McQ''.

-> '''[[Series/{{MacGyver}} [=MacGimmick=]]]''' (''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' satire): Lots of famous detectives have lived on boats. Sonny Crockett from ''Series/MiamiVice'', B.L. Stryker, the team from ''Series/SimonAndSimon'' and even ''[[Series/{{Quincy}} Quincy]]'' all lived on boats!

* ''Series/{{Quincy}}'' lived on a boat, until the episode "Quincy's Wedding, Part 2" [[spoiler: when he arranged to sell it, because his fiancee and soon-to-be-wife Emily didn't want to live on it. ]]

--> '''[[Series/{{MacGyver}} [=MacGimmick=]]]''' (''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' satire): Lots of famous detectives have lived on boats. Sonny Crockett from ''Series/MiamiVice'', B.L. Stryker, the team from ''Series/SimonAndSimon'' and even ''[[Series/{{Quincy}} Quincy]]'' all lived on boats!
--> '''GirlOfTheWeek''': True, but none of them ever converted their boat into a treehouse!

* In JimButcher's Literature/TheDresdenFiles novel ''Literature/{{Changes}}'', Harry is living on a houseboat at the end after his apartment is burned out. [[spoiler:Briefly. Then after he's revived he moves into a shack on a hidden island.]]

* In JimButcher's Literature/TheDresdenFiles novel ''Literature/{{Changes}}'', Harry is living on a houseboat at the end. [[spoiler:Briefly.]]

* "Hero" is questionable, but in ''The Little Wise Hen'', one of the very first DonaldDuck shorts, he lived on a houseboat. Fittingly, since he was more of an actual duck back then, so you'd think he'd live close to water.

Straightforward trope -- the hero is that much cooler because he not only ''has'' a CoolBoat, he actually ''lives'' on it (in theory, the hero could live on an uncool houseboat, except that houseboats are almost inherently cool), making it, at the same time, a CoolHouse. This may be symbolic of the hero's cool detachment from things, since he could (in theory at least) just raise anchor and move his whole life away whenever he wishes. Doesn't apply to people who live on a boat which serves as the home base for dozens or hundreds of occupants, or to those who just ''work'' on a boat owned by someone else, even if that's where they spend their nights (in a navy, as a pirate, on a cruise ship).

* Riggs, in at least one of the ''Film/LethalWeapon'' movies.

* ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden V}}'' has the Oboro Detective Agency, whose members live together on a small boat as both coworkers and surrogate family. This lets them pick up and go whenever they want; if the player isn't careful, this can lead to them being LostForever, courtesy of them leaving before the Prince can convince them to join his cause.

* Shane Falco in ''Film/TheReplacements'' ("See that yacht over there with the satellite dish? Mine's the one next to it covered in pigeon crap.")

* JohnWayne in ''Film/McQ''.

* A pretty popular ''{{Archie}}'' story involves one. Archie and Betty find a girl in a swamp, and take her to their friend, an old captain living in a houseboat. The girl is revealed to be an heiress, but her uncle is trying to kill her. Archie and his friends set a trap for him, luring him to the boat, planning on jumping him when he opens the door. However, the uncle decides instead to cut the lines, sending them down toward the InevitableWaterfall. [[spoiler:Of course, the gang had planned for this, and there was a cable that kept the boat from drifting ''too'' far down. Makes you wonder why the captain lived so close to a waterfall...]]