Pontoon Playhouse

I wrote a blog post late last year about a pontoon boat we found in the woods after we bought our house that I decided to make a playhouse out of.  We moved it during the Thanksgiving holiday last year using a tractor and truck as evidenced in this video. I finally got around to working on it this spring and finished it prior to 4th on the Farm this year which was my goal.  I still have a few things I want to add but the main part of it is done.  I am planning to make an upper deck lookout when the girls get a little older and I would like to add some musical components. 

I am pretty happy with how it turned out and it seems to be a big hit with our girls and all the other kids that have come to our house. It is funny how all this worked out with having a random pontoon boat and repurposing it into a playhouse. Several years ago, before we moved here, I had told Margo I really wanted to build our kids an interesting playground out of recycled stuff. I didn't want just a normal kit playground you buy at the store but wanted them to have something really cool, interesting, and almost artsy. Part of this idea stemmed from spending time at City Museum in St. Louis (which is one of the coolest places I have ever been) and from an episode of American Pickers where a guy had made a really cool building from recycled junk. I wanted my kids to have the coolest playset around. Fast forward a few years and I think I came pretty close. Even though it is not exactly what I had in mind when I originally thought of what a recycled/repurposed playset would be, it is really interesting and cool (not sure about artsy).

Here it is in the woods where we found it

Here it is getting put in place for being a playset.

This is after I had dismantled it and was working on removing the old decking.

This is after adding new decking and putting it back together. I framed the enclosed area, added windows, and was working on putting together the enclosed part and the swing arm. 

Here it is finished

Front view

Back and other side view.  It has two slides.

Deck view. I got the girls a couple adirondack chairs and built them a table and stools for inside.

Here are the girls enjoying the swings. Esther has recently learned to do flips on the trapeze bar. 

Enjoying the old boat swivel chairs I attached to the front.  

Kids enjoying it during 4th on the Farm

More 4th on the Farm fun.