Mobile Home Takes To The Water To Reach New Plot Of Land

A Newfoundland couple have given new meaning to the term "floating home" after pushing their two-storey house into the salty water of the Bay of Islands to move it to their new property.

The impressive effort that involved moving the finished house a kilometre down the north shore of the bay on Thanksgiving Monday took about eight hours, and half a dozen boats.

According to owner Daniele Penney who organised the house moving with her boyfriend Kirk Lovell it also took a lot of nerves and "nailbiting".

She watched the operation from dryland in the tiny rural community of McIvers on the west coast of Newfoundland and at one point the house started to slip into the water and the boat pushing it broke down, but then other boats rushed over to join in and they managed to stabilise it.

Impressive aerial footage shows the incredible scene as the house is being towed and pushed across the water towards the place where it is finally to be located, with two huge mechanical diggers waiting at the water's edge to help to pull it ashore.

Once it arrives, it is then pulled by the diggers up the slope on a trailer and slowly edged into place as can be seen in the second video.

And the third and final video shows the dream home with an amazing view over the bay in the background being carefully pulled into its final position.

Daniele said that the massive operation took place because she had always admired the house which was a two-storey property but located on a different plot of land, and she had been shocked when she heard that the owner was planning to redevelop the plot and pull the house down.

She and her boyfriend then decided to try and move it to their own plot of land alongside the water but it was not possible to move it over the land because of all the obstacles in the way, including high-voltage power lines.

They were inspired to try the water effort that involved strapping barrels to the bottom of the house by the fact that houses in the past when the road network was less sophisticated had often been moved in this way - floating them across water.

The trailer that was then used to pull it ashore was already fitted to the bottom of the house when it went into the water and that was held up by tyres.

The house came with fixtures and fittings much of which ended up filled with water as a result of the move but they are hoping that the property will soon dry out, helped by holes that were dug in the bottom for quick drainage.

The final touches are now being put to the property and while they wait they are living in a mobile home.

The couple said that it would probably have been cheaper to build a new one but it was great to be part of recreating a bit of history and it was a memory they would never forget and always treasure.

Keith Goodyear/NF/James King