The Tiny house Blog

Can you use a Tiny House as a Fishing Cabin on a budget?

Updated on:
June 9, 2023
Fishing cabin near water

The popularization of mobile, tiny homes opened up new doors of opportunity for people that want to lead a simpler life, or simply enjoy a weekend closer to nature. If you’re an avid fisherman living in an urban area, owning a tiny house and remodeling it into a fishing cabin might be something worth considering.

Today we’ll talk about the benefits, as well as guide you through the steps of such a venture, starting with the former:

What Benefits Does a Tiny Fishing Cabin Bring?

First of all, it disables the time limit on your fishing adventures. The vast majority of fishermen are hobbyists who work day jobs to support their outdoor trips to the local rivers or lakes.

Unless you already live in the vicinity of your usual fishing spots, you’ll probably need at least a couple of hours to reach them and get back home. Given that the traffic can add a couple of more hours, an average fishing trip offers a couple of hours of fun at best.

Having a tiny fishing cabin to rest and restock eliminates the need to spend nights in motels, as you’ll always have a place to lay your head. The ability to set up a fishing cabin wherever you want also means that you can do so as close to your typical fishing locations.

Furthermore, said trips require money, most notably for gas/fuel. Your favorite hobby is becoming increasingly expensive, as the prices of gas have skyrocketed in recent months. Owning a cabin will allow you to cut costs of returning trips basically in half.

Architectural Design

You have unlimited options at your disposal when setting up your tiny house as a fishing cabin. Should you want to, you can simply set up a few beams to support a roof over your head, effectively making it a shelter against rain and wind.

If you have the time and resources, you can practically make a new home where you can live and prepare for your future fishing trips.

Remodeling a Tiny Home into a Fishing Cabin

Redesigning your tiny home into a fishing cabin is the easier of the two solutions. Strip away whichever facilities you feel are unnecessary, make a switch towards more analog devices, and keep things simple. You may not need electricity, as even basic maintenance costs, and you can make your fishing trips less expensive by building an outhouse and bringing packs of bottled water.

Bare-Bones Design

If you’ve just bought a piece of land on which you intend to build a tiny home/fishing cabin, setting up the foundation, support beams, and basic flooring should be your top priority. Load planks, screws, bolts, and hand tools in your car, and slowly start from scratch.

Fishing Cabin Facilities

Regardless of the architectural type, all tiny homes should have the basic home facilities, such as a sink with tap water, a toilet (although even an outhouse would do), a space for sleeping, and a small kitchen:

Do You Need Electricity?

Introducing electricity is optional for fishing cabins, so it’s typically smarter to simply bring a power generator that can supplement your electrical devices (radio, smartphone, and such). Fortunately, every electricity-based problem has a convenient workaround in a tiny home:

·   If you need light above your head to clean your catch, use a battery-powered headlamp

·   Use a French press or a coffee percolator to make your morning coffee without electricity

·   Use manual tools to process food and groceries you’ve bought from home, effectively eliminating the need for a fridge

·   A small fireplace will keep your fishing cabin bright and hot enough during wintertime

·   Use battery or gas-powered stoves to roast and eat your catch

Plumbing System Versus Bottled Water

You’ll need to install a rainwater tank for your plumbing system, which is arguably the most demanding task on the list. Should you find it too complex or too expensive, the alternative is to bring bottles of freshwater for your every trip, which may be slightly pricier, but more convenient in the long run.

Storage Space for Fishing Gear

Ideally, you should stock up your tiny fishing cabin with the basic fishing gear, such as leaders & lines (especially braided line), hooks, lures, and various accessories. For the sake of security and unless you’re actually intending to live in your fishing cabin, always keep your rods at home.

You may want to bring a foldable chair and either buy or make a small desk, on which you will set up your lures and lines, prepare your rods, and organize your supplies. This can be done in an empty room as well, at the expense of comfort.

Sleeping Space

A cozy fishing cabin requires an actual bed, but for the time being, you can use mats and rugs for more comfortable flooring, and a sleeping bag.

If you’ve prioritized setting up a fireplace, you can simply sleep in front of it to keep warm; this is a good solution until you install a proper heating system. In that regard, any area in your fishing cabin effectively becomes your ‘sleeping space’, leaving you with more room to work on essential facilities.

Lighting

A flashlight or headlamp will help you in a pickle, but you shouldn’t actively rely on these tools for all-day lighting purposes.

Hand-crank lanterns and mechanical flashlights, on another hand, are far more sustainable. Candles and regular lanterns are also great options for supplementing your mechanically powered lighting tools.

MREs and Nonperishable Food

There are days when fish won’t bite, and if you don’t have a functioning fridge filled with fresh food, you may want to stock up on meals ready to eat (MREs), as well as other nonperishable foods.

You may need to be ready to live off the land if the weather traps you into your Tiny home.

Every fishing cabin should have at least one cupboard full of ramen noodles, beans, jerky, soups, and such. Dried fruits or protein bars are just some of the foods you should always have readily available, to keep you sated before you make it back to your cabin.

Conclusion

Whether you’re building or remodeling a tiny home into a fishing cabin, there’s a lot of work to be done. However, treat every project as an opportunity to improve the quality of your fishing experience, and you’ll have it ready in no time. We hope that our guide has helped you create your dream fishing resort and wish you a bountiful catch. Make sure you are staying safe in these times we are all going through and have a good one, guys!

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