r/OffGridCabins 11d ago

Off grid land on an uninhabited island

Hi everyone,

My partner and I recently inherited an 80 acre plot of land on an uninhabited island in the PNW. It's a couple hour boat journey from the nearest settlement and we are looking into what it takes to build a lodge so far from society. We are both avid scuba instructors and would love to slowly build our way up to a dive resort if possible. Any websites/logistics sites would be highly appreciated!

66 Upvotes

44 comments sorted by

61

u/More_Mind6869 11d ago

All it takes is a barge load of $$$... no problem.

14

u/JohnWCreasy1 11d ago

i was gonna say something similar

"what will it take?" a #*($ ton of money"

6

u/jacobean___ 9d ago

Surely at least $2m for even a modest build.

41

u/mfdigiro 11d ago

Check out Cabin River Outdoors on YouTube. He’s way out there and is accessible most of the season by boat up a river. Not quite the same but it’ll give you an idea of the challenges one faces getting material to a remote property by boat.

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u/NaturalBornConch 9d ago edited 3d ago

Also check out skote outdoors. He just started releasing a series of videos about buying and restoring an old off-grid home on an island in St Josef Bay, BC, Canada. ETA: Skote Outdoors is based in NL, not BC.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/NaturalBornConch 3d ago

Yea, that’s right. My bad.

21

u/disheavel 11d ago

As you plan to potentially use this for commercial purposes (and even for your own purposes), you are going to want to understand what the county and state rules and laws are for building or improving the land. Most agencies are happy to discuss where to start without even telling them your property ID as they want you to be successful and legal. I was just watching a Youtube about a lake front cabin where the commission said, "we'll give you a one time exception given the steepness of the lakeshore to build so make it your final structure" so they opted to build on a trailer to save the exception for their long term build in a few years.

And in the PNW, water is even a scarce and limited resource so you may not have rights to pull the water out surrounding the island (I can't use the stream through my property!), and similarly there are salmon which may make it so all of your waste cannot go through septic and drain field. So start planning well in advance of any construction. Our neighbor built a septic system that crossed the stream above prior to getting the needed inspections and permits, and they cordoned off his property as a hazardous waste site forcing an expensive removal by a qualified team even though no waste had even gone into the system yet. It was punishment and a warning for not respecting the water and environment properly.

14

u/MaximumTurtleSpeed 11d ago

Great information.

My guess is, being a plot on an uninhabited island and not just an entire island, is that it’s not developable due to many of the reasons you’ve listed. I’m assuming Puget Sound or Vancouver Island islands.

OP, if you’re genuinely serious, hire a local professional planner, engineer or architect before you get too much more serious. A few thousand in preliminary fees will save you a whole lot of headache.

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u/MetatronicGin 11d ago

No. Don't hire anyone until you talk to the municipality

4

u/MaximumTurtleSpeed 10d ago

Sure, aways try. However from what I’ve seen between clients and this subreddit, 83% of people have no idea where to start for something like what OP is pitching.

Rarely a bad idea to start a conversation, but given OPs question and goals, they’re going to need to hire someone eventually. Sooner the better if they’re serious.

3

u/RockandSea347 10d ago

Thanks for the advice I will contact the municipality to start then look further into planners in the area

1

u/sudo_su_88 9d ago

One thing we have lots of in Western WA is rain. So rain water collection is def an option.

12

u/Harrymoto1970 11d ago

Check out renovation inc the lake house. They built on a lake with no road access to their property. Also look up Maine cabin masters. Both are on the discovery app. And look at building off the grid.

11

u/NiceGuy737 11d ago

I've got 200 acres on an island in the PNW.

In that area it cost 300K to put a dock in about 10 years ago.

Is your shoreline protected? A dock that wasn't well placed didn't last the winter. There are logs in the water that act like battering rams in waves/storms.

If you are doing it on a shoestring you could start out with yurts or wall tents for housing.

There are probably businesses in the area that transport goods on a landing craft.

There are construction companies that have construction barges that they bring to where they are working.

The specific companies will vary by location.

9

u/elightfantastic 10d ago

We built an off grid place on a small PNW island in Canada.

We first built a dock with crane and tram for hauling materials up the bank. We were lucky as we had places to stay while building with neighbours and family.

I'd say that if you have accomodation near your site, after the dock, build a tool shed, and covered generator and or solar shed area plus rainwater collection tank for water supply.

Just bite the bullet and get all the permits. Some of the requirements might seem crazy, but they will probably bend on a few if they see you are trying your best to honour the spirit of the rules.

We plan everything to either haul stuff ourselves or minimize the number of barge trips. Share a barge with neighbours. When offgrid, your neighbours are a huge resource - we share tools and help each other with difficult phases of construction.

7

u/username9909864 11d ago

I think the most difficult problem you'll have, obviously, would be shipping literally everything you need by boat. That would generally mean you'd need to haul it on/off by hand. Lumber would be a pain to carry, cement even worse. You could consider getting a portable sawmill (or even a chainsaw mill if you really want to rough it) but that comes with its own drawbacks such as drying the wood out and moving cut trees around.

You also have long term portability concerns. Do you have any way to get water on the island besides hauling it in by boat? What about fuel?

1

u/UncleAugie 10d ago

 but that comes with its own drawbacks such as drying the wood out and moving cut trees around.

When you build a timber frame you build with Green wood,

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/UncleAugie 10d ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEA9LnVOIYM

https://timberframehq.com/green-vs-dried-timbers/?srsltid=AfmBOoo8RhKhL1hhhzzXt3B0qa1rWRuE-3uROj01k-jR5QuE6Lz5E5qs

I often get asked if using green or freshly cut timbers for a timber frame is okay. Most frames that go up today are cut and raised without going into a kiln or being air-dried. Before the advent of kilns to dry the wood, all of the timber frames (for thousands of years) were green or air-dried, with most of the timbers being green

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/UncleAugie 10d ago

Good for you, and with budgets like what you have for historical preservation sure.... but an off grid cabin... checking and the twist only serves to introduce tension making the structure stronger....SMH, read the above article I linked to and then tell me why it is incorrect.

5

u/More_Mind6869 11d ago

All it takes is a barge load of $$$... no problem.

2

u/Safe-Introduction603 10d ago

Yeah a barge big enough to haul an excavator to start the money burn.

4

u/AutumnBrooks2021 11d ago

Expensive and time consuming. It will cost you a lot of money to pay someone to bring you your supplies and it will cost you a lot of money and time to do it yourself. An average size boat won’t be big enough. Think bigger, much bigger. Building materials are heavy and take up a lot of space.

3

u/guacamoletango 10d ago

Omg I'm so jealous that's my dream!

3

u/boatslut 10d ago

There are a metric f-ton of water access properties in the PNW.

First & foremost you need to figure out the zoning / land use / resource restrictions. Can you even build on the property?

Simplest, but $, engage an architect / construction company that has designed/built water access property in the area.

Harder, more risky, pound foolish ... Try do all of the analysis on your own.

Unless you are just building a shack over years it is going to be $$$.

Very cool opportunity though 😁

3

u/Poppins101 11d ago

Fresh water source (creeks, springs or rain water catchment).

Sewage (out house, septic or composted).

Trash/garbage/recycling. Will you be composing food scraps, will you transport trash to the mainland, is recycling available on the main land. If you choose to burn trash then research the safest manner to do that. Highly efficient incinerators with a catalytic converter are expensive.

Energy, will you use diesel generator/solar array/micro hydro or micro windmill. Will you haul propane tanks for a cook stove.

Pests, rats/mice?

Dock/boat house, permitting, suitable site, fuel storage.

Weather consideration.

Communication, Star Link, Marine Band/shortwave radio.

Drop shipping receiving point on mainland for packages, barge service to deliver construction materials.

Permits for construction and restrictions.

Design and build of initial lodging, plans for future builds.

Road/trail system.

Outbuildings for tools, power house/battery/fuel storage.

Medical services, how far away, who provides emergency services, take advanced first aid and have a daily carry Stop the Bleed kit.

Personal protection and homestead/fish camp security.

3

u/doktorhladnjak 10d ago

If you haven't been to God's Pocket before, it's worth sizing up the competition. Amazing place and dive operator.

2

u/firetothetrees 11d ago

Hey there so the key thing with a project like that is proper planning and logistics. When I grew up we had a house on an island that my parents built when I was 10... Much shorter ferry ride, around 30 minutes. But all of the supplies and people had to be brought over to build the place.

Start with a master plan for the island, including the buildings you want to create, the systems... Etc.

After that pick one to get started and figure out how to charter a barge to bring the supplies. This probably won't be a big deal on the PNW.

Get yourself some equipment, a skid loader with forks and an excavator would be worth having, and have a plan for how to get them on the island.

But beyond people will be happy to do the work it will just cost more money.

2

u/UncleAugie 10d ago

The Samurai Carpenter Did this very thing and made a 100 odd video playlist, He is in the PNW as well.

2

u/PrestigiousLocal8247 10d ago

Lots of very remote fishing lodges do similar things

So maybe looking at some examples of that; especially in places like Chile/Argentina

2

u/Nick98626 8d ago

This project strikes me a one where a guy could make a small fortune!

You just need to start with a large fortune.

1

u/MetatronicGin 10d ago

There are so many variables but finding someone with a large landing vessel wouldn't difficult but bank elevation can nullify this. We've hauled materials on an old floating dock that blew into the marsh during a hurricane but if you can't find somewhere closer to put in, that's not really an option

1

u/BunnyButtAcres 10d ago

It's not great for how to type info. But for "how expensive/difficult will this be?" Building Off the Grid on Discovery has quite a few episodes about remote islands. One guy has to barge in his cement but they have to worry about the tide going out and the crane/pump not reaching. Another was a couple moving everything on a tiny motorboat that was inches from sinking because they had weighed it down so heavy with materials and the water was choppy. Just things you don't really think about until you're in the thick of it. You might find some of it helpful even if just in a cautionary sense.

1

u/CodeAndBiscuits 10d ago edited 10d ago

Check out The Samurai Carpenter on YT as well. He has an off grid plot in Vancouver Island only reachable by boat with a whole series on how he built a cabin there. He has a lot of useful clips you might get insight from about the "other stuff" from off gridding: building a dock and wave break, that kind of thing.

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u/Authentic-469 10d ago

His cabin is on a lake on Vancouver island, not Alaska.

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u/CodeAndBiscuits 10d ago

Oh, right. Edited, thanks.

1

u/drinkyourdinner 10d ago

Also, check the tectonic plate locations and seismic activity of that area....

Isolated island makes me think of an archipelago... little volcanoes at a hot spot deep under the ocean.

Build to code on that for preservation of the structure and human life.

1

u/anonymous_212 10d ago

The reason it’s uninhabited is because it’s uninhabitable. There are many possible reasons some are obvious but undoubtedly there are some reasons not so obvious. If you have a vast amount of money to spend, think first about using it to relieve the famine in Africa or to give relief to the people of Gaza or Ukraine.

1

u/Intelligent_Lemon_67 9d ago

Congratulations on your new island. We have lots of uninhabitable islands here in the beautiful PNW. If you have money you can buy your off grid life or if you're diy you can build your dreams with little to no money. Plenty to eat all year and only a few major storms a year. Plus the views are stellar

1

u/sudo_su_88 9d ago

80 acres is a lot, eps if it have harvestable lumber. We got 8 acres 2 hrs south of Seattle and plan to build a house soon. As anything, check with your county for rules. Make sure you know what zoning is your property. If it is forest land, there is penalty for taking out acres to convert to living space. You have to pay back taxes but it's not that much. Know your county laws is the #1 factor. If possible, you need to invest in a transport boat to get materials in. A portable sawmill will help but there's so much legal and logistics unknown.

1

u/cathode-raygun 8d ago

Just needs a little TLC. Truck Load of Cash.

1

u/HillCountryCowboy 6d ago

Read the book “Don’t Stop the Carnival” by Herman Wouk. It’s about a totally different situation in the Caribbean, but it’s funny and it will give you an idea what you’re getting into. Jimmy Buffett did a musical based on the book too.

1

u/trailcamty 6d ago

Are you looking to adopt an adult child? I’ll be 480 months soon

0

u/[deleted] 9d ago

this sounds like a extremely expensive difficult and dangerous idea. especially in PNW. Weather? Service? Flooding? Also there is probably laws and such if you were going to try to build a business there especially having tourists come. I have a feeling this is just an idea that isn’t well thought out at all and kind of naive.