Moorage & float systems atlas.

Owned moorage means the slip travels with the residence as part of what you purchase — outright ownership of the berth or a deeded share of the dock. It is the arrangement that finances and resells most like ordinary real estate, and it is also the scarcest on Seattle's floating-home waters. When a listing says the moorage is owned, read the documents that prove it: how the dock is titled, what dues still apply for shared infrastructure, and what happens if the co-owners later rebuild the pier.

What to verify: Title or share documents that specifically convey the slip or dock interest; Any shared-dock dues, reserve expectations, and rebuild obligations; Transfer rules if the home sells separately from a larger dock co-ownership.

Related: Owned moorage, defined · Moorage on the specialty page · Eastlake & Lake Union docks

Co-op (and some condo-style) moorage gives you an ownership interest in the moorage community rather than a simple landlord lease. Buyers often prefer it for long-term control of the slip and a clearer voice in dock rules, reserves, and maintenance. The tradeoff is association paperwork: bylaws, dues, transfer approval, rental rules, and reserve health matter as much as the float under the home. Price often reflects that stability — which is why the co-op file belongs in the same folder as the dive report.

What to verify: Bylaws, rules, and any board approval required to transfer the share; Current dues, special assessments, and reserve study or reserve narrative; Liveaboard, guest, pet, and alteration rules that travel with the slip.

Related: Co-op moorage, defined · Floating FAQs · Westlake moorages

Leased (rental) moorage is common and workable — but it is a contract with a marina or dock owner, not land under your feet. Term length, renewal options, fee escalation, liveaboard permission, and what happens if the dock is sold or redeveloped are the deal. A beautiful home on a short, non-renewable, or restrictive lease is a different purchase than the same home on a long, assignable lease with predictable dues. Have the lease read with the same care you'd give a land lease.

What to verify: Remaining term, renewal options, and whether the lease is assignable on sale; Fee schedule, escalation language, and what utilities are included; Liveaboard status, use restrictions, and termination / relocation clauses.

Related: Leased moorage, defined · Portage Bay docks · Wallingford & Northlake

Shore power is electricity delivered from the dock pedestal through a marine-rated connection into the home or FOWR. On the water, tidy labeling, ground-fault protection, and corrosion control are not niceties — they are safety. Inspectors and surveyors look hard at the pedestal area because electricity beside water gets zero benefit of the doubt. Houseboats may add battery banks and bilge circuits; floating homes still depend on a clean, code-sensible shore connection for daily life.

What to verify: Condition of the pedestal, cord, and inlet — corrosion, heat damage, makeshift repairs; GFCI / ground-fault protection where today's standards expect it; Records for any electrical work on the dock side or aboard.

Related: Shore power, defined · Shore power in the home-systems diagram · Floating inspection checklist

Most true floating homes hard-connect to city sewer through community flex lines and pumps. Floating-on-water residence houseboats (FOWR) typically carry marine toilets and blackwater tanks that need regular pump-out. Mixing those mental models is how buyers misunderstand monthly life and inspection scope. Smell, slow drains, and missing pump-out records are data — ask how waste actually leaves, who maintains the community gear, and what the schedule looks like in practice.

What to verify: Whether the home is hard-connected to sewer or relies on a holding tank; Community pump / flex-line maintenance responsibility and history; Pump-out records and tank condition on floating-on-water residence houseboats.

Related: Pump-out, defined · Sewage in the home-systems diagram · Floating home vs houseboat

Seattle floats range from historic log assemblies (often with added flotation over time) to sealed concrete and other modern systems. Material alone does not decide quality — condition does — which is why the dive report exists. Re-flotation or major float repair is the marine equivalent of foundation work: it moves price, insurance comfort, and buyer confidence. Sellers who can produce a recent dive report answer the biggest underwater question before it's asked.

What to verify: Float type and any history of added flotation or major repair; A current dive report reading logs/concrete, stringers, and hardware; How level the home sits and whether freeboard looks consistent over time.

Related: Float, defined · Dive report, defined · Float system in the home-systems diagram

Freeboard is the visible margin between the water and the deck edge. Consistent freeboard over seasons is quiet evidence a float is healthy; a home sitting unusually low, listing, or changing freeboard fast is a reason to slow down and get the dive team involved. Freeboard is not a lab measurement buyers take with a ruler on day one — it is a pattern you and your surveyor read in person and across any historical photos the seller can share.

What to verify: How the home sits today — level, list, unusually low edges; Any photo history that shows freeboard over time; Surveyor notes tying freeboard observations to float condition.

Related: Freeboard, defined · Floating inspection checklist · Lake Union Living resource hub