Sausalito, houseboat rentals off the beaten track
When Jack Kerouac, the godfather of the beat generation, hit the road from the East to the West, he knew there was something going on in San Francisco. He loved the buzz around ‘San Fran’ and was one of the first to writes about Sausalito in the late 40’s, just after the Second World War. A lot has changed ever since, but not the great atmosphere of this unique houseboat community in the San Francisco Bay Area.
As restless as Kerouac might have been, the houseboat community of Sausalito is just as relaxed as the countless water birds floating around. The artistic aspirations of the people living here and the artists that have visited this place can be felt in about every corner.
Acid for breakfast
Just to give you an example: one of the most iconic albums of the 20th century, 'Rumours' of Fleetwood Mac, was recorded here. Now that I think about it: how strange that the amazing song 'Albatross' was not recorded on this album... Anyway, in those days, the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, Sausalito had a giant attraction to the hippy scene all around the US and drugs were flowing abundantly. By now acid for breakfast is less likely then in those days, but the free spirit of that time has survived. And the good thing is that quite some of the houseboats in this area are available for travelers who like to rent a houseboat in Sausalito.
From warship to houseboat
The first houseboats of this floating bohemian paradise were ships that were actually built at this very same place during WWII when Sausalito was a shipyard of the US Navy. Some of the boats that never were shipped to the European front lines were used by the dockworkers and ship builders who needed cheap 'housing'. Later more artistic influences floated into this part of the San Francisco Bay Area. First the Beatnicks, later hippies and other people who just love the amazing, natural way of living on the water in one of the 400 houseboats floating around.
In this short introduction to the Sausalito houseboat life we have given a general impression of this unique piece of water life. In future articles we’ll be focusing on some of the most wonderful houseboats that are for rent in and around Sausalito.
View our houseboats in Sausalito