Could Those Be The BCMC Movable Cabins at Squamish Climbers's Parking?

I saw those movable cabins next to the Smoke Bluffs Parking last Saturday (Mar 23,2013).

I went and asked the owner of the lot. The silver movable cabins are just stored there.

But the beige Trailer-Cabin is empty and might be available. He was interested and thinks about that option.

It was a landscaper's company-office before. 'Has a portch.

Would that be cool? You never know how things may develop.

What do you think: Should the BCMC look for a cabin (any sort of place) in-around Squamish?

---This was discussed at the executive level last year----

It could be something movable like in the pictures..no ownership of land needed:

-A sturdy Yurt at a campground - A cabin on a pontoon - an old Okanagan Houseboat - a transformed School Bus - A Caboose -

- or a movable cabin(s) like those below.....on leased land or on some government land?

- Could even develop into a steady income stream for the BCMC at Canada's Outdoor Capital!!

What do you think?

Movable Cabins next to Climbers Campground in Squamish/Smoke Bluffs. - empty and kind of available!!

Maybe ask the local Squamish campgrounds how much it would cost to have such a trailer placed on their property for the summer (or year round).  The idea being that BCMC members could use it as a member-only kitchen area while camping in the campground.  I presume a sturdy 4-burner propane stove and 3/4 size electric fridge could be added to the trailer.

That sounds pretty neat, Werner. I'm still supportive of a BCMC club house in the Squamish area. It will take some creativity as the plain-Jane approach of buying a lot and building a club house is obviously out of reach. My thoughts on a club house is that it should be accessible by car (or within a few hundred meters), provide some cooking facility, provide some shelter for at least a few people to stay overnight in case of bad weather, and provide the option to camp nearby. I could see the club house being used in both summer and winter.

Ok, I am going to step forward and play devil advocate here.

So just to confirm the intent, we are considering acquiring a location to facilitate rock climbing in Squamish?  Squamish is about a 40 minute drive from the church.

Location, personally I don't see it being located anywhere except for private property that is suitably zoned for occupancy of a temporary structure (ie trailer park).  I can't see BC Parks allowing a semi-permanent structure to be set up in a camping spot on an ongoing basis and private camp grounds probably are not zoned to allow the set-up and occupancy of semi permanent structures in a camp ground.  It would have to comply with Squamish zoning and building requirements.

Purchase cost, just a guess, but the structure pictured is probably worth 40 to 60k.  Additionally relocation costs, depending on how far it gets move but something close would probably be under 1k.  It takes a specialized tractor to move these and it would probably require an over width permit to travel on the roads.

Renovations, if cooking is going to be done in such a structure, it is probably going to have to be renovated because most structures such as this are built with the intent of being used as a temporary office.  Such renovations are going to have to meet both building and health codes.  Just a guess, but say an easy 5 to 10k for a non-residential kitchen setup by the time you hire a contractor and buy equipment such as appliance and stainless steel counters etc.

Utilities, services are going to have to be arranged where it is set up which will generally incur further connection/hookup costs.

Toilet facilities will probably have to be arranged, depending upon location.  Possibly monthly portable toilet rentals or services connection if it is equipped with a bathroom and services are available, or more renovations.

Maintenance/damages and vandalism, if it is going to go in an urban location it will get broken into and vandalized.  It is only a matter of how often and how bad.

Check out some (house) boats the BCMC can buy for our own BCMC Club-Place in Squamish for less than a cabin would cost. The club can even generate some INCOME with it in a popular area like Squamish - just like the ACC does with some of their huts in the Rockies. Nowadays you can buy boats for 30 to 50cents on the dollar - just look for  "Depressed Sales". - There are plenty of it, especially if one has time -

I spoke to a professional marine broker for advice if the BCMC could buy a used houseboat for Squamish. His answer was:

1. Definitely possible for 10-20-25 grand. The boat market is absolutely down - It is a complete sellers market since 2008-9. We just have to look for "Depressed Sales".

2. As far as he remembered, there is/was a 40 ft boat in Richmond , sold by the Bailiff via Craigs List: "The first who offers 10 grand gets the boat"

3. There are many boat owners in these (difficult economic) times who must sell their boats (the first thing to go) because they need the money for their struggling business, because they get divorced, because they must downsize and relocate...many reasons why people MUST sell their boat now.

4. It happens now more often than not that boats sell with discounts of 30 - 50% of listed price!!!

5. Morage in Squamish - the Outdoor Capital of Canada-  is cheap.

6. We should make an offer at 50% off and see what happens - If the seller needs the money (many do), we drive away with the boat.

This is basically what the Marine Broker told me.

So - no need to spend $60-70 K or sign a mortgage for a place in downtown Squamish - there are options available to the BCMC.

But we need to be creative - determined and tenacious.

Below is a boat currently for sale in Squamish listed at $20 grand - we may get it for 10-12-15 grands?

Below is another boat in Seychelt - a 45ft LiveAboard for 30 grand - make an offer for 15-20 K?

Below is another boat for Sale in the Okanagan. 41 ft for 20 grand - make an offer for 10-12 grand

Below is a Ponton (without the Cabin) for sale in the Okanagan for $4750 - get it for 2-3 grand and build our own cabin on top!

- All those boats sleep 10-12 persons. We need a boat/pontoon of about 40ft.

- The BCMC can do it easily / the money is there, just check our financials.

All we need is determination and a CANDO attitude - not the opposite.

But the million dollar question is are we a sailing club, rock climbing club or mountaineering club?

Shouldn't this be put to the membership, how the club is going to spend its money?

Wouldn't the money be better spent on constructing another backcountry hut that could be used year around

It sound cool, but I'm not quite clear what the use case for something like this is. I live almost 2hrs from Squamish, so I would love to have a cabin to stay in instead of camping, but I probably wouldn't use it much if it was just for cooking. Other members probably have different ideas of what would be useful to them though.

Also, I wouldn't have the first idea of what is involved in ferrying a boat to a dock or making sure it's well maintained.

How about a yurt?  More rustic than a mobile home, but I consider that to be a good thing.  More portable too.  If we built different platforms in different places the yurt could be moved around from time to time to keep things less boring.  Frontcountry and backcountry sites would be possible.

http://www.yurts.com/

Their biggest yurt is 30 feet in diameter.

I'd like to contribute some can-do thinking: if we had something that floats, the BCMC might be able to explore or develop that rock on the other side of Howe Sound--you know, the stuff that you've all probably looked at one time or another, but couldn't go to, because there's no bridge across the Squamish River?  There's a lot of untouched rock over there.

Wouldn't this be a good solution for a 'BCMC Club House in Squamish? - Check it out!

This caboose is already in Squamish at the Rail Yard :-) We could get a similar thing - maybe even still rolling - and move it in Winter up to Lilloett  for ice climbing:-)))))))))

But having it stationed in Squamish would be just fine

A caboose? Really? just tow it to whereever you want? and then take it off the tracks? Sounds expensive.

How about you just get the BCMC a deal at the Squamish Hostel? http://www.squamishhostel.com/ http://www.squamishoasishostel.com/

I think there is no point in doing something in urban environment when there are other businesses doing the same thing. The yurt has some mild

Now having said that I think it is a bad idea it should be noted that the FMCBC of which the BCMC is a part of owns part of the smoke bluffs (mostly the parking lot) so there might be a place for a structure there. But I suspect that the people of squamish dont want this. Quickly it would become a party spot and get trashed imho.

I think a cabin on the Coquihalla would be nice.