A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point and often tethered to land to provide utilities. However, many are capable of operation under their own power. Houseboats in Kerala, south India, are huge, slow-moving barges used for leisure trips. They are a reworked model of Kettuvallams , which, in earlier times, were used to carry rice and spices from kuttanad to the Kochi port. Kerala houseboats were considered a convenient means of transportation. Charter for sure provides house boat in Kerala & Goa. Such a houseboat is about 60 to 70 feet (18 to 21 m) long and about 15 feet (4.6 m) wide at the middle. The hull is made of wooden planks that are held together by ropes of coconut fiber; the usual wood is ‘Anjali’. The roof is made of bamboo poles and palm leaves.