The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Jaimie Mantzel’s island-home project was reported as a family-scale, off-grid construction effort in Panama—not simply a house build. In a 2016 feature, Make: described Mantzel and his family living aboard a homemade houseboat while developing two small islands with systems for power, water, food, transportation, communications, storage, and shelter. The account is historical; it does not establish what has been completed since.
What was Mantzel building?
Make:’s feature, “Building a Maker’s Island Paradise,” by Andrew Terranova, was published March 11, 2016, and shown as updated June 20, 2017. It describes Mantzel moving to Panama with his family, buying two small islands, and building toward a home there while the family lived aboard a handmade houseboat.
The project’s defining idea was its interdependence: a home on an island needs more than walls and a roof. The feature follows work on energy, water, growing and preparing food, boats, internet access, construction access, dry storage, and sanitation alongside the planned residence. Mantzel described the process this way: “I’m thoroughly loving life down here,” says Mantzel. “I feel like I’m playing a video game where I’m slowly building my way through a technology tree, and every step gives me new capabilities.”
How did the reported systems fit together?
| System | What Make: reported | Status in the 2016 account |
|---|---|---|
| Power | 5,000 watts of solar panels on the houseboat roof; the feature described half as serving an inverter for AC and half as providing DC for tools. It also said some tools were plugged directly into panels. | Reported as installed on the houseboat at the time. |
| Rainwater | A 200-gallon houseboat tank filled from the solar panels, and a second 200-gallon island tank supplied by a canopy and PVC trough. | Both arrangements were described; water treatment and drinking-water safety were not established. |
| Food and cooking | Sweet potatoes, herbs, tomatillos, leafy greens, and coconuts; more fruit trees were planned. A homemade wood-burning rocket stove was described for cloudy or rainy days. | Growing and harvesting were reported; additional fruit trees were a plan. |
| Communications | A radio antenna pointed toward a tower reported to be 15 miles away for internet. A parabolic-dish link between the islands was also discussed. | The internet antenna was reported; the inter-island setup was a plan. |
| Boats and transport | The handmade family catamaran served as home and workshop. A smaller solar-powered catamaran had 1,750 watts of panels and two modified electric outboards; Mantzel designed and 3D-printed propellers. | The smaller boat was reported. A hauling boat with a crane and eight golf-cart batteries was under development. |
| Access and storage | A hand-dug canal, an approximately 80-yard wharf raised about six feet above its original ground level and six to ten feet wide, a fiberglass drawbridge, a floating dock, and a modular fiberglass dome intended to keep materials dry. | These were historical project details in the feature, not a current inspection. |
| Residence | A concrete seawall project and a vision of extending it into castle-like walls and towers for the family. | The larger residence concept was described as a plan; completion was not confirmed. |
Why the houseboat and construction access mattered
The houseboat was both the family’s reported living space and a workshop, letting construction and daily life proceed while the island home was still being developed. The boats also served distinct needs: the smaller solar catamaran was described as transport, while a separate construction boat intended for hauling materials was still being developed in the feature.
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On land, the hand-dug canal, wharf, drawbridge, and floating dock addressed the practical problem of moving people and supplies around an island worksite. The feature reported the wharf at approximately 80 yards long; that is a historical figure from Make:’s account, not a present-day measurement.
What the feature does—and does not—establish
The Make: story offers a detailed snapshot of the project as reported in 2016, with some systems described as operating and others still planned or under construction. It does not verify current occupancy, the completed state of the island residence, or the later status of the construction boat and other planned structures. A May 2026 TechYorker article using similar title wording discusses island-home planning generally, but its retrieved passage does not establish new facts about Mantzel’s project.
The account also should not be treated as a building, electrical, water-treatment, or sanitation guide. For example, it describes rainwater collection but does not establish that the water was treated or safe to drink, and its brief mention of waste disposal is not sanitation guidance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What tools are documented?
The feature says Mantzel cut planks with a chainsaw to make a table. It does not name the chainsaw’s brand or model, so the account supports only the general tool category—not a product recommendation or an endorsement.
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