![The Floating Chapel on the Bay is pictured when it was docked in St. Petersburg in 2008. Now known as the Former Chapel on the Bay, the houseboat is listed for sale and has been spotted in Tarpon Springs recently.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 900 506"/%3E "The Floating Chapel on the Bay is pictured when it was docked in St. Petersburg in 2008. Now known as the Former Chapel on the Bay, the houseboat is listed for sale and has been spotted in Tarpon Springs recently.")
Here’s a quirky real estate opportunity: A floating chapel houseboat is up for sale and was recently spotted in Tarpon Springs, according to a Facebook post on the Discovering Tarpon Springs: Happy Seaside Town with Greek Flair Group’s page.
The Former Chapel on the Bay — one of only two chapel houseboats in the world, with the other one in Australia — was featured in an article in Architectural Digest in January, which said the home was listed at $700,000. It previously sold for $400,000 in 2021 and is listed on the real estate website Special Finds, according to the article.
We checked Special Finds, which lists the residence as “active” and says the list price is $250,000. An attempt to reach the listing agent or owner was made through a contact form on the website.
“This floating chapel has been transformed into a luxurious living space, with over $1.3 million invested in its original build and modern conversion,” the listing reads.
It says the house boat is located at a marina in Palmetto on the Manatee River. But it’s been spotted near the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks for the past few weeks.
It spans 1,800 square feet and has 1,050 square feet of living space, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was originally designed as a wedding venue by naval architects Daniel J. Avoures and Associates and features two Cummins Diesel engines. It was built in 2004 and first docked in Clearwater.
From 2007 to 2010, the chapel was docked by the old St. Petersburg Pier. It hosted weddings and saw receptions spilling to nearby hotels and restaurants.
Many of the chapel’s religious architectural details were kept, including a 30-foot steeple and seven stained glass windows, which are protected by hurricane-proof glass.
![The Former Chapel on the Bay, a floating houseboat has religious architectural details like stained glass windows.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 411"/%3E "The Former Chapel on the Bay, a floating houseboat has religious architectural details like stained glass windows.")
The interior was renovated to an open-plan living room that leads to a covered deck, modern kitchen and hardwood floors. Amenities include a motion-dish satellite TV antenna and air conditioning powered by a generator.
The boat itself is a fiberglass build on twin catamaran hulls. It’s being sold fully furnished, including leather furniture, outdoor seating, a gas grill and a 65-inch flat screen TV.
The Former Chapel on the Bay has also served as a vacation rental.
