<p>JACKSONVILLE — Marine patrol arrested a man who had been living on a massive floating structure in the St. Johns River that he claimed was &#8220;technically a boat&#8221; but was actually 90% Home Depot materials zip-tied together.</p> <p>Curtis &#8220;Captain Curt&#8221; Williamson, 44, had constructed what he called the &#8220;SS Reasonable Housing Alternative&#8221; entirely from materials purchased with a Home Depot credit card, including lumber, PVC pipes, rain gutters, and an estimated 4,000 zip-ties.</p> <p>&#8220;It had a roof, working plumbing made from garden hoses, and a surprisingly functional kitchenette,&#8221; said Coast Guard Lieutenant Sarah Martinez. &#8220;He&#8217;d even installed solar panels. Stolen solar panels, but still.&#8221;</p> <p>Williamson had been living on the structure for four months, successfully evading authorities by moving his &#8220;vessel&#8221; to different parts of the river every few nights. He maintained that since he&#8217;d attached a small outboard motor to one corner, the structure qualified as a boat and therefore he was &#8220;living offshore, legally.&#8221;</p> <p>The floating home featured multiple &#8220;rooms&#8221; separated by shower curtains, a deck area with lawn chairs, and what Williamson called &#8220;premium riverfront views.&#8221; He had also installed a mailbox on a pole, despite having no address.</p> <p>&#8220;I got mail,&#8221; Williamson insisted during his arrest. &#8220;The mailman found me twice. That&#8217;s basically residency.&#8221;</p> <p>Concerned neighbors had reported the structure multiple times, but authorities struggled to determine which agency had jurisdiction over what one officer described as &#8220;a Home Depot exploded and decided to float.&#8221;</p> <p>The situation came to a head when Williamson attempted to register the structure with the DMV as a houseboat and was told he needed a hull identification number. He responded by spray-painting &#8220;HULL-420&#8221; on the side and returning to the DMV with photos.</p> <p>&#8220;He had receipts for everything,&#8221; said environmental officer James Chen. &#8220;He calculated that his structure cost $14,000 in materials, which he noted was &#8216;cheaper than eight months of rent.'&#8221;</p> <p>When police finally boarded the structure, they found Williamson had been living surprisingly comfortably, with a working shower, a mini-fridge running off the solar panels, and a collection of potted plants he was growing in rain gutters.</p> <p>&#8220;The engineering was actually kind of impressive,&#8221; admitted Officer Patricia Delgado. &#8220;It was structurally unsound and violated approximately 47 different codes, but it hadn&#8217;t sunk yet.&#8221;</p> <p>Williamson faces charges including illegal construction, operating an unregistered vessel, and what prosecutors are calling &#8220;aggressive interpretation of maritime law.&#8221; He maintains his innocence, arguing that &#8220;if alligators can live in the river rent-free, so can I.&#8221;</p> <p>Home Depot has reportedly canceled his credit card, which had a balance of $14,237.68. Williamson&#8217;s structure was towed to shore and dismantled, with officials noting it took nearly six hours to remove all the zip-ties.</p>