It sounds like a personal idea for him. He's more of a quiet on the water type, preferring rowing or paddling by the looks of most of his work. He sees this as something he might take down south to use as a base for a while, exploring by kayak or similar. Not a bad idea if you don't keep a boat handy, like most of us here(not everybody is like us here )

Not sure he'd be building many, my bet would be he'll sell some plans. Easy project to build and would be fun to customize. I doubt there's a much cheaper way to build a shantyboat that looks as nice as this and is as practical in size vs accomodations. You could go very basic or go wild with custom work. It could also be quite light for it's size, for trailering.

It's pleasant to look at I think. It looks like it could go in either direction just as well.