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One of the topics that I've not come across at the forums is that of Venice (Italy), which is a city not too far as a concept from a floating one, and I think there are many lessons seasteaders can learn from Venice.

For one, Venice provides many examples of how logistics for everyday living can function in a seastead.

In Venice, for example, the sanitary sewage is pumped from the storage within each building to sewage barges, then shipped to locations within the mainland.Fresh food is brought from the mainland to the many outdoor markets as well as grocery stores on a daily basis, and people tour the different parts of the city on public water buses, private boats, or simply by walking if there is a non-water route available.

The way in which the Venice lagoon is naturally constructed to lessen the seawaves and windy conditions, may also provide a blueprint for constructing buildings and wave-dampening constructs on the open sea.

I also think people in Venice are very happy living so close to the water, there is something to that element that draws people, which is probably why waterfront lots are so expensive. I just saw today a video of one very happy family living next to the Grande Canale in Venice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbJXv0fMbxQ

Patri (Friedman) mentions in his speeches the seasteading communities as sort of a scientific method, to find out which ways of organizing a community perhaps work. But looking back at how Venice prospered during its independency, may also help in shortening the learning curve to running some of the successful seasteads for potential entrepreneurs.

As an example of those historical lessons, Venice provided a natural, easily defendable fortress in the sea, keeping the area out of the way of looters and providing a place of refuge for free-thinkers and gifted people who needed an un-judging environment.

Those are just first few examples that I could think of as lessons from Venice, I'm currently planning a trip to (once more) experience the city early next year.