Boat life beckons for house hunters

Living on the water

Floating houses could be the offshore solution to Auckland’s property crisis, a man who has lived on a boat for 15 years says.

Mark Thomas has seen a sharp rise in people using boats for permanent accommodation and expects that trend to continue.

The 46-year-old web designer bought his 14-metre boat in 2000 and moored it at Hobsonville Marina in Auckland’s northwest.

He was planning to stay for ‘‘maybe a year’’ but quickly fell in love with the lifestyle and stayed until 2015.

Now he has decided to sell up and get a campervan to travel all over New Zealand.

While it seemed a novel idea, he said it made financial sense.

His boat had an asking price of $35,000 and renting a berth was about $10,000 per year, which meant it was cheaper than a mortgage, and buyers could sail away at their leisure.

‘‘It’s not necessarily for everybody, but there’s a certain soul and style and freedom of living in a boat,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s a lot different to living in a house with four square walls.’’ Space is the biggest issue living on a boat.

Mark Thomas’ vessel includes:

❚ Two compact bedrooms

❚ Two bathrooms

❚ One galley (kitchen)

❚ Dining area

❚ Lounge area

❚ Engine room and cockpit

Thomas is in good company - a spokeswoman for Hobsonville Marina said there were 80 people living aboard boats at the marina.

That number was rising quickly due to Auckland’s sky-rocketing house prices, she said.

Numbers are also ‘‘increasing steadily’’ at Bayswater Marina on the North Shore, where 52 people live full-time.

Thomas said space on the yacht was probably the biggest challenge to get used to.

But he had come from two years living in a tiny flat in London before buying the boat, so the change wasn’t too drastic.

Even families with children could feasibly make do with the space on a boat and he had seen several happy examples at Hobsonville.