WHEREVER, FOREVER
425sq ft 1982 Salish Coastal Sea Home tugboat, British Columbia, Canada
Kyla Trethewey has finally put down roots after spending the past five years roaming the US interstate system in a tow-behind trailer with her best friend Jill Mann. However, she’s eschewed the normal route of buying a house by setting up home on a tugboat instead.
When Kyla and Jill returned to British Columbia to take a breather from the constant travel, Jill found a sensible studio apartment, but a call from Kyla’s father telling her that a live-aboard boat was coming up for sale led Kyla down a different path.
“One day I didn’t know what I was doing with my life, and the next day I was buying a tugboat,” she laughs.
While only Kyla lives on the boat, Jill has helped her to renovate the space.
The tugboat is one of only five Salish Coastal Sea Homes that were built in the early 1980s. “Most of them have been renovated multiple times. This one has not,” says Kyla.
Loving its earthy, hippie vibe, Kyla looked to improve on the existing décor rather than start from scratch. She didn’t want to touch any of the original wood panelling, but she and Jill painted every remaining surface with a coat of Behr Almond Milk paint. The one exception was the bathroom. “It felt like a cave in there, so we broke my rule and painted the woodwork. We also added some copper shelving,” says Kyla.
The kitchen received the biggest makeover, with new concrete-looking countertops and a fresh splashback of peel-and-stick subway tiles mounted to boards and finished off with real tile edging to give it a more substantial look.
The tug is hooked up to the city water supply, and has a new propane heater for hot showers. Plans for a composting toilet are next, as Kyla currently has to walk over to her dad’s boat to use his. “Right now, my toilet drains out into the marina, so I have to find somewhere else to go,” she says.
While Kyla and Jill settle into a more stationary day to day, they haven’t totally given up on their dream of living on the road. “The trailer is parked on some family land about an hour away from here,” says Kyla. “I think we’ll go on a one-tot-hree-month road trip in the spring.”