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.