Meet the students living on a house boat in London

Ever wondered what it's like to live on a houseboat? We met two London students who did just that to find out what life on a boat is really like, and how much it costs.

When it comes to student accommodation, halls are often the first option. But even they can be pricey, especially in London.

If you don't have parents already living in the Big Smoke, or a well-paid London student job, studying in the city can be tough.

This is why physics students Mantas Pastolis and Jakub Zálešák ditched communal bathrooms and kitchens to start living on the Thames.

The pair found their beloved boat, Gina, on eBay, and moved there in September 2018. It was the first time that either of them had tried living on a boat. However, they decided to throw themselves into the deep end for their third and final year at University College London.

We met them in 2019 to find out if it really was possible to live on a houseboat at uni and how much money they were saving by opting for alternative student accommodation.

What is it like living on a houseboat?

Both Mantas and Jakub had always dreamed of living on a houseboat. Following the move, Jakub was enjoying London life a lot more than he had when he lived on land.

When I first came to London, I really didn't like it. I'm from a small town in the Czech Republic so I found London too big. But I was walking down the Camden canals past the boats and thought: I really want to do this!

Jakub and Mantas said that one of their favourite things about living on a houseboat was the tight-knit community it comes with. The pair made friends pretty much everywhere they were moored, and they even got their hair cut at a boat hairdresser.

Boat parties were also major highlights of sea living, according to Jakub.

We once had a party with 15 people on board. We invited a friend who also lives on a boat but he had moved on to Hackney, so we decided last minute to sail to him!

And, when we chatted with them, they said they'd sailed around 240 miles since picking the boat up from Swindon.

However, for a while, they had been living without a central heating system, which Mantas said he struggled to cope with.

The cold was hard. As soon as you got in, you had to start cooking or making tea to heat the boat up and you had to fall asleep within five minutes after eating to not feel the cold at night!

He said that remembering not to drop things into the river had also been challenging at times.

Jakub has fallen in the canal twice...

Once I was doing the washing up and went to empty the water into the river. It didn't feel very heavy, but when I threw it out all of our cutlery went flying with it!

As there was no shower on the boat, the boys washed at uni and did laundry at their friends' houses or at the laundrette. But neither of them felt that the change of lifestyle had affected their grades.

In terms of my academic performance, it hasn't really affected me. At the beginning, it was a bit tough, but I saw it more as a personal challenge. It's become a lot easier since we've had the plumbing and electrics sorted.

Is living on a houseboat in London safe?

According to Jakub, they hadn't experienced safety issues:

We haven't had any problems with security so far. Once we had a piece of plywood that was attached to our roof stolen. But they were actually doing us a favour because we didn't have any space for it on the boat!

How much does it cost to live on a houseboat?

Paying for everything upfront isn't cheap. If you are thinking about renting or buying a boat to live on, you will need to have a good sum saved up. This includes buying the boat and undertaking any repairs.

We paid for the boat out of our savings. You can expect to pay between £8,000 and £10,000 for a smaller GRP (fibreglass) cruiser boat like ours. Then you have to have a cushion of about £1,000 in case something goes wrong. We needed it for heating, but you might run into problems with the engine.

To compare that to the cost of renting, according to our National Student Accommodation Survey, the average monthly London rent is £663 per person. That would be just over £1,300 between two people each month.

Mooring costs in London

You will need a mooring licence to be able to live on a houseboat in London, of which there are two kinds: short-stay and long-term. Both vary in price and depend on the length of your boat, as well as the duration of your stay.

Mantas and Jakub had a short-stay mooring licence which, based on the length of their boat (27 feet), came in at £550 and was provided by the Canal and River Trust. Only having a short-stay mooring licence meant that they had to move their boat two miles upstream every two weeks.

Long-stay mooring licences vary from site to site as some locations are more desirable than others. These are provided by marinas and private boat clubs and allow the owner to stay in one location over a set period of time.

We made a table to round up Mantas and Jakub's spending at the time of our interview (excluding the purchase of the actual boat).

It's worth bearing in mind that they really had stripped back to the bare essentials. If you are attached to your creature comforts, you might well end up shelling out a bit more.

When we bought the boat the seller said you won't need a fridge and we thought he was crazy. But actually we don't. If you do want to keep something cool, you can just keep it in an air-tight box outside.

Houseboat living costs

* The costs were given to us by Mantas Pastolis and Jakub Zálešák in 2019.

Advice for living on a houseboat

First of all, Jakub said, do your research.

eBay and Apollo Duck are good places to start looking for a boat to buy.

When viewing a boat, make sure you know exactly how good/poor its condition is. Also check how much work you'd have to do on it, like fitting central heating or wiring electricity.

I would say to anyone thinking about living on a boat: do your research first. Find out how much it's going to cost and be careful to not buy a boat with an old engine!

If your houseboat doesn't have the best bathroom situation, ration your use of the toilet and be prepared to cut down on showers. Be prepared to run out of water and fuel and basically take your adventures as they come.

If you've got a short-stay mooring licence, you'll have to get used to moving around regularly.

It's a complete change of lifestyle and it's not for everyone. Living on a boat is like having a part-time job. At the beginning, it was like a full-time job because of the repairs we had to do.

What about personal space? If you decide to move to a boat with a friend or partner, make sure your living habits are compatible, said Jakub.

I was really worried about the personal space thing but actually it's been fine. Living on a boat is definitely a make or break of any friendship or relationship!

Wondering whether you'd be able to hack living with your best mate? Check out the reasons why you should (and shouldn't) live with friends.