Firefighter transforms formerly sunken narrowboat into dream home on £10k budget

A 27-year-old firefighter has found a unique and affordable alternative to traditional bricks and mortar: a renovated narrowboat.

El Sutcliffe, from Burton-on-Trent, opted to transform a formerly sunken vessel into her dream home for a total of £25,750, a fraction of the cost of a comparable property in her area.

After selling a house she co-owned with a former partner, Ms Sutcliffe found herself with just £15,000. The prospect of purchasing a small flat in a less than desirable location prompted her to explore alternative housing options.

In May 2024, she purchased the 49ft narrowboat for £15,750.

It presented a significant challenge – it required extensive renovations, lacking even basic flooring.

Undeterred by the scale of the project, Ms Sutcliffe budgeted £10,000 for the interior overhaul.

Nearly a year later, her vision is nearing completion. The narrowboat now boasts a cozy log burner, a fully equipped kitchen complete with a fridge, sink, and gas cooker.

“It just seemed like a no-brainer and I don’t have any regrets, I think the housing market is all a bit mad,” Ms Sutcliffe, who works as a full-time firefighter, said.

“I could never afford to live where I do if I didn’t live on a boat.

“Things can change and your work can move – with a house, that’s a lot of paperwork and a lot of stress.

“With the boat, I can up and move it, and I can access a lot of the waterways here in the UK, it can come with me wherever I end up.”

To complete the interior, Ms Sutcliffe now needs to install another wall to create a section for the bathroom, which will include a toilet, a shower and a sink, as well as finishing the painting and the decorating.

For the exterior, she estimates the existing paintwork will need to be removed entirely but as she has been quoted £12,500 to have it done professionally, it is another job she will be taking on herself.

“I can’t see myself getting rid of it – it would absolutely break my heart because we’ve built it from the ground up,” she said.

“It’s not been all sunshine and roses, I’ve banged my head against walls, I’ve stormed off crying and sat in my car going ‘is this a terrible idea?’

“But now it’s nearly done, I love it.”

At present, Ms Sutcliffe estimates it will cost her around £550 a month to moor and maintain the boat once the renovations are complete – although this will not include any costly repair jobs.

“They require maintenance work which can be expensive, like taking them out of the water and blackening the hull to protect it, repainting, getting the engine serviced, things like that,” she said.

Despite the low living costs, Ms Sutcliffe said living on a narrowboat can be a mixed bag.

“I’m moored in a stunning spot, I’ve got amazing neighbours and the boating community is fantastic,” she said.

“There are some parts which are hard, it’s such a small living space, it works out less than 20 square metres, so the storage is a nightmare.

“I had to get rid of a lot of clothes but I seem to have settled into it really well.”

Ms Sutcliffe has been sharing her renovation journey on TikTok with the aim of highlighting the realistic process of living on a narrowboat.

“People will comment ‘oh my god, this is my dream lifestyle’ and TikTok videos will show gorgeous boats going through stunning parts of the British countryside,” she said.

“It’s like that about 10 per cent of the time and I think that needs to be spoken about more.

“Especially now when people are looking for cheaper ways of living and it’s becoming all the more popular, people need to make informed decisions.”