Grim find: 57yo's boat home nightmare
Joel Sanders decided to move on from his one-bedroom flat after spending time on the water and loving it.
The 57-year-old spent time working on a cruise ship before deciding he wanted to stay on the water permanently after he returned home to the UK.
After a short conversation with boat owners along the canal in Hemel Hempstead, Mr Sanders took the leap.
'Within a week I had bought a boat, travelled across London in it and was in that same marina,' he told The Sun.
'I am very intolerant to noise and in a flat I felt that my private space was invaded by other people's noises.
'You could always hear your neighbours.
'A boat has all the benefits of a detached home and if you don't like the place where you are because it is too loud then you move.
'I live a simple nomadic existence. You get a sense of independence and freedom on a boat which is very hard to get on the land.'
Mr Sanders spent 12 months living in the marina before upgrading his boat to an AUD $125,000 1996 Colecraft which allowed him to move around the country.
He now splits his time between Nottingham, Birmingham, London, Oxford, Bristol, Reading, and Gloucester.
Despite the savings made from not having an apartment or car, Mr Sanders spends significant amounts of money on maintenance of his vessel as well as more than AUD $3000 annually on a boat licence.
It hasn't all been smooth sailing for Mr Sanders either – he recently found a dead body floating in a canal.
Despite the negative aspects of his new lifestyle, Mr Sanders is happy with the move from land to water.
'With boating the good days are great but the bad days are very bad. It is a life of extremes,' he said.
'Boating is a fairly intensive part time job. It makes you feel more alive somehow when you have to manage those things that you once took for granted.
'It really toughened me up. I have learned a huge amount.
'Most of my friends when I bought it said I was mad, and I wouldn't last three months. The things it gave me were so thrilling to me that I ploughed through the difficulties.
'I will take the physical challenges for as long as my health will allow me to for the benefits.
'With the housing crisis a lot of people are deciding to buy boats, but it is not a lifestyle that is right for people who just can't afford to live on the land.
'You need to want the lifestyle.'
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