“Boat life” seems like a very romantic idea when you’re in your 20s, sacrificing homely comforts for the benefit of a yachting adventure in The Keys — that is, until cabin fever sets in and you realise you can’t live without a full-size shower. Christina Miles and her partner Rohan Tully have flipped that whole idea on its head and subsequently built an enviably luxe life on a boat… well, technically a barge, to be exact. After struggling with the real estate market in London, the couple decided to transform a Dutch barge into a high-end, colorful floating home. As you can guess, it was no easy journey.
The renovations took 20 months. The pair purchased the boat in Belgium for less than £100,000. They ended up sailing it to Holland for major adjustments, including splitting the boat in two and removing 10 meters from the length, making it compliant with the U.K.’s mooring rules. What makes their boat truly unique are the 10 'super-sized' porthole windows, which fill the boat with light on even the most rainy English day. All in all, this stunning renovation resulted in an 1,800-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom family home, complete with a skylight.
A truly remarkable part of Christina and Rohan’s journey is that they did all the renovations, all while caring for their newborn daughter Elara. While the endeavor was very trying on the pair, they found it so rewarding that they’ve since started their own business called Isla Yachts, aiming to help others accomplish what they did and beguiling more converts to the boat life every day. https://www.islayachts.com/about
In this episode of Relocated, the couple spoke with Bustle about what inspired them to take this leap and what they enjoy the most about their current living arrangement.
