Getting stuck in mud 200 metres outside Swansea is not what most first time buyers encounter - but that's exactly what happened to one enterprising couple who tried to avoid high rent costs.
David and his partner Pippa bought a sailboat for £7,000 in March, after spotting it on eBay, and have since been living on it.
The couple opted for a more unusual abode after paying more than £800 a month to live in a flat in Bristol.
But while the millennials have saved lots of money on rent and bills already, it has not all been plain sailing.
Speaking to Bristol Live , David said: "We planned to go from Swansea to Cardiff. We heard the coastguard on the radio say, ‘You are getting too close to the mud.’
“The boat had only got about 200 metres out of Swansea.
“We got stuck in it and had to wait four hours to high tide. We looked like idiots."
David, who did not want to give his surname, insisted he had no regrets about the decision to live on a boat though.
The Swindon-born landscape gardener said: “We were smashing money into rent. We didn’t have £40,000 or £50,000 for a deposit.
“With everyone being pressured with the lifestyles they want to lead, with gadgets and holidays and eating out, it becomes very, very difficult to buy a property.
“We spend well under half the £800-a-month Clifton rent now, including boat maintenance and mooring fees. It gives us flexibility with what we want to do in our lives.
“With my work, I can be based anywhere, and Pippa works in marketing, so she can use her Wi-Fi to work from the boat.”
The couple looked at 18 boats before deciding on the “homely” Mirage, which is just under 10 metres long.
“I watched a few Youtube videos on sailing, but we basically started by sailing 150 miles from Neyland without any knowledge,” David laughed.
The couple would like to permanently dock at Bristol Harbour, but there is a two-year waiting list for long-term berthing.
“We’ve paid £120 to stay for two weeks in Bristol,” David said. “We have been moving around a bit.”
'The cat gets a bit seasick'
Not everything about life on a boat is idyllic, David revealed.
He joked: “We’re living at very close quarters but we have not killed each other yet. The cat gets a bit seasick too.
“Winter is going to be difficult. Not having hot water means you have to boil a kettle three times to wash the dishes.
“We use the Marina facilities to have showers. When you have a hot bath for the first time in three months, you really appreciate it.
“We don’t have a TV, but we just watch stuff on our laptop. It makes you think about what you really need.”
The warmth of the boating community makes up for any downsides, David added.
He said: “Everyone is happy. Everyone drinks rum. We help each other out with tips.
“We would chat to people in a canal boat or a powerboat. There’s none of that ‘my car is bigger than your car’ nonsense.”
A pirate myth?
David says he has no idea where the boat’s name, Sudana, came from.
“They say you can’t change the name because it’s bad luck, but I think the pirates just invented that myth,” he said.
“We thought, ‘She’s been all over the place, she’s earned her name’ – let her keep it.”
Asked if he thinks ‘liveaboards’ could be the solution to the housing crisis, he said: “70 per cent of the planet is water so why not?
“Could we see ourselves doing it forever? Definitely.”
