The joys of living on a houseboat

When Josh and Flora Camacho-Clowes bought the boat they now call home for £21,000 from its previous owner who had won it in a game of cards, nothing on board the former coal and concrete barge worked.

There was no gas, no electrics, no hot water.

Almost 16 months later and the couple, who own a screenprinting company, have taught themselves all the skills needed to refurbish the vessel and create a dream abode for them and their three dogs, Flint, Frida and Sapper.

The previous owner of the boat had won it in a game of cards

Josh and Flora have spent several months moored in the Harbour Inlet

“We just winged it bit by bit,” said Josh on a recent morning while their 50ft-long houseboat was moored in the Harbour Inlet opposite the SS Great Britain.

During the renovation process, a window was discovered that had been covered up that now provides light into the shower room, which Flora tiled completely herself.

Josh, who is also the guitarist in math-rock band Last Hyena and part-time barista at Small Street Espresso, had never done any carpentry before meeting Flora but was soon building benches out of wood that Flora had cut up.

Josh and Flora share their home with three dogs

“I’m very proud of myself,” Flora added.

“I’ve always been a can-do person. I’ve always had an attitude of just saying yes and learning new skills all the time because I’m always striving to do better.

“It’s just about being happy in a place that we’ve made.

“You walk into a welcoming fun space where you can drink gin and tonic, then you come down into the more lived-in area and then there’s our private haven with our en-suite bathroom.”

Josh is a professional barista so you know you will get a great cup of coffee when visiting

It may be small but Flora and Josh’s home does feel spacious even with the addition of their three dogs.

If you don’t look out of the windows, you even forget that you are on a boat. Then you look outside and see a swan or a paddleboarder gliding by.

The pair want to keep their home cosy and uncluttered and are fortunate that they can store many of their possessions in their screenprinting studio.

A wood burner is one of the new additions since Josh and Flora started creating their dream home

It’s bad luck to change the name of a boat while it is still in the water but Flora and Josh are planning to change the name Fairy Rae to – probably – Bon Barge, after their screenprinting company, Bon Clothing.

The renaming will come once it receives a service at Underfall Yard before the summer, ahead of leaving the Floating Harbour and heading out onto the River Avon.

“I think part of the lifestyle being on the boat is going out in the summer and enjoying the river,” Josh said. “That’s what we really enjoyed last year.”

Josh and Flora will sail out of the docks to spend the summer on the River Avon

“There’s nothing more magnificent than just being on your boat with a beer and the sun, just being outside,” Flora added.

“I can’t tell you, it brings me so much joy. You’re sort of in the city and you’re sort of in the countryside so you’ve got the best of both worlds and you can move whenever you want!

“I’m really happy with the smallest things and the small wins. I don’t need a lot. As long as I’ve got somewhere to live, someone to love and something to do, then I’m happy.”

All photos: Josh Camacho-Clowes

Read next:

• Former coal barge transformed into houseboat sails into Bristol
• ‘Bristol docks need to be preserved rather than eroded’
• ‘Planning hell’ over for family as self-build houseboat granted permission