A couple who spent thousands of pounds converting a 1960s industrial cargo ship into a spacious luxury 3-bedroom houseboat have announced they are raffling it for a fiver because they are splitting up.
Christina and Rohan Tully have decided to end their relationship four years after completing their dream home, and in the absence of a cash buyer have decided to replicate Omaze by putting their home into a lottery.
The couple spent 20 months converting the old vessel, which cost less than £100,000, into a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom family home where they have been living with their daughter, Elara, on the River Thames in south west London.
Their beautiful floating property was described as ‘one of the best homes I‘ve ever seen’ by George Clarke on Amazing Spaces when Christina and Rohan appeared on the Channel 4 show in 2020.
However due to their separation, which the pair prefer to describe as ‘conscious uncoupling’, the home will soon belong to a new owner for the bargain price of £5, despite recently being on the market for £750,000.
Taking the decision to float their most valuable asset on a raffle isn’t something the pair took lightly and only came about after they realised how particular the average buyer of a houseboat is.
Speaking to the MailOnline, Rohan explained the sticky situation they found themselves in while trying to sell the property.
A couple who spent thousands of pounds converting a 1960s industrial cargo ship into a spacious luxury 3-bedroom houseboat have announced they are raffling it
The boat, which measures 150 square metres, includes a spacious kitchen dining area with a breakfast bar. The units are Ikea carcasses with fronts from superfrontdotcom
The living area in the £750,000 property features huge portholes and a skylight, specially installed to allow the space to be flooded with light. This space was inspired by a Moroccan riad, and a love of Scandi-chic interiors
He said: ‘We thought we had a buyer but it fell through. That meant that we’d have it off the market of 6 months throughout the winter.
‘Interest rates went up through the roof and people weren’t buying it.
‘Boats are inherently hard to mortgage, and the mortgage rates are extremely high often at 10 to 13 per cent sometimes, which is ridiculous, and only for a period of 10 years.
‘So essentially, you need a cash buyer, and that really does whittle down our chances of finding someone in the current climate. It’s quite a niche market.’
Although their raffle has been likened to the popular Omaze draws that see regular members of the public scoop multi-million pound mansions, Rohan says he has been keen to make sure there will be no hidden fees with his property.
Most of the Omaze properties are sold less than 12 months after being won due in part to the eye-watering bills winners must pay for electricity, staffing, security and maintenance.
The bathroom features his and hers sinks and custom vanity units using mid-century furniture. Water is pumped to a tank that needs to be ‘pumped out’ once every few weeks at high tide
The exterior of Christina and Rohan’s boat on the river in south west London
In the absence of a cash buyer have decided to replicate Omaze by throwing their house into a lottery. There’s plenty of space for guests with the boat boasting a master suite and two single bedrooms
With views of the river, the deck is perfect for entertaining and wildlife spotting
The table set for an Easter celebration. After the ‘adventure’ of renovating their boat, Rohan and Christina are selling up
The luxurious bathroom features a spa bath on a raised platform to enable river views and maximum relaxation and laundry utilities are hidden behind the doors on the left for a clean finish
Who needs a garden! The boat even has it’s own terrace and outdoor dining space
James explained: ‘We had it fully surveyed which is valid for the next 6 years. That was done in July this year. Essentially, if someone buys it, they don’t have to take it out of the water for six years.
‘One of the things I didn’t want is to be one of those Omaze stories.
‘So everything on the boat is up to maintenance, and the deal is, the cost will be covered for the first year.’
As part of the raffle conditions 200,000 £5 tickets must be sold in order for the boat to be awarded as the main prize.
If all goes to plan, this would leave Rohan and Christina with £450,000 each with the remaining £100,000 going to the RNLI.
Completed in 2020, the houseboat is spread over two levels, measures 150 square metres and includes a spacious living room and a large kitchen dining area that leads out via large French doors to a beautiful outdoor terrace.
The master bedroom is en-suite, with a bath and twin basin vanity unit. There are two other single bedrooms and another separate washroom.
Counter tops we purchased direct from a stone supplier in Slough
Patterned tiles and greenery addd a splash of colour to the bathroom – as well as unique artwork
The interiors are modern and chic, and are designed to look like a house rather than a boat – one of Christina’s prerequisites. Pictured: the view from the driving seat, overlooking the kitchen and the deck
The boat has underfloor heating, power showers, heated towel rails and a Crittall-style shower. Unlike in a house, the plumbing has to go upwards
While the work was being done, Christina spent her days looking for design inspiration on Pinterest while caring for their daughter. Pictured: the living area downstairs
Views are aplenty, currently the houseboat looks out over the Thames at its West London mooring in Penton Hook Marina, it has easy access to Hampton Court Palace, Windsor Castle and Heathrow Airport.
It offers waterside living with urban convenience, and if you do fancy a change of scene, the boat can be moved to another beautiful waterside spot.
In 2020, George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces documented how the couple gave up their rental property in Paddington to renovate the boat.
After suggesting living on a boat as a ‘joke’ while on a riverside walk, Christina, who works for an events agency, and Rohan, who works in FinTech and grew up sailing with his family, decided to take the plunge.
Rohan travelled to Belgium to purchase an old cargo barge, hoping to pay somewhere between £50,000 and £150,000 – and claims he got ‘quite a good deal’ for his 40m-long vessel, paying less than £100,000.
Due to the barge being too big for most moorings back in the UK, the couple decided it would be ‘easier and cheaper to buy a 40m boat, snip 10m out the middle and stick it back together’.
They found a shipyard in Holland to do the work, and made the 10-day crossing to the Dutch port, which Rohan described as ‘quite the adventure’.
Being a cargo ship, the boat needed ‘ballast’ – a foundation of cement – pouring into the hull to give it stability and to enable it to sit lower in the water
Christina Miles, 33, and her partner Rohan Tully, 36, transformed a 1960s cargo barge into a stunning two-storey floating home. Pictured before at a dockyard in Holland
The couple have been living on their boat – currently moored near Kew Bridge on the River Thames in south west London – since January. Pictured: the boat making its way down the Thames in central London
Rohan travelled to Belgium to purchase an old cargo barge, hoping to pay somewhere between £50,000 and £150,000 – and claims he got ‘quite a good deal’ for his 40m-long vessel
Rohan takes his kayak out for a daily trip – pictured being watched by their daughter from one of the ‘super-sized’ porthole windows
The boat remained in Holland for two months before sailing homeward to the Medway in Kent. While working full-time during the week, Rohan invested his weekends into their new energy efficient family home along with his father, installing insulation and underfloor heating.
They lived with friends while the work was being done, moving seven times – during which ‘exhausted’ Christina was breastfeeding and caring for their newborn.
Christina admitted this period was ‘beyond stressful’, saying: ‘It was the middle of winter and the boat obviously had no lights or heating. It was miserable chipping away at it.
‘Towards the end of the build there were delays – as there always are – which caused us logistical chaos with childcare and work. In the last two months I was commuting two hours to and from work each day to get Elara to a childminder local to the boat.
Perfect for chillier nights, the deck is home to a table with a built-in gas fire
Another view of the living area, which is big enough for a three seater couch and a projector, as well as a tiled fireplace and wood burning stove
Christina and Rohan’s bedroom is decked out much like the rest of the boat in wood flooring and also features a large porthole window
Christina designed the ‘powder room’, which has varnished wallpaper for better durability, a tiny sink and inbuilt speakers
‘We were having to leave our daughter with grandparents every weekend towards the end, which I found very difficult.
‘We ended up moving in with no heating and running the electrics from one extension cable just because I couldn’t bear it any longer. It was a huge relief to finally be on-board, even in that state.’
Being a cargo ship, the boat needed ‘ballast’ – a foundation of cement – pouring into the hull to give it stability and to enable it to sit lower in the water.
They also cut 10 ‘super-sized’ porthole windows into the sides to give them more light and views of the water – perfect for wildlife spotting along the river.
The winner of the raffle will be able to move in to the boat straight away
While the structural work was being done, Christina spent her days looking for inspiration on Pinterest while caring for their daughter.
Her aim was modern and chic decor so that the property would look just like a house and not the interior of a boat.
Christina said ‘Our beautiful houseboat was an adventure from start to finish. It has been an amazing chapter in our lives and something we will never forget. It felt right to continue the adventure until the very end.
‘We’re so excited that one lucky person will win this dream home and call it their own – we want them to experience the joy we did. We’re thrilled to be supporting the RNLI too.’
This raffle is being run on Raffall and accessible by multiple platforms. 10% of the hosts revenue goes directly to the RNLI. If you would like to enter visit winthebighouseboat.com
