I quit my job and sold everything to live in a storm-damaged £6k boat – I just wanted to do what I want, when I want
A WOMAN who quit her job and sold everything to live in a storm-damaged £6,000 boat never finished her dream holiday.
Elizabeth Earle from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, hoped to sail across the world and realise her dreams of freedom.
In 2018, the woman and her boyfriend were raising money through a JustGiving page to repair a yacht she bought in the Caribbean.
She had given up her job in England, sold all her possessions, and fell in love with a French man named Edouard who she planned to sail with.
She said on the fundraising page: “We have to replace two masts and she needs a total rig refit. But she’s worth it. We’re raising funds to do all of the repairs to bring her back to her glory.”
The travel writer and illustrator also sought to document the the trip on the boat named the Papageno for social media.
“We want to show others that you can write your own story.”
But Elizabeth didn’t finish her dream holiday as she chose to keep a dog that she had adopted that hated sailing and sell the boat.
She told Business Insider in 2022: “I had to make a choice of selling the boat and keeping the dog, or getting rid of the dog and carrying on with this worldwide trip. I chose the dog.”
Elizabeth said that despite pouring money into repairs for the Papageno she came out financially neutral after selling it.
Upon return to England she decided to buy a different kind of boat and live on there instead – a canal boat.
She bought an initial narrow boat in 2019 and then paid £35,000 for a second one from a close friend and nicknamed the boat Maggie.
Elizabeth has decided against buying a home and paying a mortgage and said the system doesn’t work for people who have unstable work.
She said: “It does not favour the solo, self-employed, slightly hungover, 30-something artist from the Midlands.”
Despite not being able to sail the world’s oceans, Elizabeth said a canal boat still gives a certain amount of freedom.
She said: “One of my favorite things about living on a boat is that I can just be cruising somewhere and find a nice pub along The Cut.”
“As ‘Maggie’ is a 1920s boat, there isn’t much new technology, so I don’t have the usual bulk of bills your average homeowner would have.
“I’ve gone from paying more than £1,200 a month on rent and bills to around £575, basically cutting my outgoings in half.”
The boat is heated by a coal fire, with a £16 bag of coal lasting about two weeks, and powered by a diesel engine that costs about £60 a month.
Elizabeth added: “I grew up reading Lord of the Rings, and the Chronicles of Narnia, and grew up in a village, so I always had a fascination for that fantastical life.
“I’d always loved the idea of living on a boat since I was a child, travelling to different places, meeting new people, and taking your home with you.”
It also appears that at some point her relationship with Edouard ended as he doesn’t live on the Maggie.
What it's like living on a boat
Elizabeth said that living on a canal boat can be cheap and gives you great flexibility in life.
She said: “My bills are extremely minimal, I’ve gone from paying £1200 a month with rent, gas and electric to just £254 a month on the boat.
“The rent for my marina spot at Mancetter is £120 a month, but it allows me to use the facilities, so that’s been quite nice during the winter as I’ve been able to get hot showers – as I’ve not managed to get the gas and hot water sorted yet.
“I pay £96 a month for my boating licence, boat insurance is £10 a month and the Canal and River Trust tax is £100.
“I cook off a camp stove and rely on my log burner to keep me warm.”
Elizabeth said you have to make other compromises like emptying a porta-potty and battling condensation in the morning.
“But it’s all worth it when you wake up in the morning to the beautiful countryside.”
