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Who'd Splash Out £1 million on a Houseboat? - Postcode Pirates
Mon 11th Jan 10 - 15:01

"I find it amazing that there are four or five million pound houses by the road and we are their view - we've got a better view than them." - Tamsin Fox-Davies

Elert Gadget - 11/01/2010

It boasts spectacular views, top of the range fittings and a fabulous roof top pool.

In fact it has everything the aspiring home owner could want from a crash pad in one of London's most exclusive neighbourhoods.

But whoever snaps up this prime pied a terre will need their sea legs - or rather their river legs, as it's a boat.

With a price tag of £1 million, it is thought to be one of the most expensive houseboats (think barge rather than narrowboat) ever marketed.

That might seem rather a lot for a floating home, but if it's all about location, then Ocean, as she is named, has it.

The three-bedroomed vessel is moored at Cadogan Pier, on the River Thames, next to London's Albert Bridge and a stone's throw from Chelsea's King's Road.

According to estate agents Foxton's, although the price tag is high, it's good value compared with other properties in the area.

Anyone buying Ocean will be looking at a bill of around £720 per square foot, excluding the swimming pool and the terrace, compared with a cost of around £1,000 per square foot for flats in the same location.

High-earning individuals such as lawyers and surgeons use the boats as floating pieds-a-terre, while maintaining other homes elsewhere.

Most of the boats moored at the pier are barges, rather than lavish yachts, which look unassuming from the outside but are far from unassuming on the inside.

Ocean, which was brought over from France by its current owner, a property developer, and refitted, is a sprawling 1,388 square feet.

Its exterior is sleek, with neat hedging decorating the 577 square foot deck.

Inside are three en-suite bedrooms - including one with a dressing room - a kitchen and dining area, a reception room, a study and a utility room.

So as not to lose the maritime flavour, one room is entirely timber clad like a vintage ship's cabin of yesteryear.

High specification throughout, it has wooden floors in living areas, carpeted bedrooms and a modern open plan kitchen - complete with dishwasher.  There is also a freestanding roll top bath in one of the bathrooms.

Other boats moored at the pier include Sir Malcolm Cambell's river cruiser Bluebird of Chelsea, a Dunkirk Little Ship, a Finnish ice-breaking tug and a barge that was split in half and transported to the UK across the Alps by truck.

Tamsin Fox-Davies, who lives at the pier with her pier master husband Alan Grattan, said there was a lot of appeal to a floating home.

"This is pretty much the most sought after mooring in London," she said.  "Spaces very rarely come up, so the only real way to get a space here is to buy a boat here.

A really interesting mix of people have boats here and there is a lot of history.

I find it amazing that there are these four or five million pound houses by the road and we are their view - we've got a better view than them."

A spokeman for Foxtons said: "The important thing to note is that the boat isn't just a houseboat completely stuck in the mud, it does work and go up and down the river or on the sea.  And it's a great pied a terre.

"It's very beautiful and despite being in the middle of town there is a real sense of peace." 

Ian Brownbridge, sales managed at Foxtons' Sloane Square office, said: "We have had quite a lot of interest in it.

People love it but they find it difficult to get their head around spending £1 million on a boat".

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