UCL on board

Photography by Daria Mosolova

Daria Mosolova visits the emerging community of student boaters.

London university accommodation is a luxury only available to freshers. After spending over a year in the city, students are left to their own devices when looking for a place to stay, and while at this point most retreat into Zone 2 and beyond in search of an affordable room to rent, some turn away from the capital’s housing market altogether. Marie Zedler and Tor Blaabjerg Sørensen chose the latter. In their second year at UCL, they have moved into a 17.5m narrowboat on Regent’s canal, joining the expanding community of London’s ‘boaters’.

According to the Canal & River Trust, the number of registered canal boats in London’s canal network has doubled over the past decade, now exceeding 4,200, and predicted to grow further in 2020. As the capital’s housing market becomes increasingly inaccessible, canal boats offer a more affordable alternative. Nonetheless, the boating community comprises residents from all financial backgrounds, ranging from students like Marie and Tor, who bought their home on Gumtree for £26,500, to owners of luxury boats that cost millions. The appeal of this lifestyle extends beyond the monetary. “It’s an adventure,” says Marie. “You wake up and see the water, and lots of ducks swimming around your home.”

Having opted for a ‘continuous cruiser’ license, Marie and Tor are required to move their boat at least one mile down the canal every second week. At the cost of £1,000 per year, the license is almost 8 times cheaper than the average rent price of a room in central London. The drawback is that, as continuous cruisers, they cannot attach their boat to the electricity grid, water supply or the sewage system. Instead, solar panels are installed on the boat to provide electricity, as well as a water tank, which the students have to regularly fill up.

Naturally, living off-grid presupposes its own difficulties. “You definitely need to be prepared for not having the luxuries of a normal flat, because nothing is really stable,” says Tor, for whom a working refrigerator or an unlimited water supply now seem superfluous, contrary to the expectations of the average land-based tenant. When asked about the advantages of his lifestyle, he ironically notes that “you get to empty your own toilet!”

“If there is heat and electricity in your room - you have everything, and sometimes you can get a bit bored. I think I have fewer of those moments now, because there is always something that you can do.” he adds. Judging from the weighty Boat Owner’s Manual the students display on their kitchen shelf, there is a lot that can go wrong on a boat, and living this way they must get accustomed to frequent manual work.

All challenges considered, the need to regularly change their mooring location means that over the past six months of continuous cruising, the two students have resided in enviable areas such as Camden Town, Primrose Hill, Kings Cross, Victoria Park, and many more.

Marie and Tor are not pioneers among UCL students choosing this lifestyle. The tradition goes at least 20 years back, to Anna Chapman-Andrews, who resided on the canal in Kings Cross during her university years, under the conditions of a permanent mooring license. Compared to continuous cruisers, those who rent a permanent spot for their boat enjoy the opportunity to remain connected to an unlimited supply of power and water. Chapman-Andrews’ choice to settle on a boat has withstood the test of time: she dwells on the canal to this day, now with her husband and two children.

Permanent mooring “is definitely a thing to consider, but then the price would be close to that of renting a flat” explains Tor. As the demand for mooring spaces has sky-rocketed in recent decades, present-day students can hardly afford to pay the yearly £13,000 fee for mooring in central London. That is, if they can get their hands on a spot in the first place.

Owning 40% of London’s permanent moorings, the Canal and River Trust auctions off leases to the highest bidder, which encourages further price surges. As commercial boats enter the equation, such as Kings Cross’ floating bookstore, Word On The Water, the unprecedented demand for moorings makes it increasingly difficult for boaters to coexist on the canal network. To combat this, the Trust have developed a ‘mooring strategy’ to control prices. This promises to increase available mooring space by an additional 1800m, by developing berths in outer London. 

After five months of cruising Regent’s canal, Marie and Tor have completely settled in their lifestyle, filling their new home with potted plants and university textbooks, baking their own bread over the fireplace, and hosting friends. The boat has by now seen parties with up to 50 guests, although both students reflect on that day saying “We survived… Maybe a smaller group next time.” Having assimilated with the community, the two can now be distinguished by the cork balls attached to their keychains, which prevent their keys from sinking if they fall into the water - a common boater trait. “I don’t think I would want to go back to living in a flat now,” says Marie.

Tor recalls the discussion with his father while he was deciding whether to buy the boat: “I was expecting him to say ‘You are crazy,’ but he said ‘Yeah just do it, its cool!’ and I was like ‘Oh fuck, this really is bad…’ And then I followed his advice.” 

It is now not too unusual to run into people on campus that share the experience of Marie and Tor, and the pair are aware of at least two more UCL boats. But Tor mentions seeing  “a random guy at UCL with a floating cork on his keys, so maybe there are more…”