I've sailed through my degree! Masters student lives aboard a yacht he bought for £800 to save thousands on rent

Joe Pearce couldn't afford to rent after break-up from girlfriend

'I thought of it as luxury camping or that I was living in a wooden tent'

A student who couldn't afford to pay rent bought a boat to live on while studying at university - and saved himself £5,600.

Physical geography student, Joe Pearce, 23, bought the 42-year-old yacht online for £800, the equivalent of two months' rent.

He lived aboard the 23-foot Falmouth Gypsy class boat in a boatyard for 14 months while studying for his masters at Aberystwyth University.

Shipshape: Joe Pearce could not afford to rent so he bought this £800 boat and lived on it while he was studying for his masters degree at Aberystwyth University

Sailor boy: Student Joe bought his yacht Golden Cloud after breaking up with his girlfriend and finding he couldn't afford to rent on his own

Floating home: Joe describes life on his yacht as 'living in a wooden tent'

Although sea-worthy, he admitted his yacht, Golden Cloud, had seen better days and described it as a 'wooden tent'.

It was built in Penryn, Cornwall, 32 years ago and has a glass fibre hull with a plywood coach roof.

Mr Pearce said: 'When I was studying for my masters I realised I couldn't afford to keep living in a flat. I was sharing a flat with my girlfriend, and we would split the £100-a-week rent between us.

'But when we broke up I would have had to pay around 400 pounds a month by myself. So I then came up with a crazy idea to buy a boat to live on.'

He bought the boat from the owner in Porthmadog in North Wales.

Life at sea: Joe's friends were shocked when they first saw his boats because it was 32 years old and had seen better days

Mind you head: Joe, a physical geography student, saved himself £5,600 while living on his boat for 18 months

He added: 'My friends were excited and I think they were expecting a glamorous yacht - but they were shocked when they saw it.

'It had seen better days and I thought of it as luxury camping, or that I was living in a wooden tent!'



The boat had a 1970 engine and the tallest part of the boat was 5ft and Mr Pearce found it difficult to move around as he's almost 6ft.

Mr Pearce said: 'I kept it at the Ynyslas boatyard, eight miles outside of Aberystwyth and I would cycle to and from university to save money.

'Everyone at the boatyard was really helpful and helped me fix parts of the boat as I had no DIY experience. It only cost £1 a day to keep it there.

'At times it became cramped and the low ceiling wasn't ideal as I had to crouch down otherwise I would have hit my head.

Cosy: At 6ft tall, Joe had to stoop when standing up in the 23ft long yacht, but he has hosted parties on board

Water sport: Joe only had to pay £1 a day to moor a few miles from studying for his masters at Aberystwyth University

Skipper: Joe sailed Golden Cloud back to his parents' home on the Isle of Wight where he is now renovating the yacht

'But the boat was the talk of the town and I'd also host boat parties on it.'

He graduated last December and has just sailed the 500-miles from North Wales to his home in Totland, Isle of Wight.

Mr Pearce said: 'It was so much fun living on the boat - I saved a lot of money and I've still it got it and use it to go fishing around the island.

'It was a fantastic experience and I wouldn't change anything about it. The boat has got so much character and it's officially my boat.'