A couple who bought a "mouldy" narrowboat on Facebook Marketplace and renovated it into their dream tiny home say it saves them £10k-a-year on rent in London.<br /><br />Nancy Kerina, 26, and her partner, Dale Rankmore, 32, met during a ski season in Andorra and started looking to live together when the trip got cut short due to the pandemic.<br /><br />The outdoor-loving couple didn't want to be "tied down" paying a mortgage and decided to instead invest in a narrowboat.<br /><br />They managed to find a 1970s narrowboat on Facebook Marketplace for £22k and have spent around £10k renovating it themselves.<br /><br />Now the pair save £10k-a-year travelling around London's waterways on their boat and love the "freedom".<br /><br />Nancy, a crew member at the Royal Albert Hall, originally from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, said: "We have loved it.<br /><br />"I don't think I could imagine just buying a house.<br /><br />"We're so used to the freedom of being able to move if we don't like somewhere.<br /><br />"It's benefited our relationship massively."<br /><br />The couple met in 2020 while on a ski season but were forced to head back to the UK when the pandemic hit.<br /><br />They lived in Nancy's family home in Essex while they figured out what to do.<br /><br />Nancy said: "We both had a similar mindset. We wanted to live in an abnormal way.<br /><br />"We didn't want to live with mortgages and get tied down."<br /><br />The couple started researching tiny homes and Nancy's step dad told them about the narrowboat community.<br /><br />Nancy said: "I got obsessed with it straight away. It seemed perfect."<br /><br />Dale, who works in stage management, originally from Cardiff, Wales, added: "It was such a good option. <br /><br />"On the financial side of things - we couldn't afford to get a house. <br /><br />"It was a cheaper way of doing things."<br /><br />Nancy and Dale bought their boat in September 2020 in Bath, Somerset, and moved in.<br /><br />The pair ripped it out and started renovating it while moving it to London.<br /><br />Dale said: "When we moved on it, it wasn't in great condition.<br /><br />"There was mould and a bit of damp.<br /><br />"We took it apart to the steel.<br /><br />"We were living on the boat with nothing but an airbed."<br /><br />The couple spent the last three years working and scraping together cash to renovate the boat - doing as much as they can themselves.<br /><br />They estimate they have spent £10k renovating it.<br /><br />Nancy said: "It's all been worth it.<br /><br />"It wasn't all perfect. We appreciate it so much now."<br /><br />Nancy and Dale pay just £100 per month for a cruiser license - meaning they have to move from their spot along the canal every two weeks.<br /><br />They spend just £150-a-month from November to March keeping their log burner going and spent £1k on solar panels to now get free electricity.<br /><br />They say their friends living in London pay £1k in rent a month for a house share and say it is the "bane of their life".<br /><br />Their total bills and licence cost just £1,950-a-year - saving them £10,050 on London rent.<br /><br />Nancy said: "London is an amazing place to be.<br /><br />"We have stayed in some really nice high end places for £100-a-month.<br /><br />"It's totally different seeing it from the canal.<br /><br />"The canals are really populated.<br /><br />"It does feel safe.<br /><br />"The bills are really low, it's really handy.<br /><br />"We don't have massive bills to pay."<br /><br />The couple also bought a van from Facebook Marketplace in June 2023 for £4,500.<br /><br />The previous owner had already renovated it but the couple fitted it with a fan, solar panels and decorated it.<br /><br />They've just driven it on their first trip to a festival in Croatia - hitting Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and Slovenia on the way there.<br /><br />Dale proposed when the couple arrived at the festival surrounded by their friends.<br /><br />Nancy said: "It looks like a Ghostbusters van.<br /><br />"We were in these amazing secluded places. I was like 'you really should have proposed'.<br /><br />"Little did I know the friends were bringing the ring with them."<br /><br />The couple would like to build a tiny home one day and upgrade their van so they have more space for any future children.<br /><br />Nancy said: "Sharing that with our future children will be the best thing."<br /><br />Follow the couple on Tiktok @nancyanddale and on Instagram @__thebeanmachine and @thepigboat.
