LIFE IS BUT A DREAM …

- and she effortlessly crossed the channel to Suffolk.

The owners - Damian and Siobhan Horner from Woodbridge - spotted Inez lying in the docks on Ipswich. They immediately saw the potential to transform her into a family home. They weren’t complete novices - they once swapped terra firma to downsize aboard a 10-metre-long wooden boat named Friendship with two small children and wrote a fabulous book about their journey tackling the French canals. So Inez seemed engine room so that some 16 tons of additional cargo could be carried. Additionally, as decommissioned tank engines were in great supply after the war, she had a new engine fitted, a Henschel engine allegedly lifted from a Panzer tank.

However, the Horners’ first thought was, could they really fit three growing children, a dog, cat and all the accoutrements of modern life into a rather dingy barge?

The key to the transformation from dark and cold barge to luxury family home came in the form of John Webb, of Webb Marine in Pinmill and master craftsman and all-round creative genius. Under John’s watch, Inez was stripped back to the hull and completely renovated. This included a new roof, a new wheelhouse, thick spray-foam insulation throughout, triple glazed windows, reclaimed oak flooring, new plumbing, septic waste tanks, a washing machine and dryer, fridge and freezer, oil fired central heating and an Aga/Rayburn oven.

Inez remained in service well into the 1960’s when demand for delivery barges dwindled. It was then that her life as a houseboat began. Changing hands a few times, in 2015 she was hauled out of the water and given a makeover - the bottom of the hull doubled using new 6mm steel like the perfect way to continue a more relaxing life on the water in Woodbridge. Besides being wonderful for your well-being, they claim life on the water is a way to achieve a luxury lifestyle at a fraction of the cost of bricks and mortar.

Upon completion Inez took up residency in Woodbridge in 2019 and within short measure the family was settled in. “It has given the children great independence, being walking distance to town and school and having the river as their playground,” says author Siobhan, who has used the wonderful wheelhouse, with its 360-degree views, as her writing room. l Fancy life on the water?

Now that their children are starting to leave home however, it is time to move on … but not off the water. The Horners still have their 10m wooden boat, Friendship, immortalised in their hit book, For Better, For Worse, moored on the River Deben and all ready for more adventures.

Or have a boat to sell?

Call Mortimers on 01394 386688.

FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE …

In 2009 Damian and Siobhan Horner quit successful London careers to navigate the French canals aboard Friendship, a 10m barge, with their tiny children in tow. They wrote about their experiences in this frank and, at times, hilarious coming-of-age story. Readers follow their epic journey through all the disasters and victories thrown up by life on the water whilst struggling to keep their children safe, dry and occupied. For mum-of-three and author Siobhan, better known to all as Shiv, she discovered her identity before it was sunk forever amid the relentless round of nappies and lattes that her London life had become. Their journey, punctuated by bickering and bust-ups, love, laughs and lessons, makes for a compelling read. “This adventure was about reawakening my wild side before it was lost forever,” she says.

For former advertising supremo Damian, it was nothing short of life-changing: “I never thought about the reality of us living in a space no bigger than the average bathroom,” he says. “This adventure was about slowing down and discovering I had a nice side!” l Get your signed copy of For Better, For Worse from Woodbridge Books at 66 Thoroughfare.