The 60ft by 12ft wide-beam craft Nautilus, moored at Mercia Marina on the Trent & Mersey Canal, is owned by liveaboards Mary and Neil Potter. The extravagant interior, combining antique furniture, unique handcrafted items and richly coloured fabrics, has been four years in the making - and is still an evolving design project. The couple moved afloat in 2017 after living in London. They had no prior inland waterways experience but Mary had spent a lot of time on seagoing vessels and neither she nor Neil wanted to go down the route of buying a house again. A residential wide-beam seemed to offer everything they needed. Nautilus was commissioned from the New & Used Boat Co and the couple upped sticks to the Midlands before the craft was ready. They rented a lodge at the marina and later bought a 35ft narrowboat as temporary accommodation, but still kept their minds firmly fixed on their future home, collecting statement furniture and artwork, mostly from a local auction house, while they waited.
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